How to Add a Manager to Google Business Profile (and Remove an Old Agency)

To add a manager to your Google Business Profile, sign in as an owner and follow these steps:

1. Go to business.google.com and open your profile.
2. Select More → Business Profile settings → People and access.
3. Select Add.
4. Enter the person’s email address.
5. Under Access, choose Manager.
6. Select Invite.

The person gets an invitation. Once they accept, they can edit the profile, reply to reviews and publish posts. You get an email when they accept (Google Help).

That part takes two minutes. Removing an old agency takes more care, because the order of steps decides whether you end up in control or locked out. This guide covers both.

Owner vs manager: which role should you give?

Google Business Profile has two roles: owner and manager.

Owners have full control.

Managers can do almost everything an owner can, except add or remove users and remove the profile.

One owner is also the primary owner.

That is usually the person who created or claimed the profile.

A profile can have several owners but only one primary owner, and only the primary owner can pass that role to someone else.

Task	Owner	Manager
Edit name, hours, address, phone, services	Yes	Yes
Reply to reviews, publish posts, add photos	Yes	Yes
Use messaging, download insights	Yes	Yes
Manage Google Ads account links	Yes	Yes
Add or remove users, change their roles	Yes	No
Remove the Business Profile	Yes	No
Transfer primary ownership	Primary owner only	No

Source: Google Business Profile Help.

You may still see older names such as “site manager” in other guides. Google now uses only owner and manager.

A simple rule: the business should be the primary owner, through a Google Account it controls.

Give Manager to everyone else: staff, freelancers and agencies. Google’s own guidance for agencies says the same: the business owns the profile, and the agency is added as a manager (third-party policies).

Why it matters: managers edit the profile but can’t remove you. An agency with owner access can remove other users, which is how many businesses get locked out.

Before you invite anyone

Check these four things first. Each one prevents a common failure.

• You are an owner. If you can’t see the Add button, you probably have manager access only.
• The invitee has their own Google Account. Google asks each user to sign in with their own account so nobody shares passwords. It doesn’t have to be Gmail; a work email registered as a Google Account works.
• You are inviting a person, not a group. Google Groups can’t be added as owners or managers.
• You use a business-controlled email for the primary owner. Avoid a personal account of one employee or the agency’s address. People leave; the business stays.

How to add a manager to Google Business Profile?

These steps work on desktop.

You can also manage the profile directly in Google Search or Maps while signed in, where the same Business Profile settings menu leads to People and access.

1. Sign in with an owner account and go to business.google.com. Or search your business name on Google to open the management panel.
2. Select More (the three-dot menu) → Business Profile settings.
3. Select People and access.
4. Select Add at the top left.
5. Enter the person’s email address.
6. Under Access, choose Manager (or Owner if this is a co-owner of the business).
7. Select Invite.

To add an owner instead, follow the same steps and choose Owner in step 6.

What the invited person does next?

The invitee receives an email and can accept straight away. Pending invitations show in a Pending section on the People and access page.

If you invited the wrong address, select the person there and choose Cancel invitation.

After accepting, the new user can edit right away.

But Google applies a 7-day waiting period to new owners and managers. During those 7 days they can’t delete the profile, remove other users, or transfer primary ownership (Google Help).

Plan any agency handover around this.

How to change a user’s role?

You may want to downgrade an agency from owner to manager, or upgrade a business partner.

1. Open People and access.
2. Select the user.
3. Next to Access, select Edit.
4. Choose the new role and select Save.

Only owners can change roles. To make someone the primary owner, choose Primary owner in step 4. That person must already be on the profile.

How to remove a manager or owner?

1. Open People and access.
2. Select the user.
3. Select Remove person and confirm.

The removed user gets an email.

They lose edit and admin access, but their past review replies, posts and comments stay on the profile. Removing a user does not delete your reviews.

A manager who wants to leave can remove themselves: they select their own name and choose Stop managing.

Why you can’t remove a user?

What you see	Likely cause	Fix
No Add or Remove option at all	You have manager access, not owner	Ask an owner to upgrade you
Can’t remove one specific person	That person is the primary owner	They must transfer primary ownership first
Error when removing or transferring	You became an owner less than 7 days ago	Wait until 7 days have passed
Removing yourself fails	You are the primary owner	Transfer primary ownership, then leave

How to remove an old agency from your Google Business Profile?

