What Are Google Local Services Ads (and Should You Run Them)?
With Local Services Ads, you pay Google for a lead instead of a click. Here’s how the screening, bidding and leads work, and how to tell if they’re paying off.
Google Local Services Ads (LSA) are ads where you pay for a lead. They're open to eligible local service categories and can show above or next to the other local results.
You pay per lead, not per click
With LSA, you pay for eligible calls or messages that come through the platform. The customer can still call other companies too. Judge LSA by how many leads turn into jobs you'd actually want.
The “Google Verified” badge
Before your ads run, Google screens your business. Depending on your trade and location, that can include business, license, insurance or background checks, and finishing them earns the Google Verified badge. Read Google's current badge guidance and qualification requirements before you plan a launch.
Who LSA is a good fit for
- Licensed home-service trades like HVAC, plumbing, roofing and electrical.
- Businesses where someone owns each new lead and answers quickly. Google says responsiveness affects where your ad ranks.
- Anyone tired of paying for shared, junk leads from third-party lead sites.
The catch: you have to stay on top of it
LSA isn't set-and-forget. Response speed, disputing bad leads, your profile, budget and bidding all change the outcome. If someone runs it for you, they should show you what you pay per good lead and per booked job.
What to sort out before you spend a dollar
Write these down before you launch:
- the exact jobs you want and the area you want to cover;
- who answers each new call or message, and during which hours;
- what counts as a good lead, a bad lead, a disputed lead or a booked job;
- where you'll record what each job was worth and what happened with each lead;
- the most you can afford to pay for a booked job, based on gross profit.
Once you're live, sort leads by what actually happened to them. Cheap leads get expensive when many are outside your area, the wrong job or never called back.
How to judge the first month
Did we get enough leads to tell? Did we answer every one? Did we write down which were good and which booked? Do we know which services or areas deserve more money? If you can't answer those, fix your tracking before you spend more.
Wondering if LSA makes sense for you? Take a look at Get Leads, see how it stacks up against regular search ads in Google Ads vs. LSA, or fill out the free Local Marketing Scorecard.