Local Services Ads Management, Pay Per Lead Done Properly

Local Services Ads are Google’s pay per lead ads for local businesses in the categories Google allows. They have no keywords, and they show above the text ads and the map pack with your rating and badge. You pay when someone calls or messages. Google Ads search campaigns are pay per click and keyword driven. The two reach different searches, and most local businesses should run both.

For an eligible business with someone answering the phone, usually yes, because you pay for contact rather than for clicks. They are not worth it for a business that lets calls go to voicemail, since missed calls are still billed and they rank you down. The audit says which side you are on before you spend.

At the top of Google Search results for eligible local searches, above the paid text ads and above the map pack, and inside Google Maps. The unit shows your business name, your rating, the Google Verified badge, and a button to call or message.

In October 2025 Google merged Google Guaranteed, Google Screened, and License Verified into one badge called Google Verified. In November 2025 the consumer money back guarantee ended. Businesses that passed the old checks kept their badge. New advertisers go through the Google Verified checks, which still include licensing, insurance, and background screening where the category requires them.

Google decides by category and by country. Home services, legal, real estate, health, wellness, beauty, and several automotive categories are eligible in the US, and the list keeps changing. Some trades are still excluded, and licensing rules differ by state. We run the eligibility check before we quote, so you never pay for a setup that cannot launch.

You pay per valid lead, and Google sets the price in an auction that varies by trade and by market. There is no click cost, and no minimum beyond what Google needs to deliver leads. Our fee for managing the account is separate and follows the model in the pricing section above.

Answer fast, collect reviews, and keep the Profile and the account matching. Keep the badge current, set job types and hours as they really are, and draw the service area where you actually work. Budget and Target CPA come after all of that. Google rewards the business that responds, and no budget makes up for a phone nobody picks up.

Not by hand any more. Since 2024 Google reviews leads automatically and credits the ones it judges invalid, such as spam or the wrong service. We log every lead, flag the patterns that should be credited, and raise them through the channels Google still allows. Leads are not exclusive, so the same searcher can contact three businesses.

The ads show in the same places and you still pay per lead. What changes is the management. Campaigns become Performance Max campaigns with pay per lead goals, the manual cost per lead cap goes away, and one Target CPA runs each campaign. Google is moving accounts in phases through 2026 and 2027, so the date depends on your category and country.

Yes, and for most businesses that is the whole plan. Local Services Ads win the top slot for the searches Google allows. Search campaigns pick up the rest: emergency wording, suburb names, competitor searches, and services outside your eligible categories. One senior lead runs both, from one budget.

You do. The Business Profile is the business’s own, and the ad account is in your name. Our access is manager access you can switch off whenever you choose. Walk away and the badge, the reviews, the lead history, and every report stay with you.

Yes. Austin is where Komplex sits, with people in New York City and Reykjavik, and most clients are elsewhere. Local Services Ads are local by nature, so each market gets its own service area, categories, and budget, set up city by city.