Google Local Services Ads: how they work, what changed in 2026, and whether they’re worth it

Key takeaways

• Google Local Services Ads are the sponsored listings at the very top of a local search. You pay for a lead, like a phone call or message, not for a click.
• Google Guaranteed and Google Screened no longer exist. Google replaced them with one Google Verified badge in October 2025, and ended the money back guarantee.
• From August 2026, Google is moving these ads into Google Ads as a special Performance Max campaign. Where the ads show and how you pay stay the same. Your old reports don’t move across.
• They run in the United States, Canada, the UK and eight other European countries. They aren’t available in South Africa or Australia.

“A company called me offering to get us Google Guaranteed. Is that worth paying for?”

That badge was retired in October 2025. So the offer was out of date before the call ended.

Local Services Ads are one of the few ways to pay for a spot above the map on Google. They can work well, but they’re surrounded by old advice and sales calls. This guide covers what they are, what they cost, which leads you can get money back on, what changed in 2026, where they run, and whether they’re worth it.

1. What are Google Local Services Ads?

Google Local Services Ads are sponsored listings that appear at the top of Google Search and Google Maps when someone searches for a local service, like a plumber or an electrician. The customer calls, messages or books you straight from the ad, and you pay for that lead, not for a click.

Search “plumber near me” in the United States and you’ll often see a row of businesses marked Sponsored, each with a rating and a call button. Those are Local Services Ads (LSAs).

They’re different from the two other things on the page:

• The map pack is the free map with three businesses underneath it. Google says there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking there. Our guide to Google Maps ranking explains how it’s earned.
• Normal search ads charge per click, whether or not the person contacts you.

With LSAs, Google’s own help page says you’re charged only when a potential customer contacts your business through the ad. A lead can be a phone call, a text or email message, or a booking.

There are no keywords. Google decides when to show you from your category, service area, the services you tick and your Google Business Profile, which also supplies your name, hours and rating.

Who can use them. Only certain categories are eligible. Google’s US list includes plumbers, electricians, HVAC, roofers, cleaners, lawyers, dentists and restaurants. You need a verified Google Business Profile, and you can check your category and area on Google’s Local Services page.

2. What happened to Google Guaranteed and Google Screened?

Google replaced them. From October 2025, every Local Services advertiser that passes Google’s checks shows a single Google Verified badge instead. Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified by Google were all retired, and so was the money back guarantee that came with Google Guaranteed.

Many guides still describe these badges as current. They aren’t.

Google announced the change on its official blog: one Google Verified badge for all eligible Local Services Ads profiles, shown alongside the specific checks a business has passed. Google’s badge help page confirms three things owners should know:

• Existing advertisers didn’t need to do anything. If you’d completed verification, you got the new badge automatically.
• The money back guarantee ended. Customers could only claim for services booked before 7 December 2025.
• Ranking wasn’t affected. Google says the badge change doesn’t change how ads are ranked.

What the checks involve. They depend on your category and location. Google’s getting started page lists licences or business registration, reviews and billing setup, and Google says additional background checks may apply for some categories. The badge isn’t available at all for auto, beauty and dining businesses.

Pre-badge ads. Some businesses can get leads while finishing the checks, but they show below businesses with the full badge.

What doesn’t work. Paying someone to “get you Google Guaranteed”. That badge is gone, and the only route to Google Verified is Google’s own checks.

3. How much do Google Local Services Ads cost?

Google doesn’t publish a fixed price. You pay for each valid lead, and Google says lead prices vary by your location, the job type, the type of lead and your bidding. You set a budget, and Google caps your monthly spend. What matters more than the price is which leads count.

Anyone quoting a single “cost per lead” for your trade is guessing. Google’s How leads work page says prices vary, and that message leads are usually cheaper than phone leads, though not always.

Your budget. After the 2026 move into Google Ads (section 5), you set an average daily budget. Google’s migration article says monthly spend won’t go above that daily budget multiplied by 30.4, even if some days cost more. When you reach your limit, your ads stop showing until the next period.

What counts as a valid lead. According to Google, you’re charged when:

• you answer a call and speak with the customer
• the customer leaves a voicemail
• the customer sends a text or email (United States and Canada)
• you return a missed call and speak to them or leave a voicemail
• the customer sends a booking request (United States and Canada)

Watch the missed call rules. Google has emailed some advertisers about changes to when missed calls are charged, and secondary reports disagree on the start date. Read any email from Google about your account carefully, and check Google’s help page before you plan your call cover.

