Who Owns Your Website, Domain, Hosting and Marketing Accounts?

Too many businesses don’t know where the critical components of their digital presence are hosted, who controls the accounts, or even who legally owns them until they suddenly need access. By then, they may be scrambling to locate passwords, recover accounts, transfer domains, regain control of advertising platforms, or simply determine where essential business systems are being managed.

At SEARCHEN NETWORKS®, we believe a business should maintain ownership and control of the critical digital infrastructure it depends on. After all, that’s our job: to act in the client’s best interest when building, managing and protecting the systems their business relies upon

We call this Client-Owned Digital Infrastructure. SEARCHEN® can establish accounts, configure services, manage websites, administer servers, run advertising campaigns, maintain DNS, configure business email and handle the ongoing technical work while the underlying business infrastructure remains yours.

Managed by SEARCHEN®. Owned by You.

Management does not require ownership. A digital marketing company may need extensive administrative access to properly manage a client’s web presence, but that does not mean the agency needs to own the accounts or assets it manages.

If SEARCHEN® establishes a service for your business, it should be structured so your company retains appropriate ownership or ultimate control. We can set it up, configure it, maintain it and manage it without making your business unnecessarily dependent on SEARCHEN®.

What Should Your Company Own and Control?

A company’s digital infrastructure extends far beyond its website. Business owners should know who ultimately owns or controls each critical component of their online presence.

Your company holds the keys. SEARCHEN® handles the work.

Domains, DNS, Hosting and Servers

Your domain name is a fundamental business asset. Your company should know where it is registered, have access to the registrar account and retain ultimate control of the domain. SEARCHEN® can handle renewals, nameservers and DNS management without becoming a gatekeeper between your business and its domain.

The same principle applies to website hosting and servers. SEARCHEN® can configure hosting, administer servers, troubleshoot problems, maintain websites and handle the technical responsibilities required to keep them online. Your company can retain the underlying account and simply authorize SEARCHEN® to manage it.

If you change providers, you should not have to move a perfectly good server simply because your former marketing company owned the account.

Business Email and Google Workspace

Business email should never become unnecessarily dependent on a marketing relationship. When SEARCHEN® establishes Google Workspace for a client, the company’s email environment belongs to the company. SEARCHEN® can configure and administer it, while the organization retains control of its accounts and data.

If a company later terminates unrelated SEARCHEN® services, its employees should continue using their email as they did before. Changing a marketing provider should not create an unnecessary email migration or put company data at risk.

Advertising, Analytics and Marketing Data

Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising accounts can contain years of campaign history, conversion data, audiences, settings and performance information. Those accounts should remain with the business while SEARCHEN® receives the access required to create, optimize and manage campaigns.

The same applies to Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, email marketing, subscriber databases and social media accounts. A service provider can administer these systems and perform the work without taking ownership of the client’s accounts, history or data.

What Happens If Your Marketing Company Becomes Unavailable?

Client ownership is not only about changing agencies. It is also about business continuity. Companies close. People retire. Employees leave. Emergencies happen.

If SEARCHEN NETWORKS® were unexpectedly unavailable, the infrastructure we manage should not disappear with us. Your domain remains registered. Your server remains online. Your email continues operating. Your advertising accounts and historical data remain with your company. Another qualified provider can be authorized to continue the work.

Your business should never become a guest in its own digital infrastructure.

You Shouldn’t Need Your Digital Service Provider’s Permission to Fire Your Digital Service Provider

It’s deliberately blunt, but it illustrates an important principle. A service provider should not become a technical gatekeeper standing between a company and its own digital assets.

If you decide that SEARCHEN NETWORKS® is no longer the right provider, you should be able to remove or modify our access, authorize another qualified provider and move forward. Your domain, hosting, email, website, advertising accounts and business data should not suddenly become bargaining chips.

We believe clients should remain with SEARCHEN® because we continue to earn the relationship and provide value, not because leaving has been made technically difficult. This is also one of the considerations businesses should examine when switching digital marketing providers.

A Digital Ownership Checklist for Business Owners

• Can your company access its domain registrar and confirm ownership of its domains?
• Do you know where DNS is managed and who has administrative control?
• Does your company control its hosting or server account?
• Does your company have administrative control of its business email environment?
• Does your company retain access to Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising and their historical campaign data?
• Does your company control its analytics, Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools properties?
• Are your email marketing lists, social media accounts and other important business platforms under company control?
• Could another authorized provider access your website files and database if necessary?

The objective is not for a business owner to personally administer every platform. That’s what professional management is for. The objective is to make sure the business retains control of the infrastructure on which it depends.

Your Business. Your Accounts. Your Digital Assets.

SEARCHEN NETWORKS® can build, configure and manage the interconnected systems behind a modern web presence while keeping the client’s long-term interests at the center of how those systems are structured.

We believe client ownership is the right way to do it. It protects business continuity, preserves valuable data and gives clients the freedom to choose who manages their digital presence today and in the future.

We build it. We configure it. We manage it. You still own it.

Managed by SEARCHEN®. Owned by You.

Want to make sure your company maintains control of the digital infrastructure it depends on? Request more information or call us right now at 561-370-7366 for a free strategic consultation.