How to switch dental marketing agencies without losing what you built
To switch dental marketing agencies without losing anything, get admin access to everything in your own name first. That means your domain and its settings, website, Google Business Profile, Google Ads and Meta accounts, analytics and any call-tracking numbers. Do this before you give notice. Then move the domain, and copy or rebuild the site. Send every old page address to its new one, so your Google rankings carry over. Most switches take two to eight weeks, depending on whether the website can come with you.
Get your practice audit
Your practice and an email. We include what your current site runs on, so you know what is likely to come with you.
Month to month · No exit fee · You own every account, and the contract says so
Leaving an agency looks risky when it holds the logins. Most of that risk comes from doing the paperwork in the wrong order.
What do I ask my agency for?
Ask for admin access, in your own login, to the eleven accounts and files your practice needs online. Ask in writing and keep the replies. If the answer is no, there is usually still a way.
| What | Ask for | If they say no |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | The domain moved to a registrar account in your name, or the unlock and transfer code so you can move it yourself. | If they say no Look up who the domain is registered to. If it is you or your practice, the registrar has to help you regain access. If the agency registered it in its own name, ask in writing and point to any ownership clause in your contract. |
| DNS records | A full export of every DNS record, including the ones that run your email. | If they say no Record what you can see from outside before anything moves. A free DNS lookup shows most records. If the email records go missing, the practice loses its email on switch day. |
| Website | The site code or a full export (pages, images, forms), the hosting login, or a written answer on what you are allowed to take. | If they say no Some platforms license the site, so only a page or two can leave and the design stays behind. Save a copy of every page and its address before you cancel. Your words and your own photos come with you, and the site gets rebuilt. |
| Google Business Profile | Primary owner role on the profile, in your own Google account. | If they say no Use Google’s request-access process from your own account. The current owner has about a week to respond, and if they do not, Google may let you claim the profile. Your reviews and photos stay with it. |
| Google Ads | Admin access to the ad account itself, in your own Google login, with your card as the payment method. | If they say no If the account was opened in the agency’s name, its history stays with them. Ask for an export of campaigns, keywords, negative keywords and conversion settings, and open a new account in your name. |
| Facebook and Instagram ads | Your Page, Instagram account, ad account and pixel owned by your own Meta business portfolio, with the agency added as a partner. | If they say no A Page the agency’s portfolio owns can be handed to yours by their admin. An ad account or pixel they own usually cannot be moved, so you open new ones. |
| Analytics and Search Console | Administrator on your Google Analytics property, Owner in Search Console, and admin on Tag Manager if they use it. | If they say no You can verify Search Console yourself in minutes through your domain. Analytics history you cannot reach is lost, so start a new property in your name now and the new data begins before the switch. |
| Call-tracking numbers | A list of every tracking number, where each one is published, and a port-out of the numbers you want to keep. | If they say no Numbers in the agency’s account move only with their cooperation. Change your Google profile, directory listings and ads to your main number before the old numbers stop working. |
| Review and texting tools | Admin access to any review-request or patient texting tool the agency set up, and an export of its contact list. | If they say no Open the tool in your own account, or send review requests from your practice software or the front desk. The contact list holds patient information, so ask for the export in writing and keep it in your own systems. |
| Leads and call recordings | An export of every lead, form entry and call recording. These can contain patient information, so save them in your own systems. | If they say no Export what you can from any dashboard you can still log into, today. Some contracts delete lead data 30 days after you leave. |
| Photos and video | The original files of the photos and video you paid for. | If they say no Stock photos licensed to the agency usually cannot come with you. For photos shot for you, the contract says who holds the rights. |
How do I keep my rankings?
Follow these steps in order. The two mistakes that cost practices the most are giving notice before they have access, and launching a new site without sending each old page address to its new one.
- 01
Read your contract.
Find the notice period, the exit fee, the renewal date and what it says you own. The sales page is not the contract. In the contracts we read, 3 of 10 agencies used 12-month terms, and one charged half the remaining term to leave early.
What dental marketing costs a month → - 02
Get access before you give notice.
Ask for admin access to every item above, in writing, while the relationship is normal. Log in to each one and check it works.
- 03
Copy the DNS and save the site.
Export every DNS record. List every page address (your sitemap and Search Console have them). Save your pages, photos and form settings, and export leads and call recordings into your own systems.
- 04
Take ownership of the accounts.
Make yourself the owner of your Google Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console, Tag Manager, Google Ads and Meta assets. Remove the agency’s access on their last day, not before.
- 05
Move the domain and DNS.
Transfer the domain to a registrar account in your name and recreate every DNS record there, email records first. A registrar transfer usually completes within a week.
- 06
Export or rebuild the site, keeping the addresses.
Keep each page at the same address where you can. Where an address has to change, set a permanent (301) redirect from the old address to the new one, page by page. This is the step that keeps your rankings.