So cost is really about how you answer the phone. Missed calls on a busy morning become leads you can’t turn into jobs.

4. Can you get money back for a bad lead?

Sometimes, but you can’t dispute a lead yourself any more. Google checks leads automatically and credits some it decides are low quality. You can also rate a lead in its feedback survey, and Google may credit it. Many common complaints, like calls outside your hours, are never credited.

Older guides describe a “dispute lead” button. It’s gone. Google’s How leads work page now describes two steps:

1. Before you’re charged, Google assesses each lead and doesn’t charge for ones it decides are invalid or low quality.
2. After you’re charged, its models reassess leads over time and may credit low quality ones automatically. If you think a lead was poor, you can say so in the feedback survey for that lead. Google says it may occasionally credit leads reported this way.

Automatic credits are only available in the United States and Canada. Google also says lead credits aren’t available for health care, tax specialists or advertisers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

What Google won’t credit. Google lists examples, including a valid lead outside your business hours, a customer asking for advice or researching prices, a customer who cancels a booking or doesn’t answer your call back, and a customer you refer to another business. It also won’t credit a lead for a job you don’t do if a broader service is ticked on your profile.

What to do about it. Untick services you don’t do, set your ad schedule to the hours you answer, and rate every poor lead honestly.

5. What happened to Local Services Ads in 2026?

Google is moving them out of their own dashboard and into Google Ads, as a special Performance Max campaign with pay-per-lead goals. It started in August 2026 with US home service trades and continues through 2027. Where the ads show and how you pay stay the same.

Google’s migration article sets out the details. The name confuses people: normal Performance Max campaigns run across YouTube and Gmail and charge per click. These don’t.

What stays the same:

• you still pay only for valid leads, not clicks
• ads still show only on Google Search and Google Maps, in the same positions
• there are still no keywords to manage
• your verification and Google Verified badge carry over automatically

What changes:

• you manage everything in Google Ads, and the old dashboard closes for your account
• weekly budgets become daily budgets
• manual bidding (setting your own maximum cost per lead) is removed, and one target cost per lead now applies across all your service categories in a campaign
• your business name, address and hours sync one way from your Google Business Profile, and big changes to your name or address trigger a review that can pause your ads for 24 to 48 hours

The timeline, from Google:

• August 2026: selected US home and storefront advertisers, including plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control and moving
• Late 2026: service-area businesses without a storefront, and accounts with custom bidding or booking setups
• 2027: non-US accounts and every remaining category

Save your reports now. Past performance reports won’t move to Google Ads, though past leads and messages will. Google emails administrators 14 days before the switch, and says performance can take two weeks to settle.

6. Are Google Local Services Ads available in South Africa?

No. On 29 September 2026, Google’s Local Services help pages covered eleven countries: the United States, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. South Africa and Australia aren’t on the list, so businesses there can’t run them yet.

Google’s getting started page has a version for each country where LSAs run, and categories differ between them. Many features, like booking leads and automatic credits, are limited to the United States and Canada.

If you’re in South Africa or Australia, you can still run normal search ads, charged per click. But much of what LSAs offer, a prominent spot with reviews on show, is available free in the map pack. Put the effort there:

• Get your profile right. Correct name, the most specific category, real hours and a phone number you answer. Our list of Google Business Profile mistakes covers the common ones.
• Get verified. An unverified profile can’t compete. Our guide to Google Business Profile verification walks through it.
• Build steady reviews. They matter in the map pack and in LSAs alike.

If LSAs arrive later, all of this carries over, because the ads use the same profile.

7. Are Google Local Services Ads worth it?

They can be, if you’re in an eligible country and category, answer calls quickly, have strong recent reviews and know what a job is worth to you. They’re a poor fit if you often miss calls or expect the ad to fix a weak profile.

Costs vary by trade and area, but Google says what its system rewards. Its ad rankings page says ads are ordered by an auction that looks at your bid and your profile quality, including:

• how responsive you are, and Google says missed calls may count against you
• how relevant you are to the search, based on the services you offer and your bio
• your rating, number of reviews, response time, photos and completed verification checks

In Whitespark’s 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey, 47 local search experts ranked budget and bidding, reviews, service selection and response times as the top four LSA factors. That’s expert opinion, not Google data.

Signs LSAs could work for you:

• someone answers the phone in business hours, every time
• you already have a solid, recent set of Google reviews (our guide on how to get more Google reviews helps)
• you know your average job value, so you can judge a cost per lead

Signs to wait:

• calls regularly go to voicemail
• your profile is new, thin or unverified
• you’d tick every service to get more leads, including ones you don’t want

Track booked jobs, not leads. Note which leads became paying jobs, so you know what each job really cost.

