How to Change SEO Agencies Without Losing Rankings
This article is by Australia's #1 Mortgage Broker SEO Agency, we've helped brokers generate over $500M in new leads through Google and AI-search. We can help you too, simply book a call here.
You've decided to move on from your current SEO agency, and now you're wondering if that decision is going to cost you. It's a fair concern. Your rankings took time to build, and a clumsy handover can set them back.
The good news is that a careful transition protects almost everything you've earned. The risk isn't in changing agencies. It's in changing without a plan.
At Copyburst, we work with mortgage brokers across Australia on mortgage broker SEO, Google Business Profiles and AI search, and we've guided brokers through this process many times. In this article, we'll cover what to do before you leave, what to hand over and what to watch once you've made the move.
Key takeaways
- You should own every login before you cancel your current contract.
- A ranking dip during the transition is normal and usually short-lived.
- The handover document your old agency provides tells you a great deal about them.
Can you change SEO agencies without losing your rankings?
Yes, in most cases. Your rankings belong to your website, not to your agency. As long as your site isn't changed carelessly during the handover and the new agency picks up the work without a long gap, there's no reason your positions have to drop. The main risks are losing access to your own accounts, having pages altered without a proper audit and leaving a gap where no SEO work is being done. Avoid those three things and the transition is usually smooth.
What do you need to own before you make the move?
This is the step brokers most often skip, and it's the one that causes real problems. Before you give notice to your current agency, confirm you have working login access to every account that belongs to your brokerage.
- Your domain name: the registration should be in your name or your company name, not your agency's.
- Your website hosting or platform: log in and confirm you can access the site's files and settings independently.
- Google Search Console: your email address should have owner-level access, so you keep all the historical data.
- Google Analytics (GA4): same principle. Your account, not theirs.
- Google Business Profile: you should be listed as the primary owner, with the ability to add and remove managers.
If your current agency holds any of these and is reluctant to hand them over, that's a signal worth taking seriously. Google's own guidance on choosing an SEO says you should work with someone who asks to access your account rather than requiring you to transfer ownership.
| Expert tip Log in to each of your accounts right now, before you do anything else. If you can't get in or you don't know where to look, that tells you something important about who actually owns your digital presence. Copyburst ensures every broker we work with has full owner access from day one. |
What should your old agency hand over?
A professional agency should be able to give you a clear record of the work they've done. This isn't about blame. It's the information your next agency needs to continue the work without starting from scratch.
“The handover document a departing agency sends often reveals more about their work than six months of reports did. A good agency hands everything over clearly. A bad one stalls.”
Adam Maynard · Founder, Copyburst · Chat to Adam →
Ask for a list of every page they created or changed, any links they built and where they came from, the keywords they were targeting and the rankings at the time they started versus now. If they managed your Google Business Profile, ask for a summary of what they changed there too.
| Mortgage broker SEO Need help with choosing the right SEO partner? We help mortgage brokers get found first in Google, Google Maps and AI search.
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How do you protect your rankings during the handover?
The handover period is where rankings are most vulnerable. It's not the change itself that causes drops. It's the gap where no one is actively managing your SEO and no one has spotted a problem before it compounds.
The safest approach is an overlap. Bring your new agency in to review your site before the old contract ends, so they understand what's there, what's working and what needs attention. They should do an audit of your current positions, your page structure and your Google Business Profile before touching anything.
| Stage | What happens | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| Before giving notice | Your current rankings are your baseline | Confirm you own all logins; record where you rank now |
| During notice period | New agency reviews the site and audits what's there | Request the handover document; grant new agency access |
| First month after | New work begins; small ranking fluctuations are normal | Watch rankings and enquiries; ask for a first-month report |
| After three months | New strategy is running; any real gaps are visible | Compare enquiries and rankings to your pre-move baseline |
Say you're a broker who has ranked in the local Map Pack for "mortgage broker" plus your suburb for the past year. Before you sign with a new agency, search that term yourself and write down your current position. That's your benchmark. If it shifts during the handover, your new agency can see it and fix it, rather than inheriting a problem that's already weeks old.
| Expert tip Search for "mortgage broker" plus your suburb and your main loan types the way a first home buyer would, and write down where you appear. Do the same search on Google Maps. This takes five minutes and gives you a clear before-and-after picture that no agency can dispute. |
Should you worry about your Google Business Profile during the switch?
