The terms to check before you sign
| Term | What it should say | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Account ownership | Ad accounts, Google Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console and domain are in your business's name; the agency gets access | A Meta ad account created in the agency's portfolio can never move to yours (Meta) |
| Ownership of the work | Website, copy, photos and ads are assigned to you once paid | Outside employment, copyright transfers only in a signed writing (17 U.S.C. § 204; Canada s. 13(4)) |
| Ad spend vs fee | Invoices show the platform's exact charge, and the fee separately | Google requires this of agencies (Google Ads policy) |
| Reporting | Monthly cost, clicks, impressions, plus leads and booked jobs | Google calls cost, clicks and impressions your minimum right (Google) |
| Term and notice | Month to month, or a short first term, then 30 days' notice; no silent auto-renewal | Many owners decide within the first year (below) |
| Exit | On notice, the agency hands over admin access, files and logins within a set number of days | Without it, leaving depends on goodwill |
| Results | Goals and how they're measured; no guaranteed rankings or ad positions | Google says no one can guarantee either (below) |
Who owns the accounts?
You should, with the agency added as a user. Ownership is set when an account is created, and some platforms can't change it later.
"If you create a new ad account in a business portfolio, it will permanently be a part of that portfolio. This means the ad account can't be deleted or transferred from the portfolio." (Meta Business Help Center)
So the Meta ad account should live in your business portfolio and be shared with the agency. Meta's own option for agencies does exactly that: "The account will remain in their portfolio, but access will be shared with your portfolio" (Meta).
On Google Business Profile, make the agency a manager, not an owner. Managers can do the daily work but "can't add or remove users or remove the profile" (Business Profile Help).
In Google Ads, keep yourself as admin. Only admins can give access and unlink a manager account. And if the agency's manager account has ownership turned on, its admins "can also edit user access, managers, and product links within your account" (Google Ads Help). Ask that it stay off.
Who owns the website and content?
Not you, unless the contract says so. In the U.S., work by an outside firm is "made for hire" only for nine listed types of work, and only with a written agreement signed by both sides (Copyright Office Circular 30). Otherwise the creator owns it until it is transferred, and:
"A transfer of copyright ownership, other than by operation of law, is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a note or memorandum of the transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights conveyed or such owner's duly authorized agent." (17 U.S.C. § 204)
Canada has the same writing rule. An employer owns staff work unless agreed otherwise, but for anyone else's work "no assignment or grant is valid unless it is in writing signed by the owner of the right" (Copyright Act s. 13).
Ask the agency to list what it only licenses (themes, plugins, stock photos), so you know what you can't take with you.
How long should a marketing contract be?
Short enough to leave when it isn't working. In an April 2025 survey of 500 U.S. small business owners by vcita, a software company, 40% of those who outsource marketing ended up switching or dropping their agency. 56% of those exits came within 6 to 12 months, and 60% cited lack of return on investment (vcita, 2025). A 12-month lock-in outlasts the point where many owners decide.
Red flags in a marketing proposal
- Guaranteed rankings: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." (Google Search Central)
- Guaranteed ad position: "It's not possible to guarantee a specific ad position on Google.com search results pages." (Google)
- A claim that ads lift your free rankings: "Advertising on Google has no impact on your organic or natural ranking" (Google).
- A fee that isn't written down. Google tells agencies to "inform new customers in writing before each first purchase and disclose the fee on all customer invoices" (Google Ads policy).
- No promise to give you your Google Ads customer ID. Google requires agencies to provide it "when requested" (same page).
Example
A roofer offered a 12-month SEO contract
$1,200 a month, 12 months, auto-renews, "site and content remain agency property". He asks for: month to month after 3 months, 30 days' notice, content assigned to him on payment, and the domain in his company's name. The agency agrees to all but the term; they settle on 6 months.
A med spa whose agency built the Meta ad account
The agency created the ad account inside its own portfolio. When the spa leaves, the account and its history stay with the agency, and the spa starts a new one. The next contract says every ad account is created in the spa's portfolio.
Different for you?
- Already leaving and need your accounts back: Leaving your marketing agency
- Choosing between an agency, a freelancer, a hire or AI: SEO agency vs freelancer vs in-house vs AI
- Deciding what the monthly report should show: The monthly marketing report to ask for
- Law firm: the bar's advertising rules also bind your agency's work: Law firm website advertising rules
- Financial advisor: SEC Marketing Rule