- 07
Switch over, then watch it for eight weeks.
Point the domain at the new site, resubmit the sitemap in Search Console, update the website link on your Google profile, and test every form and phone number. Then check Search Console weekly for missing pages.
How long does switching agencies take?
Two to eight weeks for most practices. The website decides which end of that you are at: a site you can export moves quickly, a site the old platform keeps has to be rebuilt.
Access and accounts: one to two weeks. If the agency answers promptly. Add a week or two if you need Google’s request-access process for your profile.
Domain transfer: up to a week. Once the domain is unlocked and you have the transfer code. Your site and email keep working while it moves.
Website: two to eight weeks. Two to three weeks to move a site you can export. About five weeks to rebuild as a Practice Website ($3,990), about eight as a Signature Website ($6,990).
After launch: eight weeks of checks. Rankings can move for a few weeks after any website change. Weekly checks for missing pages and broken links catch problems while they are small.
What we do when you switch
We do the whole move, and you approve each step. You send the requests from your own email, because the accounts are yours. We do everything else.
- Read your contract with you and list what you own, what you can take and what you cannot. We are not lawyers; for a disputed clause, ask yours.
- Write the access requests for you to send, and check each login once it arrives.
- We list everything you have online: your domain and its settings, every page address, your accounts, any call-tracking numbers the old agency set up, review tools and listings.
- Set up anything missing in your name: registrar, hosting, analytics, Search Console, ad accounts.
- Move or rebuild the site, with a redirect for every address that changes.
- Set up review requests again, sent from your own practice software or by your front desk: the link, the wording and the routine.
- Switch over, then check your rankings, forms and phone number every week for eight weeks.
Patient information stays in your own systems: forms and booking are set up in your accounts. If our work ever needs to touch patient information, we sign a business associate agreement (BAA) with you first.
If your site has to be rebuilt, the move is part of the build: $3,990 for a Practice Website or $6,990 for a Signature Website. If it can come with you, we tell you what the move costs before you commit. Monthly plans are $1,200 or $1,800 a month per location, with no setup fee.
See published pricing →What will your new contract say?
Most switches are hard because of something in the old contract. These terms are written into ours, so if you ever leave us, leaving is easy.
- 01
Month to month, from day one.
Thirty days’ notice ends it. No minimum term, no exit fee, no auto-renewal at a price we never showed you.
- 02
You own everything, in writing.
Your domain, website code, hosting, Google listing, analytics, ad accounts, and every page and photo are in your name from the first day. The contract says so.
- 03
We add nothing to your Google Ads bill.
Google charges the ads to your card. We never charge a fee on money you did not spend on ads, and your ad accounts stay in your name.
- 04
No gag clause.
Nothing in the contract stops you from criticizing us. If we let you down, you are free to say so, anywhere.
- 05
One practice per specialty per area.
We will not work for the practice competing with you for the same patients.
- 06
A small footer link, which you can remove.
Sites we build carry a "Site by Studio Smirk" link in the footer. It is in the contract so it is never a surprise, and it comes off whenever you ask.
Questions practices ask before switching
Will I lose my Google rankings if I switch marketing agencies?
Not if the move is done with care. Rankings belong to your domain and your pages. Keep the domain, keep page addresses where you can, and redirect every address that changes. Expect some movement for a few weeks after any website change.
Can my marketing agency keep my website or domain?
It depends on your contract. Some agencies register the domain in their own name, and some platforms license the site so only a page or two can leave. A domain registered to you can almost always be recovered, and your words and your own photos are yours.
What if my agency won’t give me my Google Business Profile?
Use Google’s request-access process from your own Google account. If the current owner does not respond within about a week, Google may let you claim the profile once you verify the practice. Reviews and photos stay with it.
Do I lose my Google Ads history when I leave an agency?
Only if the ad account belongs to the agency. In your name, you keep the campaigns, history and conversion data. In theirs, ask for an export and open a new account.
Should I tell my agency I’m leaving before I have access?
No. Get admin access to every account first and check each login works, then give notice.
Can I keep my call-tracking phone numbers?
Often, yes, if the agency or its provider releases them for porting. If not, move your Google profile, listings and ads to your main number before the old numbers stop working.
How much does it cost to switch to Studio Smirk?
No setup fee. A rebuilt site is priced as the website ($3,990 or $6,990, half up front and half at launch); a site that can move is quoted before you commit. Monthly plans are $1,200 or $1,800 a month per location.
Is it worth switching if my agency is only a little disappointing?
Check three things: whether you can see what each channel brings in, whether every account is in your name, and whether you could leave with 30 days’ notice. If all three are yes, a frank conversation with your agency may cost less than a move. If any is no, fix that first.
Tell us about your practice
Ask about a plan, a website or anything else.
- Aditya reads every message. He plans the work and does it, with a small team.
- A reply the same day. By email, from hello@studiosmirk.com.