Google Local Services Ads: What a Lead Costs in 2026

Google Local Services Ads (LSA) are the ads at the very top of a search like “plumber near me”. They show your business name, rating and service area with a call or message button, and you pay for each lead instead of each click.

I pulled the last 90 days of Local Services data from 3 US accounts I can see through the Google Ads API: two pool service companies and a landscaper. They spent $4,508 and got 149 leads. Google charged for 89 of them, which works out at $51 per charged lead.

Since my 2024 version of this guide, Google Verified replaced the Google Guaranteed badge, and LSA started moving into Google Ads as Performance Max.

What Local Services Ads are

Local Services Ads show above the regular search ads for local service searches. Each ad has the business name, the star rating, the hours, the area served and a badge from Google. A searcher can call, send a message or, in some trades, book a job without visiting a website.

You don’t pick keywords and you don’t write ad text. Google matches the ad to searches from the job types and the service area you set, and ranks it partly on how close you are, your reviews and how fast you answer. LSAs are one part of a wider local PPC setup, next to Search ads and the map pack.

The main difference from Google Ads is the price. You pay for a lead, which is a call, a message or a booking, and not for a click. A searcher who reads your reviews and leaves costs you nothing.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

Google Verified replaced Google Guaranteed

From 20 October 2025, Google retired the Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified badges and replaced all three with one Google Verified badge. The Google Guarantee, where Google paid customers back for some bad jobs, ended with it. Search Engine Roundtable covered the change when Google announced it.

To get the badge a business still goes through Google’s checks, which can include a licence, insurance and background checks, depending on the trade. Screenshots in this post from before 2025 show the old badge.

LSA moves into Google Ads as Performance Max

Google’s help page on the move says Local Services Ads become Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, managed inside Google Ads. It happens in waves:

1. August 2026: select US home services and storefront advertisers.
2. Late 2026: service-area businesses without a storefront, and accounts with custom setups.
3. 2027: accounts outside the US.

MediaPost listed the first trades to move as plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control and moving. Search Engine Land reported that Google added new categories ahead of the move.

What stays the same: you still pay per valid lead, the ads still show only on Search and Maps, and there are still no keywords. What changes:

• Bidding. The manual max cost per lead goes, and so does a Target CPA for each job type. You set one Target CPA for the campaign.
• Budget. The weekly budget becomes a daily average, which is your weekly budget divided by 7. The most Google spends in a month is that daily average times 30.4.
• Reports. Your lead history moves across, but the old performance reports don’t. Export them before the move.
• Callouts. The BBB callout on the ad is discontinued.

Google emails each advertiser 14 days and 7 days before their account moves.

Before you get that email, work out your cost per charged lead from the old dashboard. It’s the best starting point for the new Target CPA, and after the move you can’t see the old reports to check it.

What an LSA lead costs in 3 US accounts

These are the 3 US accounts I can see that spent on Local Services between 18 July and 16 October 2026. I took the spend from the campaign report and the leads from the lead report in the Google Ads API.

Google charged for 89 of the 149 leads. The other 60 were in the lead report but cost nothing.

Dividing spend by charged leads gives $51 a lead, and dividing by all leads gives $30. Both are fair numbers. The first is what you pay per lead, and the second is what each lead in the dashboard cost.

Lead type	Leads	Charged	Share charged
Phone call	134	78	58%
Message	15	11	73%
All leads	149	89	60%

Nine leads in ten were phone calls, so whoever answers the phone decides most of the result. If calls go to voicemail during the day, you pay for leads you never speak to.

The two pool service companies paid $33 and $42 per charged lead. The landscaper spent the most, $2,047, and got the fewest charged leads, 23, so each one cost $89. Three accounts is a small sample, so read these as examples and not as a benchmark for your trade.

In the first version of this guide, in 2024, I wrote that we got LSA leads for $30 to $50 across a range of local service businesses. Two of these three accounts still sit in that range.

