Google Local Services Ads for contractors: cost, ranking and setup in 2026

What are Google Local Services Ads?

Local Services Ads are a separate ad product from regular Google Search ads. When a homeowner searches for a service like "water heater repair" or "AC repair near me", LSAs show at the very top of the page: a few businesses with their rating, review count, hours and a Google Verified badge. The homeowner can call or message straight from the ad, and that call or message is the lead you pay for.

LSAs are available for most home service categories, including plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, garage doors, locksmiths, pest control, cleaning, landscaping and appliance repair. You pick the job types you want inside your category, so a plumber can turn off sewer line work, for example, and keep drain cleaning and water heaters.

How much do Local Services Ads cost?

You set a weekly budget, and Google charges per valid lead. Lead prices vary by trade, job type and city. Google does not publish averages, so the best public numbers come from agencies and software vendors looking at their own customers:

A lead is not a job. If one in three LSA leads becomes a booked job, a $57 lead costs you about $170 per booked job before your tech leaves the shop. That is still often cheaper than shared marketplace leads. In our Angi cost per won job breakdown, the same math lands near $300 to $350, because those leads are sold to several contractors at once. LSA leads go to you alone.

Google Guaranteed is now Google Verified

On October 20, 2025, Google replaced the Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified badges with one Google Verified badge, and ended the money-back guarantee that came with Google Guaranteed. Businesses that were already verified with current documents moved over automatically. The checks behind the badge depend on your category and state, and can include business registration, licenses, insurance and background checks. We cover the details in Google Guaranteed is now Google Verified.

How Local Services Ads rank

LSAs are not a pure auction. Google says ad ranking depends on a mix of factors, and the ones contractors can control are clear:

• Proximity to the person searching. You can't move your shop, but you can make sure your service area matches where you actually work.
• Review score and number of reviews. LSAs use your Google reviews. A steady stream of recent reviews helps. See our Google Business Profile guide.
• Responsiveness. How often and how fast you answer calls and reply to messages. Missed calls hurt.
• Business hours. Ads only show while you are open. If you answer 24/7, set your hours to 24/7 and you can show for night and weekend emergencies.
• Serious complaints and whether you have been suspended in the past.
• Budget and bid. Higher budgets and bids increase how often you show, but they don't fix low reviews or missed calls.

Local Services Ads vs Google Search ads

Most contractors should run both. LSAs catch the urgent calls at the top of the page. Search ads let you go after specific, high-value work like water heater replacements, panel upgrades or full system installs, and send people to a page built for that job.

Setting up Local Services Ads, step by step

1. Sign in at ads.google.com/local-services-ads with the Google account that owns your Business Profile.
2. Choose your category, the job types you want, and the zip codes or cities you serve.
3. Upload the documents your category and state require, such as license, insurance and business registration, and complete any background checks Google asks for.
4. Link your Google Business Profile so your reviews show on the ad.
5. Set business hours that match when someone will really answer, and a weekly budget.
6. Once verified, check the lead inbox daily, mark leads as booked, and dispute anything invalid.

Dispute invalid leads every week

You should not pay for spam, wrong numbers, job seekers, sales calls or jobs outside your service area or job types. Google lets you request credit for leads like these, within a limited window after the lead arrives. Agencies running plumbing accounts report that roughly a quarter to a third of LSA leads are invalid or very low quality, so a weekly review is worth real money. Listen to the call recording, tag each lead, and dispute the ones that don't qualify.

Measure LSAs by booked jobs

Google reports leads and cost per lead. Your business runs on booked and completed jobs. Every month, take your total LSA spend and divide it by the jobs booked from LSA leads in your field-service software. That cost per booked job is the number to compare against Search ads, marketplaces and your Google Business Profile.

Fullweek manages Local Services Ads on the Growth plan: setup, job types, budgets, weekly disputes, and AI answering so every LSA call is picked up and booked. You get a monthly report on cost per booked job counted from your own software. See pricing or get a free city audit to see where you show today.