What Is a Google Business Profile Organization Account? (Google Agency Account Explained)

A Google Business Profile Organization Account (also called a Google Agency Account) helps agencies, franchises, and businesses manage multiple Google Business Profiles, users, and permissions from one place.

Business groups sit underneath the organization account and help organize locations, clients, or teams more easily.

With 97% of users turning to online search to find a local business, managing Google Business Profiles efficiently is more important than ever for agencies and businesses with multiple locations.

In this guide, we’ll explain how Google Business Profile Organization Accounts work, how to create one, how to move Business Profiles into your organization account, and how to request client access more easily.

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What is a Google Business Profile Organization Account?

A Google Business Profile Organization Account is a centralized account designed for agencies, franchises, and multi-location businesses that manage Google Business Profiles at scale.

Instead of managing locations through individual personal Gmail accounts, an organization account lets teams organize and manage multiple business profiles, users, permissions, and business groups from one central dashboard.

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What are the benefits of having a Business Profile Organization Account for agencies? 

When you set up an Organization Account in Google Business Profile, you’ll automatically be able to: 

• Access Google Business Profile Insights so you can monitor how customers find and interact with business listings.
• Manage hundreds of locations more efficiently through bulk editing capabilities and the Business Profile API
• Avoid losing profile access when employees, freelancers, or contractors leave your business
• Manage employee and client permissions across multiple locations without updating profiles individually
• Keep client communication streamlined by allowing business owners to continue replying to reviews directly‍
• Organize locations, teams, and permissions more clearly through business groups and user group
• ‍Access Google support specifically designed for third-party agencies managing Business Profiles at scale
  

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Google Business Profile Organization Account vs Personal Account

If you only manage one or two business locations, using a regular personal Google Business Profile account is usually enough.

But once you start managing multiple locations, client accounts, or team members, things can quickly become difficult to organize. That’s where a Google Business Profile Organization Account becomes useful.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the differences:

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How Google Business Profile Organization accounts work

A Google Business Profile Organization Account is organized into different layers that separate individual client accounts, teams, and permissions.

At the top is the organization account, followed by business groups, user groups, and the individual business locations.

Here’s a simple breakdown of how the hierarchy works:

Organization account

This is the main account connected to your agency or business.

Your organization account acts as the central hub for:

• Managing locations
• Organizing teams
• Controlling permissions
• Handling client access requests

Most agencies only need one organization account.

Business groups

Inside your organization account, you can create business groups.

Business groups are used to organize locations or client accounts (note: some tools and older Google documentation may still refer to business groups as “location groups").

For example, an agency might create:

• One business group per client
• One business group per franchise
• One business group per region or department

This makes it easier to keep locations organized and manage access at scale.

User groups

User groups are used to organize people within your organization.

Instead of manually assigning employees to dozens of individual locations, you can create user groups and grant them access to specific business groups.

For example:

• The SEO team may only access SEO clients
• Account managers may only access their assigned locations
• Franchise managers may only manage their own region

This helps keep permissions cleaner and easier to manage as teams grow.

Who can create a user group in an Organization Account? 

Anyone in your organization can create user groups; there are different levels of access you can give to people you add:

Locations and Business Profiles

At the bottom of the hierarchy are the actual business locations and Business Profiles themselves.

These are the profiles that appear on Google Search and Google Maps.

Your organization account doesn’t directly own these profiles automatically. Instead, the business owner grants your organization or business group permission to manage them.

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How to create a Google Business Profile Organization Account

To create a Google Business Profile Organization Account, you’ll need:

• A Google account connected to your business domain
• An agency or company website
• A Google account that doesn’t already own or manage Business Profiles or business groups

Google recommends using one organization account per agency or business.

To get started, head to: https://business.google.com/agencysignup.

Step 1: Enter your agency’s website.

Step 2: Sign in with your business email. 

Use an email address connected to your company domain rather than a personal Gmail account.

Step 3: Confirm your primary Business Profile account.

Google will ask you to confirm this is your agency’s main Business Profile account.

Step 4: Complete the remaining setup steps to finish creating your organization account.