Yes. Your Google Business Profile is separate from your website, and it's worth treating it as its own handover task. If your current agency has manager access, remove them once you've confirmed your new agency is set up as a manager in their place.
“When we take over a broker's Google Business Profile, the first thing we check is whether the business name, category, services and website link are set up correctly. These are the things most commonly left in a poor state after a handover.”
Adam Maynard · Founder, Copyburst · Chat to Adam →
According to Google's guidelines for representing your business, your profile name must match your real-world business name. If a previous agency added suburbs or keywords to it, that needs to be corrected. It's not just bad practice. It can get your profile suspended. Your profile should also link to the most relevant page on your website, and that link should still work after any site changes.
What's the catch with switching agencies?
The main risk brokers don't see coming is what a new agency does in the first few weeks. An agency that rushes to make big changes to your site, rewrites pages without reading the existing strategy or removes content it doesn't understand can cause a real ranking drop. Google's guidance on site moves with URL changes is clear: use permanent redirects from any old URLs to new ones and keep them in place. If your new agency rebuilds pages and doesn't handle that properly, you lose the rankings those pages held.
The other risk is choosing a new agency for the wrong reasons. Google says no one can guarantee a number one ranking on Google. Any agency that promises you a specific position or tells you they have a special relationship with Google is a warning sign worth acting on.
- Ask what they'll do in the first 30 days: a good agency audits before it changes anything. If the answer is "we'll start fixing things straight away", ask what those things are and why.
- Check the contract before you sign: you should own your logins, your content and your data. Your rankings don't disappear when you leave, but your access to reports and account history might if the contract isn't clear.
- Ask how they report: monthly reports should tie work done to rankings and enquiries, not just traffic numbers you can't act on.
| Expert tip Read your last three reports from your current agency and ask yourself: do I understand what they did and what changed because of it? If the answer is no, that's a useful question to put to any agency you're considering next. Copyburst sends brokers a plain-English monthly summary tied to rankings and enquiries. |
| Mortgage broker SEO Need help with choosing the right SEO partner? We help mortgage brokers get found first in Google, Google Maps and AI search.
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What else do brokers ask about changing SEO agencies?
What happens to my rankings if I stop SEO entirely for a while?
Rankings don't disappear overnight, but they do soften when no one is actively maintaining them. Competitors who keep working will gradually move ahead. The longer the gap, the more ground you give back, which is why the overlap approach matters.
Will I lose my Google reviews if I change agencies?
No. Your Google reviews stay on your Business Profile. They belong to your profile, not to the agency that managed it. As long as you remain the profile owner, your review history is safe through any handover.
Should I tell my current agency I'm leaving before I've found a new one?
We'd recommend having your new agency ready before you give notice. That way the transition can overlap cleanly, and your new agency can review what's there before the old one removes their access or stops work.
How does Copyburst handle the transition when a broker comes from another agency?
We start with a full audit of your current site, rankings and Google Business Profile before we change anything. We document what's working and what isn't, so we're building on your existing progress rather than resetting it.
How do I know my SEO is actually working after I switch?
Track rankings for the searches your clients actually use, and watch how many enquiries come through your website and profile each month. Copyburst sends brokers a monthly report that ties work done directly to those numbers, so you can see the progress clearly.
Your next steps
Start by logging in to every account you should own: your website, your domain, your analytics and your Google Business Profile. Write down where you rank now for your main searches, before anything changes. Then find an agency that will audit before they act, report in plain English and give you full ownership of everything from day one. To see what this would look like for your brokerage, book a free strategy call.
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Sources and further reading
This article provides general information about SEO, AI search and digital marketing for mortgage and finance brokers. It is not credit assistance, financial, legal or tax advice, and does not take into account your business circumstances. Search, ranking and lead outcomes vary and are not guaranteed. Figures are sourced from the organisations named and were current at the time of writing.