The short answer
- Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) are pay-per-lead ads for local service businesses, shown at the top of Google Search and on Google Maps. You pay for valid calls, messages and booking requests, not clicks.
- The old Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified badges were replaced by one Google Verified badge in October 2025. The Money Back Guarantee was discontinued; consumer claims closed December 7, 2025.
- To qualify you pass background checks, license and insurance checks, and need a public, verified Google Business Profile. Google says verification takes 3 to 4 weeks on average.
- LSAs are moving into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, starting August 2026 for select US home service categories.
- Invalid or low-quality leads are not charged, and charged leads can be credited automatically, usually within 30 days.
Local Services Ads put a business's name, rating, hours and verification badge above the regular search ads for queries like "plumber near me". The customer calls or messages straight from the ad, and that contact is the lead you pay for. Here is how LSAs work in 2026, including two big changes most guides have not caught up with.
What Local Services Ads are
LSAs are a Google ad format built for businesses that go to the customer or take appointments: plumbers, HVAC techs, roofers, lawyers, cleaners, locksmiths. Google says more than 200 service categories are supported across eight groups: home services, business services, health, learning, care, wellness, beauty and automotive.
Three things make them different from regular Google Search ads:
- No keywords. You choose your service category, job types and service area. Google decides which searches you appear for.
- Pay per lead. You are charged for a valid contact, not for a click.
- Verification first. Your ad cannot run with the badge until Google screens the business.
Home service examples include appliance repair, electrician, garage door, handyman, house cleaning, HVAC, junk removal, landscaper, locksmith, moving, painter, pest control, plumber, roofing, tree services and water damage restoration. Professional categories include many types of lawyer, financial planners, real estate agents and tax specialists. Eligibility varies by city, so confirm in Google's eligibility checker before you plan around it.
Google Verified replaced Guaranteed and Screened
If you have read about the green "Google Guaranteed" checkmark, it is gone. Google announced on August 20, 2025 that Google Verified would replace Google Guaranteed, Google Screened, License Verified by Google and the Money Back Guarantee, with the switch rolling out from October 2025.
- Existing advertisers who had completed verification got the new badge automatically.
- The Money Back Guarantee is discontinued. Consumers could submit claims for services booked through LSAs before December 7, 2025.
- The badge shows on your LSA profile and may appear on other Google surfaces, such as your Google Business Profile.
- Google Verified is currently unavailable for dining categories.
Google also offers pre-badge ads, which let some businesses receive leads while verification is still in progress.
How to get verified
- Check eligibility for your category and service area on Google's LSA site.
- Create your profile: business details, service area, job types, business hours.
- Pass background checks. Depending on category and location these cover the business, the owner and the field workers or providers.
- Submit licenses. Typically a state-level business license and owner license, with extra credentials for some trades.
- Submit insurance. Most categories need general liability; some also need professional liability or category-specific cover.
- Have a public, verified Google Business Profile. Google requires one for every LSA advertiser.
- Meet the review requirement for your category.
- Set up billing and a budget.
Google puts the average at 3 to 4 weeks after documents are submitted. The Google Business Profile step is the one most often overlooked, and a weak profile also hurts how often your LSA shows. The Google Business Profile optimization guide covers what to fix.
How LSA leads are charged and credited
Google charges for each valid lead. A lead counts when:
- you receive a text message or email from the customer
- you answer a phone call and speak with the customer
- you receive a voicemail
- you receive a booking request
- you return a missed call and either speak with the customer or leave a voicemail
Lead prices vary by location, job type and bidding mode. Message leads are priced on the customer's estimated likelihood to book, which considers the message, the requested service, whether the customer contacted other advertisers and past engagement. When you hit your budget, the ad stops showing until the next period.
Credits and disputes
Google now handles most lead credits automatically:
- Leads judged invalid or low quality when the customer first makes contact are not charged.
- Charged leads are reassessed over time and may be credited automatically. Credits usually land within 30 days; the original charge still shows on the invoice.
- Some leads stay charged even when they feel like a waste. Google's examples of leads that won't be credited: a valid lead received outside your business hours, a customer asking for advice on a project, a customer researching prices, a cancelled booking, a customer who never answers your callback, and a request for a specific service you don't do under a general service type you listed.
- Credits are not available for health care categories, tax specialists or advertisers in EMEA, and Google no longer credits "job type not serviced" or "geo not serviced" leads.
That last change matters. If your job types and service area are wider than what you actually do, those leads are your cost. Keep both tight.
LSAs are moving into Google Ads
Google is migrating Local Services Ads into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals:
| Phase | Timing | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 2026 | Select US home and storefront service advertisers, including plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control and moving |
| 2 | Late 2026 | Service-area businesses without storefronts and accounts with custom configurations |
| 3 | 2027 | Non-US accounts and remaining categories |
What changes for advertisers, per Google's help center:
- You still pay only for valid leads, not clicks.
- Manual bidding, such as a maximum cost per lead, is no longer supported.
- Weekly budgets convert to daily: your historical average weekly budget is divided by 7.
- Business name and address are managed on your Google Business Profile, not in LSA.
- Lead history transfers. Campaign-level performance metrics do not, so export your reports before you migrate.
- BBB callouts are no longer supported. Verified status and the Google Verified badge transfer automatically.
LSAs vs Google Search ads
| Local Services Ads | Google Search ads | |
|---|---|---|
| You pay for | A valid lead (call, message, booking) | A click |
| Targeting | Category, job types, service area | Keywords, locations, audiences |
| Ad copy | No headlines to write; the ad shows your profile details | Your headlines and descriptions |
| Landing page | Not needed | Your website |
| Verification | Required for the badge | Standard advertiser verification |
| Control | Limited; manual cost-per-lead bidding ending | Full keyword, bid and negative keyword control |
Most service businesses should run both. LSAs catch "near me" and emergency searches where the caller wants a verified local pro now. Search ads cover the rest: specific services ("tankless water heater installation"), higher-value jobs, and queries where your own ad copy and landing page win the job. Search also lets you add negative keywords, which LSAs do not.
A simple test: track cost per booked job, not cost per lead, for each channel over 60 days. LSA leads can look cheap and still book poorly if your job types are too broad.
Where Sprites fits next to LSAs
Sprites does not manage Local Services Ads. It runs the two things that sit beside them and affect how well they perform:
- Google Search campaigns. The Google Ads agent audits search terms and wasted spend, adds negative keywords, builds campaigns for your highest-value services and changes budgets.
- Your Google Business Profile. LSAs require a verified profile and pull business details from it. Sprites reads profile performance and the searches that found you, edits your description, website, phone number and regular hours, replies to Google reviews and publishes Google posts.
Every change is proposed as an editable approval card that you approve first. For trade-specific playbooks see HVAC marketing, plumbing marketing and roofing marketing.
Next step: if you are in a Phase 1 category, export your LSA performance reports now, before the migration removes them.