How to switch brand monitoring vendors without losing your history
A step-by-step plan for changing brand search monitoring vendors: inventory, archive exports, map field and metric definitions, run an overlap and annotate the change in reports.
In this article
- The switch plan at a glance
- Phase 1: inventory what you need before giving notice
- Phase 2: keep an untouched archive and a working copy
- Phase 3: map definitions before joining charts
- Phase 4: run an overlap that tests your real configuration
- Phase 5: cut over and annotate
- Decide what belongs in the new tool
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Frequently asked questions
- How Ads Lighthouse handles a move
- Related reading
The short answer: treat the switch as a reporting change as well as a software change. Inventory your configuration, archive the old vendor's exports untouched, map every field and metric to its new equivalent, run both tools side by side for two to four weeks, and mark the change in every recurring report.
Key takeaways
Open every export before you give notice or let the old contract end.
Keep an untouched archive and a separate working copy with documented cleanup.
Never join two vendors' share or visibility metrics into one trend line.
Keep the old tool or its archive available until every open case owner confirms they have what they need.
Done this way, a future analyst can tell exactly what happened on each side of the handover. The five phases below take you from inventory to cutover.
How we wrote this. Ads Lighthouse publishes this guide and may be the vendor you are moving to or away from. The plan below applies to any pair of vendors. We describe our own import and export options honestly at the end.
The switch plan at a glance
Phase | When | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
1. Inventory | Before giving notice | Full list of configuration, labels and open cases |
2. Archive | Before the old contract ends | Untouched exports plus a documented working copy |
3. Map definitions | During setup | A field and metric dictionary |
4. Overlap | Two to four weeks | Matched checks in both tools, differences explained |
5. Cut over | After acceptance | New schedule owner, old collection stopped, reports annotated |
Phase 1: inventory what you need before giving notice
List the configured brands, owned domains, keywords, engines, locations and devices, plus the check frequency and any temporary promotion schedules. Capture advertiser classifications separately from the observations themselves: a label such as "authorized retailer" may describe a relationship that did not exist when an older ad was collected, so record its effective date where you know it.
List every open case, its owner and what it is waiting for. Open cases are the part of a migration most likely to go wrong, because the evidence often lives only in the old tool.
Phase 2: keep an untouched archive and a working copy
Ask the outgoing vendor for a sample of every export you expect to keep, and open the files before the contract ends. Check that a colleague can find one specific observation using them. Include screenshots only when the service actually provides them and your agreement allows you to keep them. A spreadsheet of summary counts will not replace the original context if you later need to review one ad.
Save the original exports in an approved location with the export date and account scope. Use a separate copy for cleanup. Document any time zone conversion, domain cleanup or renamed fields, and keep the original values next to the normalized ones where practical.
Agree retention and access with the people who own the information. Restrict files containing account details or tracking identifiers, and decide who can open the archive after the old subscription ends. Do not assume the vendor will keep your account open while an export request is pending.
Phase 3: map definitions before joining charts
Build a short field dictionary. For each old field, record its meaning, the closest new field and whether the mapping is exact. Keep country and city coverage distinguishable. Never turn a failed check into a successful check with zero ads. Where there is no reliable equivalent, keep the field separate or leave the new value empty.
URLs need care too. Google distinguishes the display URL and the final URL; make sure you know which one each vendor saved before comparing destinations.
Metric names need the same treatment. Google's impression share uses your impressions and your estimated eligible impressions. A vendor's share of observed ads has a different denominator, and two vendors' "visibility" figures may differ from each other. Keep separate series unless you can document equal definitions, scope and calculation. Renaming both columns "share" does not make a combined trend meaningful.
Phase 4: run an overlap that tests your real configuration
Choose a period when both tools can check the same planned coverage. Avoid making an unusual promotion the only comparison window unless that promotion is the reason for the purchase. Match query spelling, engine, location and device as closely as the products allow, and note timing differences: two checks minutes apart can legitimately show different ads. Google's Ad preview and diagnosis tool is handy for spot-checking a disputed result.
Compare planned checks with completed checks in each tool, and account for failures and delays.
Review several individual observations rather than only comparing advertiser counts.
Ask a second analyst to retrieve the same query and device from both tools.
Keep unexplained differences in a handover note instead of deleting inconvenient rows.
Phase 5: cut over and annotate
Set a handover date, name the owner of the new schedule, and stop the old collection only after the new one is verified. Keep the old tool, or at least its archive, available until the owner of every open case confirms they have what they need.
The first report after the move should state the new collection scope and any break in comparability, so a step in a chart is not mistaken for a change in advertiser behavior.
Decide what belongs in the new tool
Historical data does not always need to be imported. A searchable, well-documented archive can be enough, especially if the new product cannot keep the original fields. Ask the incoming vendor to demonstrate any import before you plan around it. If imported observations get a new timestamp or lose their source, the convenience may cost you context.
Common mistakes to avoid
Cancelling the old contract before the exports have been opened and checked.
Importing an old list of "bad" domains without the reason for each label.
Joining two vendors' share metrics into one trend line.
Changing keywords and locations during the overlap, then crediting the new tool with the extra findings.
Frequently asked questions
How long should the overlap last?
Two to four weeks is usually enough to see normal weekly patterns and to repeat the review process a few times. Extend it if your business has a monthly promotion cycle you need to cover.
Should we import old data into the new tool?
Only if the new tool keeps the original timestamps, sources and fields. Otherwise a documented archive outside the tool is safer and easier to explain.
When should we give notice to the old vendor?
After you have opened a sample of every export you need and listed your open cases, and with enough time left for a two to four week overlap. Check the notice period in your contract first, since some agreements renew automatically.
Can we compare old and new visibility numbers?
Only if both vendors use the same definition, scope and calculation, which is rare. Otherwise keep two separate series and annotate the switch date. A share of observed ads is also different from Google's impression share, which uses your own eligible impressions.
What should the first report after the switch say?
State the date of the change, the new coverage (keywords, locations, devices, engines and frequency), and any metric whose definition changed. That one paragraph prevents months of misread charts.
Does Ads Lighthouse import history from another vendor?
No. There is no general importer for other vendors' histories. Keep your old archive alongside the app; the new history starts with your first check. Every table in the app can be exported to CSV or Excel, so you can archive your own data at any time.
How Ads Lighthouse handles a move
If you are moving to Ads Lighthouse, setup is quick: create a project for each brand, add owned domains, keywords, locations and devices, and scheduled Google and Bing checks begin on the frequency your plan allows. Your affiliate directory and advertiser labels are entered in the app. We do not offer a general importer for other vendors' histories, so keep your old archive alongside it; the new history starts on your first check. Advertiser and keyword reports, landing page captures and affiliate ID detection work from that point.
If you ever move away from Ads Lighthouse, every data table in the app can export the rows it shows to CSV or Excel, with your filters applied, so you can build your own archive at any time. An observation in either archive shows what appeared for one search; it does not prove a purchased keyword, spend or a violation.
See the product overview, plan limits on pricing, and the guides to creating your first project and exporting tables. The PPC teams use case shows the weekly workflow after a move, and terms are defined in the glossary. If you are still comparing vendors, our comparison pages, such as Ads Lighthouse vs The Search Monitor, are a good starting point. You can sign up for free and start a 7-day trial.
Related reading
Sources
Sources and claims last reviewed on September 23, 2026.
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