What are Google Local Services Ads?
Google Local Services Ads are ads for local service providers that appear in Google Search when someone looks for a service you offer in an area you cover. Customers contact you straight from the ad by calling or sending a message, and you manage those leads in your Local Services account.
They are different from regular Google Ads. You do not write ad copy or pick keywords. Google builds the ad from your profile: business name, reviews, hours, service areas, job types and verification badge.
How does pay-per-lead pricing work?
Google states that you pay only for leads related to your business and the services you offer. A lead is a customer contacting you through the ad. You set a weekly budget, and Google uses it to decide how many leads it tries to send you.
There are three bidding options in Local Services Ads:
- Maximize leads: Google sets your bid automatically to get as many leads as your weekly budget allows.
- Target cost per lead: you use Google's suggested target or set your own average price per lead.
- Max per lead: you set the most you are willing to pay for a single lead.
What does Google Guaranteed, Google Screened or Google Verified mean?
For years, home service businesses earned a Google Guaranteed badge and professional services earned Google Screened. Google is moving advertisers to a single Google Verified badge and has discontinued the money-back guarantee that came with Google Guaranteed. Businesses that already completed verification receive the new badge automatically.
What has not changed is the work behind the badge. Depending on your category and location, Google's screening and verification can include:
- Background checks on the business owners and, in some categories, the service workers, run by Google's background check partners.
- License checks against state and local government databases. Every location and professional must be properly licensed.
- Proof of insurance that meets the minimum for your category, in the business's advertised name, valid at least 14 days after you submit it.
- Business registration, which in the US is verified through a D-U-N-S number or an alternative such as a Secretary of State registration or an IRS EIN.
- A minimum number of reviews and a linked Google Business Profile.
What happens with bad leads and lead credits?
Not every lead is a real customer. Google now assesses leads automatically: leads its systems judge invalid or low quality are not charged, and charged leads can be credited later, usually within 30 days. Google no longer credits leads for job types or areas you do not serve, so your settings have to be exact.
We rate leads inside the account every week. That feedback helps Google send better-matched leads, and it is how we spot settings that attract the wrong calls.
Why do reviews and response time matter in Local Services Ads?
Bidding can raise your position, but Google says quality still counts, specifically responsiveness and reviews. A business that misses calls or answers messages late tends to lose ground to competitors who pick up. We help you set up a process to ask every customer for a review and to answer leads fast, including automated replies to messages when your crew is on a job.
Local Services Ads vs. Google Search ads: which one do you need?
Local Services Ads charge per lead and are built by Google from your profile, so you control very little: no keywords, no ad text, no landing page. Search ads charge per click and give you full control over keywords, messaging, schedule and the page people land on.
Many contractors run both. LSA captures people ready to call now; Search ads cover the job types and areas LSA does not, and send traffic to pages you own.
Which businesses can use Local Services Ads for contractors?
Local Services Ads are available in the United States and some other countries, for categories that Google lists in each area. Home services are the core: movers, roofers, HVAC, plumbers, electricians, cleaners, general contractors and remodelers, among others. Available categories and job types depend on your location, so we check your exact category before we start. Local Services Ads are not offered in Colombia.