Google’s own estimate

Google’s Local Services Ads page has a budget estimator. The screenshot in my 2024 version of this guide shows 100 carpet cleaning leads a month in San Francisco’s 94108 zip code came out at $2,500 to $3,800, which is $25 to $38 a lead. Run it for your own trade and zip code, then compare the estimate with what you pay per charged lead after a month.

What sets your cost per lead

1. Your trade. Trades with bigger jobs tend to pay more per lead, the same pattern you see in the most expensive keywords on Search.
2. Your area. More businesses competing in one city push the price up.
3. Your ranking. Google ranks LSAs partly on distance from the searcher, review count and rating, and how fast you answer calls and messages. A business that ranks higher gets more leads for the same budget.
4. Your bid. Before the move it’s the max cost per lead or the Target CPA for each job type. After it, it’s one Target CPA for the campaign.

For ranking, the three things I’d work on are below.

• Reviews. Ask every happy customer for a Google review. A steady 1 or 2 a week helps more than a burst once a year.
• Answer time. Answer calls live during your ad hours, and reply to messages the same day. Pause the ads at times when no one can answer.
• Service area. Set the area to where you’ll really travel. A plumber may cover 30 to 50 miles, and an injury law firm far more.

Local Services Ads vs Google Search ads

	Local Services Ads	Google Search ads
You pay for	A lead: a call, message or booking	A click
Keywords	None. Google matches job types	You choose them and add negatives
Ad text	Business name, rating and badge	You write the headlines
Landing page	None. The lead comes straight to you	Your page
Where it shows	Top of Search, and Maps	Search results, and partner sites if you turn them on

Search ads give you control. You can bid on the exact job, cut searches with a negative keyword tool, and send people to a page built for that job. LSAs give you the top of the page and a price per lead, with none of that control.

Most of the local businesses I’d run LSAs for, I’d also run Search ads for, because many searchers scroll past the LSA box. My guides for plumbers, contractors and law firms cover the Search side.

How to set up Local Services Ads

1. Check eligibility. Enter your trade and zip code on Google’s Local Services Ads page. Eligible trades differ by country.
2. Link your Google Business Profile. The ad uses its reviews and hours.
3. Pass the checks for Google Verified. Depending on your trade, Google asks for licences and insurance and runs background checks on the business and the staff who go to jobs.
4. Set job types, service area and hours. Only pick jobs you want, because Google sends leads for every one you tick.
5. Set the budget and bid. Use Google’s estimate to start, then adjust once you know your cost per charged lead.

Are Local Services Ads worth it?

Local Services Ads are worth testing for any local service business that can answer the phone. You only pay for leads, and you get the top of the page with your reviews next to your name.

The businesses where I’ve seen them fail answered too slowly or couldn’t close the leads they got. In the 3 accounts above, 134 of the 149 leads were phone calls. I only run LSAs for a client with staff who answer calls all day and a sales process that turns a call into a booked job.

Watch the cost per charged lead for the first month, and listen to some of the calls. The landscaper account above paid $89 a lead, nearly three times the cheaper pool company, so the only way to know your number is to test it.

How much do Google Local Services Ads cost per lead?

In 3 US accounts I can see, from July to October 2026, the spend per charged lead was $32.74 and $42.43 for two pool service companies and $89.00 for a landscaper. Across all 3, it was $51 per charged lead, or $30 per lead if you count the leads Google did not charge for.

Do you pay for every Local Services Ads lead?

No. Google charges for valid leads. In the 3 accounts above, Google charged for 89 of 149 leads, or 60%. The lead report in the account shows which leads were charged.

Is Google Guaranteed still available?

No. From 20 October 2025, Google replaced the Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified badges with one Google Verified badge, and the Google Guarantee money-back program ended.

Are Local Services Ads moving into Google Ads?

Yes. Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. Select US home services and storefront advertisers move from August 2026, service-area businesses in late 2026, and accounts outside the US in 2027.

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

Local Services Ads charge per lead, show at the top of Search and on Maps, and use no keywords or ad text. Google Search ads charge per click and let you choose keywords, write the ad and pick the landing page.