How you pay
You set an average weekly budget and a bid mode, and you're charged for each valid lead rather than for clicks. Google recommends Maximize leads, where it sets the bid. Leads judged invalid or low quality at first contact aren't charged, and charged leads are reassessed over time and may be credited automatically, in most cases within 30 days. Lead credits aren't available for health care verticals, tax specialists or advertisers in EMEA. (How leads work)
Job types, not keywords
There's no keyword list. You choose job types from Google's list for your industry, such as “install shower” for a plumber, and the service areas you cover. Ads become eligible when people search for those services and, through the broad search setting, for general category searches like “plumber near me”, which you can opt out of. We cover what that means for lead quality in Local Services Ads match job types, not keywords. Ads also run only on the schedule you set, so check it in LSA getting no impressions before touching the budget.
How ads are ranked
Listings are ordered by an auction that weighs your bid against how likely your ad is to produce a lead: your responsiveness (Google says missed calls may hurt it), the context of the search, how relevant your business is, and profile quality, which covers your rating, number of reviews, average response time, high-quality images and completed verification checks (About ad rankings). Marking leads Booked or Completed helps Google's systems optimize, but it isn't on the ranking list. More in what Local Services Ads ranking really uses.
What's changing: one badge, and a move into Google Ads
Google now issues a single Google Verified badge to advertisers that complete screening and verification, and has discontinued the Money Back Guarantee that came with the Google Guaranteed badge (About Google Verified badge). It is also migrating LSA campaigns into Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, managed in Google Ads: select US home service categories from August 2026, broader groups in late 2026, and non-US accounts in 2027. Pay-per-lead and keywordless targeting stay; weekly budgets become daily budgets, and manual max-per-lead bidding is no longer supported (Google Ads Help).
Common questions
How much do Local Services Ads cost?
You pay per valid lead, and Google says lead prices vary by location, job type, lead type and bid mode. You can spend more than your average weekly budget in a given week, but never more than your monthly max, which is your average weekly budget times 30.4 divided by 7.
Do Local Services Ads use keywords?
No. You choose job types and service areas, and your ad becomes eligible for searches related to those services. Google keeps this keywordless targeting after the move to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals.
Does the Google Guaranteed badge still exist?
Google has moved to a single Google Verified badge for all advertisers that complete its screening and verification, and discontinued the Money Back Guarantee tied to the Google Guaranteed badge. Reimbursement requests had to be submitted before December 7, 2025. Google says ranking isn't affected.
Can I get credited for a bad Local Services Ads lead?
Google reassesses charged leads and credits low-quality ones automatically, in most cases within 30 days. You can also rate a lead in the feedback survey. Google no longer credits leads for job types or areas you don't serve, and credits aren't available for health care, tax specialists or EMEA advertisers.