Start by checking which role the agency has. Open People and access and look at the label next to each user. Then follow the matching scenario.

Scenario A: the agency is a manager or co-owner

This is the easy case. If you are the primary owner, open People and access, select the agency’s account and choose Remove person. Access ends immediately.

Before removing them, ask for anything you’ll need later, such as a final insights report or the logins for posting tools connected to the profile.

Scenario B: the agency is the primary owner and cooperates

The agency must hand primary ownership to you. Use this order:

1. Day 0: Ask the agency, in writing, to add your business Google Account as an Owner. Accept the invitation.
2. Days 1–7: Wait. Google blocks new owners from removing users or changing primary ownership for 7 days.
3. Day 7 or later: The agency transfers primary ownership to you (Edit → Primary owner → Save).
4. After the transfer: Remove the agency’s accounts, or downgrade them to Manager if they still work for you.

Transferring primary ownership keeps your reviews, photos and business details.

Do not create a new profile to escape the agency. A duplicate profile starts with no reviews and can cause ownership conflicts.

Scenario C: the agency won’t respond or refuses

Google’s rules are on your side. Its third-party policies say businesses must keep ownership or co-ownership of their profile at all times.

When a client ends the relationship, the agency must let the business regain exclusive control within 7 business days of notice.

Holding a profile hostage for money is listed as prohibited.

Work through these steps in order:

1. Send a written request. Email the agency, name the profile, give the Google Account to add, and set a deadline. Keep a copy.
2. Request ownership through Google. Go to business.google.com/add, enter your business name and address, choose your business, and select Request Access. Fill out the form and submit it.
3. Wait 3 days. Google emails the current owner, who has 3 days to respond (Google Help). Track the request through the link in your confirmation email.
4. If there’s no response: open the confirmation email, select View request → Verify, and complete verification. Google notes this option isn’t always available.
5. If the request is denied: use the appeal option in the rejection email and include proof you run the business.
6. Report the agency. If it still holds the profile, use Google’s third-party policy violation form.

Service-area businesses without a public address work differently. Google asks them to contact support and choose Transfer ownership of listing instead of using the request form.

Example: A dental clinic changes agencies. The old agency is primary owner through its own Gmail account and stops replying. The clinic emails a written request on Monday, then submits a Request Access form the same day. With no reply after 3 days, the clinic uses the Verify option in its confirmation email. Once verified, it removes the agency and adds the new agency as a manager only.

After the agency leaves: clean up the rest

An agency that managed your profile usually touched other accounts too. Check each one the same week.

• Website: change admin passwords and remove agency user accounts in WordPress or your website builder.
• Google Search Console: remove agency users. If an agency was a verified owner, also remove its verification token, or it can re-verify.
• Google Analytics and Google Ads: remove agency users and confirm your business owns the accounts.
• Profile details: confirm the business name, address, phone number, hours and website on the profile still match your website exactly.
• Posting and review tools: disconnect any third-party apps the agency linked to the profile.

That last profile check matters for local SEO.

Search engines compare your profile with your website and directory listings, so mismatched details weaken trust in your information.

If your site runs on WordPress, FoundHint can check your name, address and phone (NAP) details and add LocalBusiness schema, so your website states the same business details your profile does.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Giving an agency Owner access by default. Manager is enough for nearly all agency work.
• Letting the agency create the profile under its own account. Ask for the profile to be created under your business account, with the agency added as a manager.
• Sharing one Google login. Each person should have their own account so you can remove them individually.
• Removing the old agency before you are primary owner. You may lose your only path to transfer.
• Starting a new profile instead of recovering the old one. You lose reviews and risk duplicates.
• Forgetting the 7-day rule. Book your handover call for at least a week after the agency adds you.

Conclusion

Adding a manager is quick: People and access → Add → choose Manager → Invite.

The real decision is who holds primary ownership. Keep it in a Google Account your business controls, give everyone else manager access, and plan agency changes around Google’s 7-day wait.

If an agency won’t cooperate, Google’s ownership request process and third-party policies give you a route back.

Frequently Asked Questions