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How to move Google Business Profiles to your Organization Account

You can add Google Business Profiles to your Organization Account either by:

1. Using a client onboarding tool like Leadsie to request access with a single link
2. Manually requesting access through Google Business Profile Manager

Option 1: Use Leadsie to request access to client Google Business Profiles

If you regularly onboard clients, manually requesting access through Google Business Profile Manager can quickly become time-consuming, especially when managing multiple locations or assets.

Instead of walking clients through Google’s permission settings step-by-step, you can use Leadsie to request access to Google Business Profiles with a single link.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Create and send a Leadsie request link

Sign up with Leadsie and choose the assets you want to request access to, such as:

• Google Business Profiles
• Google Ads
• Google Analytics
• Google Tag Manager

Generate a Leadsie access request link and send it directly to your client.

Step 2: Your client approves access

The client clicks the link, signs into their Google account, and selects the Google Business Profiles they want to share access to.

Step 3: Leadsie handles the permissions automatically

Once approved, Leadsie automatically connects your Organization Account to the selected Google Business Profiles in the background.

This removes a lot of the manual back-and-forth normally involved in Google Business Profile onboarding.

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Option 2: Request and manage access manually through Google Business Profile Manager

There are two different workflows depending on whether you’re adding a single Business Profile or transferring multiple locations into your Organization Account.

Move one Business Profile through Google Business Profile Manager

If you only need to add a single Google Business Profile to your Organization Account, you can do it by requesting access through Google Business Profile Manager.

Before you start, you’ll need:

• An existing Google Business Profile Organization Account (you can create an organization account here: https://business.google.com/agencysignup)

Step 1: Sign in to Business Profile Manager

Open Google Business Profile Manager and make sure you’re signed into your Organization Account.

Step 2: Open “Manage invites”

In the left-hand menu, click “Manage invites.”

This is where you can:

• Request access to Business Profiles
• View pending invitations
• Track requests your organization has already sent

Step 3: Request access to the Business Profile

Click the “Request access” button.

Then search for the business name, select the correct Business Profile, and choose which business group inside your organization the profile should be added to

Step 4: Submit the request

Click “Continue” and follow the prompts to send the access request.

Step 5: Wait for approval

The person currently managing the Business Profile must approve the request.

Once accepted, the Business Profile will appear inside your Organization Account and assigned business group.

Tip: View, approve, decline, and track the status of your requests or invitations Inside Manage invites.

Move multiple Business Profiles through Google Business Profile Manager

If you’re moving multiple locations, you’ll first need to place them into the same business group and add your organization as an owner.

Before you start, you’ll need:

• An existing Google Business Profile Organization Account (you can create an organization account here: https://business.google.com/agencysignup)
• Your organization’s 10-digit organization ID
• A Google account that doesn’t already directly own or manage other Business Profiles or business groups

Step 1: Move the profiles into one business group

Sign in to Business Profile Manager using the personal account that currently manages the profiles.

Then select the profiles you want to move, click Actions > Transfer businesses, choose the business group that should receive the profiles, and select “Transfer.”

Important: You can only transfer profiles to business groups you own or manage. If you don’t already own a profile, you’ll need to request access to it first

Step 2: Add your organization as an owner of the business group

Inside Business Profile Manager, select the business group and click Group settings > Manage users.

Then add your organization account as an owner or manager of the group.

Once added, your organization account will be able to manage all current and future profiles inside that business group.

Step 3: Find your organization ID

You’ll need your organization’s 10-digit organization ID during the transfer process.

To find it, select your organization in Business Profile Manager, then click More > Details.

You’ll see:

• Your organization name
• 10-digit organization ID
• Additional organization details

Step 4: Accept the invitation from your organization account

Sign in to your Organization Account and open Manage invites.

If you belong to multiple organizations, select the correct organization first. Then locate the invitation and click “Approve.”

Once approved, the Business Profiles will appear inside your Organization Account.

Optional: Remove profiles from your personal account

After the transfer is complete, you may want to remove the profiles from your personal account to keep everything organized.

To do this:

1. Open the Business Profile
2. Click More > Business Profile settings > Remove Business Profile > Remove profile content and managers

Important: Removing a Business Profile from your account does not immediately remove the business from Google Search or Maps.

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