Your business should own its Google Ads account, not your agency. Create it under a company email, keep two admins and the billing in your name, and let the agency work through a linked manager account. You keep the history and data if you change agency, and Google’s policy still requires the agency to show you clicks, impressions and total cost.
Why ownership of a Google Ads account matters
Ownership matters because the account, not the agency, holds everything your ad spend has bought over time. Every month of campaigns builds up conversion history, search-term data, audience lists, negative keyword lists and the learning that Google’s bidding systems rely on. If the account belongs to the agency, all of that leaves with them when the contract ends, and the next team starts from an empty account with no data to work from.
This is a common situation for Dubai businesses that signed up with a Google Ads management agency years ago: the account was created under the agency’s manager account, invoices came from the agency, and nobody asked who would keep it if things changed. Google’s third-party policy requires an agency to run a separate account for each advertiser it manages, but it does not decide who owns that account. That part is up to you and your contract.
The three ways agencies set up Google Ads for clients
Agencies in Dubai typically use one of three set-ups, and only the second leaves you fully in control.
- Agency-owned account under the agency’s manager account. The agency creates the account, pays Google, and re-invoices you with its fee. Fast to start, but you are a guest in your own account and often cannot see Google’s actual charges.
- Your account, agency linked through a manager account (MCC). You create the account with a company email and accept a link request from the agency’s manager account. The agency can build and run campaigns; you keep admin control and billing. This is the set-up we recommend.
- Your account, agency staff added as individual users. Works for a freelancer or a very small team, but every staff change at the agency means adding and removing people by hand.
According to Google’s documentation on manager account access, linking a manager account “doesn’t automatically grant administrative ownership”. That is the point of option two: the agency can do its job without being able to lock you out, transfer the account or unlink your other partners.
What access to give your Google Ads agency
Give the agency enough access to work, keep admin and billing control for yourself, and make sure you are never the only admin. Google describes five access levels: email-only, read-only, billing, standard and admin. Only admins can grant access, change other users’ levels, accept or reject manager-account link requests and unlink managers. Here is the order we suggest when setting up or tidying an account.
- Create the Google Ads account with a company email address on your own domain, not a personal Gmail and not an agency address.
- Add a second admin from your business. Google warns that an account with a single admin can lose access to its tags if that person becomes unavailable.
- Accept the agency’s manager-account link request. Leave “ownership” switched off unless Google requires it, for example when you apply for monthly invoicing or a credit line.
- Keep the payments profile and the card or bank details in your company’s name, so Google bills you directly and the invoices carry your details.
- Apply the same rule to Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager and your Google Business Profile: your business is the owner, the agency is a user.
- Write the ownership and hand-over terms into the agency agreement. Google itself advises advertisers to get “an official copy of your agreement in writing”.
Who should pay Google: you or the agency?
You should pay Google directly wherever possible, because it keeps the money trail clear and the account in your name. When an agency pays Google and re-invoices you, you depend on them to pass on the exact charge. Google’s third-party policy requires agencies that report costs to state “the exact amount charged by Google, exclusive of any fees that you charge”, so a combined “media and management” line with no breakdown is a sign to ask questions.
There is also a tax angle for UAE companies. VAT in the UAE has been 5 per cent since 1 January 2018, and the government portal notes that VAT-registered businesses may reclaim VAT paid on business-related goods and services. Whether you pay Google directly or through an agency, make sure the invoices you receive are valid tax invoices in your company’s name, and ask your accountant how the ad spend and agency fee should be treated. We are a marketing agency, not a tax adviser, so take this as a prompt to check rather than as advice.
What Google says your agency must show you
At a minimum, you have the right to see the number of clicks, impressions and the total cost of your Google ads, and Google suggests reviewing spend and results monthly. That comes from Google’s advertiser guide to working with third parties, which agencies serving smaller budgets are required to share with their clients. The same guide lists the warning signs Google wants advertisers to recognise:
- An agency that will not share cost and performance data from the account itself.
- Guarantees of a top ad position. Positions are decided by auction and cannot be promised.
- Claims that spending on ads improves your organic rankings. Google states that advertising has no effect on organic results.
- Budgets on the invoice that differ from what was agreed, or pressure to sign quickly.
- A Google Partner badge that does not click through to a profile page on Google’s own site.
With read-only access to your own account, none of this depends on trust: you can check the figures yourself.
Moving an agency-owned account into your name
If your current account belongs to the agency, ask for admin access and administrative ownership to be transferred to a company email before the contract ends, while the relationship is still good. Then add your second admin, check the payments profile and review which manager accounts are linked. If a transfer is refused, you will need a new account; export the search-term reports, keyword lists, negative lists and conversion set-up first so it does not start from nothing.
Frequently asked questions
If the account was created by the agency under its own login and billing, the agency controls it. Google’s advertiser guide suggests resolving disputes with the partner first and then using its third-party complaint form, but Google does not transfer accounts for you. Your contract is what protects you, so agree ownership and hand-over terms before campaigns start.
A manager account, formerly called My Client Center or MCC, is a Google Ads account that agencies use to manage many client accounts from one login. Linking your account to an agency’s manager account lets them work in it, but according to Google it does not automatically give them administrative ownership.
An admin can add and remove users, so in theory yes. Standard access is enough for an agency to build and run campaigns. If you do grant admin access, keep at least two admins from your own business so you can never be locked out.
In your company’s name wherever possible. Paying Google directly means the invoice reflects the exact amount Google charged, with no fee mixed in, and your finance team can handle VAT treatment with a document that names your business.
How GM Digital helps
GM Digital sets up Google Ads for Dubai clinics, restaurants, property firms and B2B companies so that the client owns the account. We help you create it under your company email, link through our manager account, leave billing with you, and give you read access to everything we see. If you are comparing agencies, our Google Ads agency Dubai page explains how we work, and our guide to Google Ads management cost in Dubai covers what you should expect to pay. If you are weighing paid search against organic, read Google Ads vs SEO in Dubai.
Not sure who owns your current account? Send us a message on WhatsApp at +971 55 596 7707 and we will tell you how to check in five minutes, with no obligation.
