Google Local Services Ads

What are Google Local Services Ads?

Local Services Ads are ads for local service businesses that show your business profile, your services, your service area, your hours and your reviews in a box at the top of Google Search when people nearby search for what you do. Instead of paying per click, you pay when a customer contacts you through the ad: a call, a message, or a booking request where that is offered.

They are only available in certain countries and service categories. Google's sign-up page has an eligibility check for your area and trade.

• How they differ from regular Google Ads: you pay per lead, not per click, and you do not write ad text or choose keywords. Google builds the ad from your profile and shows it for the job types and areas you pick.
• Where the leads go: to your Local Services Ads lead inbox. Google passes calls and messages through anonymised numbers and email addresses.

Source: Local Services Ads overview, Getting started, How you're charged.

How pay-per-lead works

You are charged for each valid lead, and each lead counts toward your budget. Google says a lead is valid when:

• you answer a call, or call the customer back;
• you miss a call during your business hours and the customer stayed on the line more than 20 seconds;
• a customer sends a text, an email or a voicemail, or a booking request (bookings are only in the US and Canada).

You are not charged for leads Google judges invalid or low quality when the customer first gets in touch, for calls where the customer never presses a key in an automated phone menu, or for the same customer contacting you again within 15 days. Google says message leads are usually priced lower than phone leads, though not always.

Google bills through Google Ads: you add a card or bank account, and you are charged automatically either 30 days after your last payment or when your balance reaches your payment threshold, whichever comes first.

Source: How you're charged for Local Services Ads, How to pay.

Google Verified badge (and what happened to Google Guaranteed)

Google now shows a single Google Verified badge for all Local Services advertisers. It tells customers your business passed Google's screening and verification. Advertisers who already met the requirements get it automatically; new ones earn it by finishing the screening.

Many older guides still talk about the Google Guaranteed badge and its money-back guarantee. Google is ending that Money Back Guarantee. Customers can still ask for reimbursement for qualifying services booked before December 7, 2025, within 30 days of the work being finished. If you see a page promising a Google guarantee on new jobs, it is out of date.

While you finish onboarding, Google may run pre-badge ads after the first checks. They show below businesses that have the badge. Google says the badge is not offered for auto, beauty and dining businesses, and pre-badge ads are not offered for garage door, health care and locksmith businesses.

Source: About Google Verified badge, Getting started with Local Services Ads.

How to set up Google Local Services Ads

1. Check that Local Services Ads are offered for your trade and area on Google's sign-up page.
2. Sign up (or ask Google's sales team for help). Add your business details, the job types you do and the cities, counties or neighbourhoods you serve.
3. Have your licence or business registration ready (registration if your trade does not need a licence) and confirm you hold the licences your work requires. Professional trades also need headshots.
4. Make sure you have reviews; some categories require them. Reviews come from your Google Business Profile, not the ads account.
5. Set up billing and choose an average weekly budget.
6. Finish Google's screening and verification to get the Google Verified badge.

Google does not say how long verification takes, and the checks differ by trade and country. Your account will list what is still needed.

Source: Getting started with Local Services Ads, Service areas and job types, Reviews on Local Services Ads.

Local Services Ads cost and budget calculator

Google does not publish a price list: lead prices vary by location, job type, lead type and bidding mode. So this calculator uses your numbers. Take your average cost per lead from your Local Services Ads reports (or Google's estimate when you sign up), then see what a weekly budget buys and whether the jobs pay for it. Nothing you type is sent or stored.

The formulas

Worked example (made-up numbers, not Google's prices): a $300 weekly budget gives a monthly maximum of $300 × 52 ÷ 12 = $1,300. At $50 a lead that is 26 leads. Booking 30% of them is 7.8 jobs, so each booked job costs $50 ÷ 0.30 = $166.67 in ads. At $450 a job and a 40% margin, 7.8 jobs leave $1,404 of gross profit, or $104 after the $1,300 of ads. Raise the booking rate to 40% and it becomes $572. Answering every lead fast is usually worth more than a bigger budget.

Google says your monthly maximum is your weekly budget times the average number of weeks in a month (52 ÷ 12 ≈ 4.33). You can go over the weekly budget in a busy week but not over the monthly maximum. Actual spend is often lower. Source: How you're charged for Local Services Ads.

How bidding works

• Maximize leads (Google's recommendation): Google sets your bid to get as many leads as it can for your budget. Google suggests a budget of about 10 leads a week for this to work well.
• Target cost per lead: automated, with a target you set or Google suggests. Google says to set it around the average you would expect to pay.
• Max per lead: you set the most you will pay for one lead yourself.

Your bid is the most you would pay; the actual price can be lower.

Source: How bidding works, About ad rankings.

How Google ranks Local Services Ads

Ads are ordered by an auction, but the bid is only part of it. Google lists:

• Your bid.
• How likely you are to get the lead: how responsive you are (missed calls can hurt), how well your services and bio match the search, the customer's location and time, and whether you offer messages or bookings.
• Profile quality: your rating, number of reviews, average response time, good photos and verification checks. Google says higher-quality profiles may rank higher and pay less per lead.

So the cheapest way to better ads is usually more genuine reviews and answering fast. Our guide on how to leave a Google review has a free review link maker, and BrickByClick's review requests email every customer after the job.

Source: About ad rankings, Reviews on Local Services Ads.

How to dispute a Local Services Ads lead

1. Sign in to your Local Services Ads account.
2. Select the menu icon at the top left, then Leads.
3. Open the lead and, at the top right, select Rate this lead.
4. Select Open, fill in the survey and submit.

Google also reviews charged leads automatically and may credit low-quality ones. Credits usually show in your balance within 30 days; the original charge stays on your invoice. A lead marked In review is being checked. Google no longer credits leads for job types or areas you don't serve, so keep your job types and service areas accurate. Credits are not offered for health care, tax specialists or advertisers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Source: Automated lead credits, How you're charged.

Are Local Services Ads worth it?

It depends on three of your own numbers: what a lead costs you, how many leads you book, and what a job leaves you after labour and materials. Put them in the calculator above. If the cost per booked job is more than the gross profit on a job, the ads lose money no matter how many leads arrive.

A note on us: BrickByClick does not run Google ads and is not a Google partner. We build the part that comes after the lead. The Starter plan ($99 a month) keeps every customer and job in one CRM, sends estimates and invoices, takes card payments and emails review requests. From Front Office ($399 a month), an AI receptionist on its own local number can answer calls you would otherwise miss. To just bill a job, BrickByClick Free sends invoices with a pay link for $0, or use the free invoice generator.

Questions people ask