Local Services Ads sit at the very top of the results page for service searches, above both the Local Pack and standard search ads. Each one shows a business name, a rating, hours and a Google Guarantee or Google Screened badge. You are billed per lead — a call or a message — rather than per click.
Briefly explained
- The top block on the page, above everything else.
- You pay per lead, not per click.
- Getting in requires license, insurance and background checks.
- Ranking leans on reviews, proximity and how fast you answer.
How do you get in?
Through paperwork rather than bidding. Google verifies your license and insurance, and for most categories runs background checks on the business and sometimes on staff.
That barrier keeps the auction smaller than standard search, which is the good news. The bad news is that onboarding takes weeks, and an expired certificate of insurance pauses the ads without much warning.
How does the ranking work?
Google names the inputs, and they are not the ones that drive search ads.
- Review score and count. See review velocity.
- Responsiveness. Unanswered calls and ignored messages push you down.
- Proximity to the person searching.
- Business hours, and whether you are open when they search.
- Budget, which sets how often you are eligible to appear.
Notice what is missing: keywords, ad copy, landing pages. There is very little to optimize, and a great deal to operate well.
How does the billing work?
Per lead, at a rate Google sets by category and area. Two things follow.
- A lead is not a job. The same wrong-number and out-of-area calls that waste your time are billable until you dispute them.
- Disputes are routine. Leads outside the job types or areas you selected can be credited. Filing them weekly is part of running the channel, not an exception.
Where do they fit next to everything else?
Three surfaces share one results page, and they are worth planning together.
- LSAs buy the top slot and bill per lead
- Search ads cover the queries and landing pages LSAs cannot target
- Local Pack and organic are the part you keep when the budget stops
A sensible split uses LSAs for the urgent calls, search for everything that needs a page to explain it, and local SEO as the asset underneath both.
What do the terms mean?
- Google Guarantee: The badge for home-service categories, backed by a limited Google-funded guarantee.
- Google Screened: What professional-services categories get instead.
- Job type: The category of work you have opted into.
- Lead dispute: Asking to be refunded for a lead you should never have been charged for.
- Responsiveness: How quickly and how often you answer. A ranking input here, unlike anywhere else in Google Ads.
Owner questions
