How to give an agency access to your Google Business Profile

An owner of the Business Profile opens the profile, selects More > Business Profile settings > People and access, selects Add, enters the agency person's email address, chooses Manager under Access and selects Invite. An agency that manages profiles in Business Profile Manager can instead be invited by its business group ID, or request access itself under Manage invites. A manager can do the day-to-day work, so ownership can stay with the business.

This page covers both sides: the business that owns the profile, and the agency that needs to work on it.

Owner, manager or primary owner

Google's owners and managers article has two roles, and one owner is the primary owner:

• Owner: full control. An owner can add and remove users, manage the profile's information and delete the profile. A profile can have several owners.
• Primary owner: there is one per profile. Only the primary owner can transfer primary ownership, and the primary owner cannot remove themselves before transferring it.
• Manager: Google says managers have mostly the same access as owners. The exceptions are adding or removing users and removing the profile.

Google's capability table gives managers the day-to-day jobs: editing the business information, hours, phone number, services and attributes, publishing posts, adding photos and logos, responding to reviews and questions, using messaging, downloading insights and managing Google Ads account links.

So give the agency Manager. It can do the work, but it cannot add people, remove you or delete the profile. Keep primary ownership with someone in the business. Google's transfer article also has a one-line note, "Co Owners upgrade themselves to Primary Owners", which it does not explain. Making the agency a manager rather than an owner keeps it out of that question.

Before you start

• You need to be an owner. Only owners can add, change or remove owners and managers. If you cannot select a user on the People and access page, Google says you might only have manager access.
• The agency person needs their own Google Account. Google's tip is that each user signs in with their own account, so nobody shares a password.
• Use a person's address, not a group. Google Groups cannot be added as owners or managers.
• Names are visible. Users of the profile can see the names and email addresses of its owners and managers.

Add the agency as a manager

1. Go to your Business Profile.
2. Select More, then Business Profile settings, then People and access.
3. At the top left, select Add.
4. Enter the agency person's email address.
5. Under Access, select Manager.
6. Select Invite.

The agency person can accept the invitation and becomes a manager right away. You get an email when they accept. Until then, the invitation is listed under PENDING on the People and access page.

Invite the agency's organization instead

Agencies that manage many profiles can register with Google and get an organization in Business Profile Manager. The organization sorts profiles into business groups, and the agency's people work on them from there. Google's agency invites article gives the business two ways to let such an agency in:

• One profile: the profile owner can invite a business group in the agency's organization, using the business group ID.
• A business group of profiles: the owner of that business group can invite the agency's organization, using its organization ID.

Google describes this route from the agency's side, so ask the agency which ID it wants you to use. The agency finds a business group ID in Business Profile Manager: on the Businesses tab it chooses the group from the drop-down menu and clicks Group settings. The 10-digit organization ID is under the organization's More menu, in Details.

The agency then accepts the invitation:

1. Sign in to Business Profile Manager.
2. Click Manage invites.
3. If you belong to several organizations, choose the right one first.
4. Find the invitation and click Approve (or Decline).

Google says an organization account can manage a profile only after the profile grants it permission, and that an organization account cannot directly own an individual profile. The business stays the owner.

The agency requests access

An agency with an organization can also ask for access itself. Google's steps:

1. Sign in to Business Profile Manager.
2. Click Manage invites.
3. If you belong to several organizations, choose the right one first.
4. Click Request access.
5. Search by business name and choose the profile.
6. Choose which of your business groups the profile should be added to.
7. Click Continue and follow the prompts.

The status of each request is on the Requests sent tab under Manage invites. Tell the business before you send it, so they expect a request from your agency.

An agency without an organization can simply send the business the email address of the Google Account it wants added, and the business adds it as a manager with the steps above.

To register an organization, Google asks the agency to start at business.google.com/agencysignup with a Google account on the agency's own email domain that does not own or manage any profiles. See Google's agency registration article.

Requesting ownership is a different thing

Google also has a request ownership flow. It is for a business owner whose verified profile is owned by someone else. The current owner is emailed and has 3 days to respond. An agency that only needs to work on a client's profile should not use it; it should be added as a manager or request access as above. The ownership request, step by step, is in how to request ownership of a Google Business Profile.

If your old agency is the primary owner of your profile, ask it to make you primary owner; Google transfers primary ownership only to an existing owner or manager of the profile. Google's steps for the current primary owner are under People and access: select the user, select Edit next to Access, then Primary owner and Save.

The first 7 days

New owners and managers wait 7 days before they can use some features. During that time Google shows an error if they try to:

• delete or undelete a profile
• remove other owners or managers
• transfer primary ownership

If the new user deletes their account within the 7 days, they are removed from the profile and have to be added again.

Troubleshooting

The agency has not accepted the invitation

Open People and access and look under PENDING. Check that the email address is the agency person's Google Account. If it is wrong, select Cancel invitation next to it and add the right address.

You cannot add or remove anyone

Only owners can add or remove owners and managers. If you cannot select a user, you might have manager access only. Ask an owner of the profile to make the change, or to make you an owner.

A group address does not work

Google Groups cannot be added. Add each person's own Google Account instead.

The agency gets an error when it removes someone or changes the primary owner

If the agency is an owner, it may still be in its first 7 days, when those actions are blocked. A manager cannot remove owners or managers at all, and only the primary owner can transfer primary ownership.

Remove the agency later

1. Go to your Business Profile.
2. Select More, then Business Profile settings, then People and access.
3. Select the agency person, then Remove person.

Only owners can remove owners and managers. The removed person gets an email. Their past replies to reviews, posts and comments stay on the profile. An agency can also leave on its own: it selects itself on the same page, then Stop managing and Confirm. Our guide to removing an old agency's access covers Meta and Google Ads too.

Doing it with an access link

Our access link covers adding the agency as a manager, as a guided step. It shows the steps on this page beside Google's own screen, with the agency's Google account to copy. Nobody signs in through the link for this: the owner sends the invitation and says when it is done, and the agency confirms once it has accepted. What an agency can ask for is on the Business Profile integration page.