What Are Google Local Services Ads?
Short answer. A Local Services Ad is moving into a Performance Max campaign with a pay-per-lead goal, managed in Google Ads rather than a separate dashboard after migration. You pay for a valid lead, not for a click. Ads can still show on Google Search and Google Maps, and the campaign stays keywordless.
What is a Local Services Ad once it sits inside Google Ads?
Google’s transition page says existing Local Services campaigns move automatically into a Performance Max campaign built for pay-per-lead goals. The pay-per-lead model stays. The tool changes. After migration, the old dashboard is not where you work. Opening it on or after migration day redirects you to the campaign in Google Ads.
For an HVAC company, a plumber, or a roofer, a person can still see the ad on Search or Maps. You are not buying a visit to a page you wrote. You pay when Google counts a valid lead. What transfers, and what does not, is in how Local Services Ads are moving into Google Ads.
What do you pay for, and where can the ad show?
You pay for a valid lead, not for a click. The transition page says you still only pay for valid leads, such as phone calls and messages, rather than ad clicks. The leads page says standard clicks on this ad are free. Placements stay on Google Search and Google Maps, in the same ad positions as before.
The campaign remains keywordless. Google matches from the service categories and areas you offer, plus the other settings you select. That is the contrast with a regular search campaign, covered in Local Services Ads vs regular Google Ads.
Google’s systems filter spam and duplicate contacts, and models can credit low-quality leads. That is not a promise that every junk lead is refunded. Manual lead disputes are no longer supported. A poor, duplicate, or invalid lead can be credited automatically. Accounts in the European Economic Area are an exception to that credit line.
Which businesses are in the August 2026 phase?
The supported-verticals page calls August 2026 phase 1 for select United States home and storefront service providers. The examples include plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, and moving. The phase 1 directory also lists other home and storefront types, such as painters, landscapers, and some auto and beauty categories.
Later in 2026, the transition page expands the move to broader advertiser groups, including service-area businesses without a physical storefront and accounts with custom bidding or booking configurations. In 2027, non-U.S. accounts and remaining categories move. Healthcare services, and advanced-verification categories such as locksmiths and garage door pros, are on the verticals page as 2027, not as the August 2026 phase.
Is dental or a med spa on the phase 1 list?
Dental is not in the phase 1 list on that page. A med spa is not named in that directory either. Do not plan either one as if it sat with plumbing, HVAC, and roofing in August 2026. Healthcare services are described with the 2027 expansion. If a category is not yet supported, the about page says the business is directed to the legacy Local Services portal during the migration.
What has to be true before this campaign can run?
The about page lists three requirements. The business must be located and operate in the United States. You need at least one verified Google Business Profile. The business must be in an eligible storefront or home services category. Extra screening may apply by category and location.
Name, address, hours, and review ratings on the ad come from that profile. You do not supply headlines, descriptions, videos, or sitelinks. Name and address are edited on the profile, then sync one way into Google Ads. A complete profile still matters when nobody is clicking an ad. Google’s local ranking page says complete, accurate information makes a business more likely to show, and that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. See how to rank higher in Google Maps.
Which contacts count as leads?
Phone calls are required. Messages and emails are optional. Bookings are optional and, on the about page, available starting in October 2026. The leads page limits booking leads to accounts with an active booking integration in the United States and Canada.
You can set cities, counties, or ZIP codes, choose categories (at least one and at most ten), turn service types on or off, and set an ad schedule. These pages do not publish one dollar price per lead. Why a local services lead has no single price explains that. Missed-call rules are in whether a missed call is charged.
FAQ
Do these ads leave Search and Maps after the move?
No. The transition page says Search and Maps placements stay the same. You manage them in Google Ads instead of the separate dashboard.
Can I add keywords later?
No. Keyword targeting is not offered. Google uses your services, service area, and the other settings you select.
Does a valid lead mean the customer booked?
No. A valid lead is a qualifying contact, such as a call or message that meets Google’s rules. It is not a job on the schedule.
Can I open a new pay-per-lead campaign inside Google Ads today?
Not yet. The transition page says new campaigns with pay-per-lead goals still start from the Local Services page. Creation inside Google Ads is described as coming later.
