Do your clients control the SEO accounts you set-up for them? They should.

• I'm a new SEO starting out and I am wondering how to best handle customer account set-ups for Analytics, Adwords, Local Business Listings (etc) in Google. Is it best to do this under my own accounts or create a separate account for each customer?

Answer: That's a great question. Our personal experience as SEOs with dozens of clients is to set each of them up individually under client provided access info whenever possible.

Having your client accounts set-up independently from yourself or your firm accomplishes three things:

• It decreases the SEO footprint they have with you (remember, Google doesn't like SEO).
  
  
• It allows for a seamless transition if they and you decide to end the client relationship down the road (those are their accounts, not yours; many SEO's don't seem to get that).
  
  
• It helps immensely if you need to submit a Google reconsideration request for a client (coming from your own account is not a good thing-you want to have that submitted from an account tied to them directly).

As you mentioned with Google Adwords accounts specifically, you can easily and seamlessly link individual client accounts into your Google My Client Center (MCC) then unlink them if they do decide to move on in the future. However, you can't do that with Google Maps or Google Webmaster Tools accounts.

We are shocked at how many big SEM agencies still choose to operate from a hostage mentality with regard to client SEO account ownership. For those SEOs out there that are not setting-up accounts for their customers that they in turn own down the road, shame on you! There is nothing we hate more than having a new client come to us and say, "my previous SEO kept my Google Adwords account and now I have to start from scrat...