To switch marketing agencies without losing SEO in 2026: audit and document all rankings before giving notice, ensure you own all content and ad accounts before transition, do not allow content production to lapse more than 30 days, and brief the new agency comprehensively with historical data. The biggest risk is a content gap — rankings that took months to build can decay in 6–8 weeks of publishing inactivity.
When Is It Time to Switch Marketing Agencies?
Not every underperforming period justifies switching agencies — sometimes it is seasonality, algorithm changes, or a strategy that needs adjustment rather than a new agency. But certain signals consistently indicate it is time to make a change in 2026:
- Flat or declining organic traffic for 3+ months despite continued investment and no algorithmic explanation
- No improvement in lead quality or volume over 6 months — sustained underperformance, not temporary
- Inability to explain results clearly — if your agency cannot explain why something is or is not working in plain language, they likely do not know
- No 2026 AEO/GEO strategy — agencies without AI search optimisation in their playbook are behind the curve on where buyer research is heading
- Reactive rather than proactive — a great agency brings you ideas and opportunities; a poor one responds only when you ask
The Step-by-Step Agency Transition Framework for 2026
Step 1: Audit Before You Give Notice
Before formally ending the relationship, document everything that is working so you can protect it:
- Export your current keyword rankings (Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console)
- Download your backlink profile
- Identify your top 20 organic landing pages by traffic and conversion
- Document all current ad campaigns, audiences, and performance benchmarks
- Inventory all content created during the engagement
Step 2: Secure Access to All Your Assets
Before the relationship formally ends, ensure you have admin-level access to everything:
- Ad accounts: Google Ads, Meta Business Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager — all in your name with agency as admin, not the other way around
- Analytics: GA4, Google Search Console, any third-party analytics tools
- CMS access: All content on your website, including blog posts, product pages, and landing pages created during the engagement
- Creative assets: All graphics, videos, copywriting, brand assets created with your budget belong to you
- Email lists and CRM data: Your customer data is your property — ensure you can export it
If your agency has admin access on ad accounts they set up — and you are listed as a user rather than the owner — you may lose access to campaign history, audiences, and conversion data when you leave. Fix this before giving notice, not after.
Step 3: Manage the Content Gap
The most common cause of ranking drops during agency transitions is content production gaps. SEO content needs continuous publishing to maintain momentum. A gap of 30–60 days is manageable; 90+ days without new content typically results in measurable ranking decay.
Mitigate this by: briefing your new agency to start content production in parallel with the handover, maintaining a content calendar that continues through the transition, and ensuring at least 4 weeks of content is queued before the handover date.
Step 4: Brief Your New Agency Comprehensively
A new agency without historical context will repeat the discovery phase work already done and potentially make strategy decisions that conflict with what was already working. Provide your new agency with: keyword ranking history, top-performing content analysis, audience data from paid campaigns, customer research conducted during the prior engagement, and a clear brief on what worked, what did not, and what the prior agency did not do that you needed.
Step 5: Run a Parallel Period if Possible
If your contract and budget allow, run 2–4 weeks of parallel access where both the outgoing and incoming agency have visibility into performance. This allows for proper knowledge transfer and reduces the risk of an abrupt cut-off that causes data loss.
| Transition Phase | Timeline | Key Actions | Risk to Mitigate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-notice | 2–4 weeks before notice | Audit rankings, document assets, secure access | Asset loss, access disputes |
| Notice period | Notice + 30 days typical | New agency selection, briefing, parallel setup | Content production gap |
| Handover week | Day of transition | Full asset transfer, final report from outgoing agency | Incomplete data transfer |
| New agency onboarding | Weeks 1–4 | Discovery, keyword audit, campaign review, strategy build | Duplicate discovery cost |
| Stabilisation | Months 2–3 | First full content cycle, paid campaign optimisation | Ranking fluctuation |