The honest answer is that you should not have to hand over raw passwords at all. A reputable SEO company will ask for delegated access through the proper user-permission systems built into each platform, not for the password to your accounts. If a provider insists on collecting your actual login credentials, treat that as a warning sign rather than a normal request.
Why sharing passwords is the wrong approach
A password is a master key. When you give someone the password to your Google account, your hosting account, or your content management system, you are giving them access to everything tied to that login, not just the part they need for SEO work. You also lose any record of who did what, since every action appears to come from you. And if that password is reused anywhere else, you have widened the exposure well beyond a single project.
There is a better model. Every major platform an SEO company needs already supports adding outside collaborators by email at a specific permission level. This keeps your password private, creates a clear audit trail, and lets you remove access with a single click when the work ends.
Use built-in roles and delegated access
For the tools an SEO company most often needs, grant access this way instead of sharing a login:
In Google Search Console, go to Settings, then Users and permissions, and add the agency’s email as a Full user. Full access lets them view reports, submit sitemaps, and inspect URLs without the ability to manage other users. Reserve Owner status for yourself.
In Google Analytics 4, open Admin, then Account Access Management, and add the agency at the property level. An Analyst or Marketer role is usually enough for SEO reporting and optimization work, and you can avoid granting Administrator rights.
In Google Business Profile, add the agency as a Manager, not an Owner. The Manager role allows them to update business information and respond to reviews while you retain ownership of the listing.
In WordPress or another content management system, create a separate user account for each person at the lowest role that fits the work, such as Editor rather than Administrator.
With domain registrars and hosting providers, look for a delegate or account-access feature that lets you invite a collaborator by email rather than sharing the main account password.
The guiding principle is least privilege: give the minimum permission level needed for the task, at the account or property level, and nothing more.
When a credential genuinely must be shared
Some older tools and logins do not support multiple users or role-based access. If a credential truly must be shared, do not send it by email, text message, or a shared document. Use a reputable password manager that allows you to share an item securely without revealing the underlying password, and that lets you revoke that share later. Wherever possible, turn on two-factor authentication on the account so a stolen password alone is not enough to log in. Be aware that two-factor codes tied to your personal phone can complicate shared access, which is another reason delegated roles are preferable to shared logins.
Keep ownership and close out access cleanly
Throughout the engagement, make sure the core accounts are created under your own email and that you hold the Owner or Administrator role on each one. The SEO company should be a collaborator on your accounts, not the owner of them. This protects you if the relationship ends, because the agency cannot lock you out of property you depend on.
When the engagement is over, do not simply assume access has lapsed. Go through each platform, remove the agency’s user accounts, and cancel any password-manager shares. If a password was ever shared for a tool that did not support roles, change it. A clean offboarding is just as important as careful onboarding.
Trust, in this context, is not about whether the agency seems honest. It is about using systems that limit what any single party can do and that let you reverse access at any time. A trustworthy SEO company will welcome that approach, because it protects them as much as it protects you.