What are Local Services Ads?
Local Services Ads (LSA) are Google ads built for local service businesses. Google describes them as a way to "advertise your business on Google and receive leads directly from potential customers." The ads appear prominently in Google Search results when people search for the services a business offers in the areas it has chosen.
Customers can call the business, send a message, or, in some categories, book directly from the ad. The business pays for valid leads, not for clicks.
Local Services Ads are available only for certain service categories, and moving services is one of them. Google asks businesses to check eligibility for their area before signing up.
How do Local Services Ads work?
- The business signs up with its business hours, service area, and services. Google uses this information to build the profile the ad links to.
- The business passes screening. Every business must pass Google's screening and verification process, which "varies by business category and location and may include background, business registration, insurance, and license checks, and minimum review requirements."
- The ad appears in the Local Services unit in Google Search when people search for the business's services in its chosen areas.
- A customer chooses the business. Google says businesses "only hear from customers who have specifically selected your profile out of all the rest." The customer calls the Google forwarding number on the ad, sends a message, or books.
- The business gets the lead by email and responds from its lead inbox.
Google says businesses aren't charged for the background check.
How much do Local Services Ads cost?
Local Services Ads charge per valid lead. There's no fixed price. Google says lead prices "may vary depending on your location, the job type, the type of lead, or your bidding mode."
The business controls spending with two settings:
- Average weekly budget: based on the number of leads it wants in a typical week. Spending can go above the weekly average in a given week, but Google says you'll "never spend more than your monthly max," which is the weekly budget times the average number of weeks in a month. Once the monthly max is reached, the ad stops showing for the rest of the month unless the budget changes.
- Bidding mode: the maximum the business is willing to pay for a lead. Google recommends "Maximize Leads," which lets Google set the bid to get the most leads for the budget.
Message leads are typically priced lower than phone leads, though Google notes that's "not always the case." Billing runs through Google Ads, and Google says any suspension of the Google Ads account also suspends Local Services Ads.
What counts as a valid lead?
Google charges for leads that are related to the business. Valid leads include:
- A text message or email from the customer (United States and Canada only).
- A voicemail, or a customer who meaningfully engages with an automated phone system.
- A phone call you answer and speak with the customer on.
- A missed call that you return by text, email, or call.
- A booking request (United States and Canada only).
Missed calls are now also chargeable. Google emailed advertisers in August 2026 that, starting October 1, 2026, "missed calls during business hours will now be charged as valid leads if a user stays on the line for more than 20 seconds," with a few exceptions. If a phone system requires callers to press a key to be routed, the 20-second timer starts after the key press, and there's no charge if the caller never presses one. Follow-up calls with the same customer can also be charged when the first call didn't qualify. Google's public help page still lists the earlier rule, so check your account notices for the current terms.
Google says leads "determined to be invalid or low quality are not charged." Charged leads are reassessed over time and may receive credits automatically if Google decides they were low quality. You can also report a poor-quality lead in the Feedback Survey for that lead, and Google says it "may also occasionally credit" those leads.
Some leads won't be credited, even if they don't turn into a job. Google's examples include a lead received outside your business hours, a customer researching prices, a customer who cancels a booking, a customer who doesn't respond to your return call, and a service you list but are temporarily unable to provide.
How does Google rank Local Services Ads?
Google ranks Local Services Ads in an auction that weighs the bid and the overall quality of the profile. The factors Google lists are:
- Your bid: the maximum you're willing to pay for a lead. You may pay less.
- How likely your ad is to produce a lead: this includes your responsiveness to customer inquiries, the context of the customer's search, and how relevant your business is to it. Google says "missed calls may negatively affect your responsiveness."
- Profile quality: "Your rating, number of reviews, average response time, use of high-quality images, the verification checks you have completed, and any other information about your business that may influence user preferences."
Google adds that if a business has multiple locations serving the same area, only the highest-ranking ad shows for a search.
For a moving company, the ranking factors point to the same habits: answer calls, reply to messages quickly, keep the profile complete, and keep earning reviews. See how to get more Google reviews.
What badge do Local Services Ads show?
Businesses that complete Google's verification requirements show the Google Verified badge on their profile. Google has replaced its earlier Google Guaranteed and Google Screened badges with this single badge. See what replaced Google Guaranteed and Google Screened.
Are Local Services Ads moving into Google Ads?
Yes. Google is moving Local Services Ads into the main Google Ads platform as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. According to Google:
- What stays the same: businesses still pay only for valid leads, ads still show only on Google Search and Google Maps in the same positions, and targeting stays keywordless.
- What changes: budgets, targeting, and lead replies move into Google Ads; weekly budgets become daily budgets; manual bidding is no longer supported; and past performance reports don't carry over, though lead history does.
- Timing: the first phase began in August 2026 for select U.S. home and storefront service advertisers, and Google's list for that phase includes moving. Google emails the account administrator 14 days before a business's migration date.
The details are in what is Performance Max.