Why portability matters more than the pitch deck
A firm can always change vendors on performance grounds if it can take its data and accounts with it. If it can't, a mediocre agency relationship becomes a hostage situation - the switching cost, not the results, decides how long the firm stays.
The five ownership questions to ask before signing
- Who owns the Google Ads / Meta ad accounts - should be the firm, with the agency granted manager-level access.
- Who owns Google Analytics (GA4) and Search Console - should be the firm.
- Who owns the call tracking numbers and their history - should be the firm; numbers should be portable to a new vendor.
- Who owns the website and its CMS access, or can the firm freely export its content - should be the firm, or freely exportable.
- What happens to historical reporting data on termination - should be exportable, in writing, before signing.
Lane: We are measurement engineers, not a marketing agency - Webclat does not sell SEO, PPC, or marketing services. What follows is what to verify about the SEO/PPC/marketing spend a firm already buys, from us or from anyone else.
Asset, rightful owner, and the risk of getting it wrong
| Asset | Who should own it | Risk if the agency owns it instead |
|---|---|---|
| Ad accounts (Google / Meta) | The firm | Losing campaign history and audience data on exit |
| Analytics (GA4 / Search Console) | The firm | Losing years of attribution history on exit |
| Call tracking numbers | The firm | Directory listings and print materials tied to numbers the firm can't keep |
| Website / CMS | The firm, or freely exportable | The site itself becomes leverage in a dispute |
Reporting rights during the engagement
The firm should retain read access to raw platform data throughout the engagement, not only a monthly PDF summary. Put it in the contract as a line item rather than assuming it is implied.
Illustrative: a firm might discover at termination that its ad account and years of call tracking history belong to the agency, not the firm - illustrative scenario describing a structural risk, not a specific incident. The five questions above are how a firm avoids finding this out at the worst possible moment.