Weighing ads against SEO? Our guide to local SEO pricing explains what the work involves. The same profile and reviews feed both.

8. What did Harbour Electrical do instead?

Harbour Electrical is an invented business, used here to show the steps.

The problem. The owner watched a US video about Local Services Ads and wanted the top spot for “electrician Durbanville”. A week later, a caller offered to “get you Google Guaranteed” for a setup fee.

What they checked. Google’s getting started page had no South African version, so LSAs weren’t an option. The badge the caller was selling had been retired in October 2025. Then they looked at their own Google profile. The category was “Contractor” rather than “Electrician”, the hours showed them closed on Saturdays when they take call outs, and their last review was five months old.

What they changed. They switched the primary category to Electrician, fixed the hours on Google, Bing and Apple, and added their main services. They started asking every customer for a review after each job, with a direct link sent by text. They rewrote their DB board upgrade page with how quotes work and how long the job takes.

What they didn’t do. They didn’t pay the caller. They didn’t list 24 hour opening to look more available, and they didn’t tick services they don’t offer. If Local Services Ads reach South Africa, their profile will already be ready.

What to do this week

• Search your main service plus your area on your phone and note what sits above the map.
• Check your country’s version of Google’s Local Services getting started page.
• Ignore any offer to sell you Google Guaranteed or Google Screened.
• If you run LSAs, save your reports now, before your account moves to Google Ads.
• Untick services you don’t want leads for, and set your ad schedule to the hours you answer.
• Rate every poor lead in the feedback survey, honestly.
• Ask one happy customer for a Google review.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Local Services Ads and Google Ads?

Local Services Ads charge per lead, such as a call or message, and show only on Search and Maps with no keywords. Normal search ads charge per click. Since 2026, both are managed inside Google Ads, but they still work differently.

Is Google Guaranteed still available?

No. Google replaced Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified by Google with one Google Verified badge in October 2025. The money back guarantee also ended. Verified businesses were moved to the new badge automatically.

Do I need a Google Business Profile for Local Services Ads?

Yes. You need at least one verified Google Business Profile. Your business name, address, hours and review rating come from it, so keep it accurate.

Do Local Services Ads help my map pack ranking?

Google says you can’t pay for a better local ranking. The ads sit in their own paid spot. Whitespark’s expert survey ranks paid Google products near the bottom of its map pack factor list, so treat the two separately.

Can I choose which keywords trigger my Local Services Ads?

No. They’re keywordless. Google uses your business categories, the service types you switch on, your service area and your ad schedule. Keeping your service list tight is the main way to control which searches bring leads.

Are Local Services Ads available in Australia?

Not as of 29 September 2026. Google’s Local Services help pages covered eleven countries: the United States, Canada, the UK and eight other European countries. Australia and South Africa weren’t among them.

What happens to my Local Services Ads when my account moves to Google Ads?

Your ads keep running on Search and Maps, on the same pay-per-lead basis. Your settings, leads and badge move across. Past performance reports don’t, so save them before the switch.

Want to know where your business stands?

Most owners are told to buy ads before anyone looks at the profile the ads depend on. Our free audit checks your Google profile, reviews, website and AI visibility, and shows what’s holding you back.

Book a free discovery call and choose the audit that fits: AI Visibility & GEO, SEO, or Local Business SEO. No pitch until you’ve seen the gap.

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Related reading

• Google Maps ranking: why you’re not in the map pack, and how to fix it
• Google Business Profile verification: how to get verified, and what to do when it fails
• 12 Google Business Profile mistakes that quietly cost you calls

About the author

Bantu Nonyukela is the founder of SearchLimelight. He has spent ten years in SEO, after starting out as a front-end developer, and is a Toptal-verified SEO expert. From Cape Town, he helps small and medium businesses in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and South Africa get found in search and named by AI. Connect on LinkedIn

Sources

• Google Ads Help, Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals: support.google.com
• Google Ads Help, About pay-per-lead goals for Performance Max campaigns: support.google.com
• Local Services Help, Getting started with Local Services Ads: support.google.com
• Local Services Help, How leads work: support.google.com
• Local Services Help, About ad rankings: support.google.com
• Local Services Help, About Google Verified badge: support.google.com
• Google, “Google Verified makes it easier to find trusted local businesses advertising on Google”: blog.google
• Google Business Profile Help, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google: support.google.com
• Whitespark, 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors: whitespark.ca