I run SEO for home-service businesses, so I spend most of my time on the free side of that page, the Google Maps rankings and organic results under the ads. But I get asked about LSA on almost every call, so this guide covers how it actually works: what you pay for, which trades qualify, how to set it up, what happened to the Google Guaranteed badge, and how lead credits replaced disputes. Every rule below comes from Google's own Local Services help pages unless I say otherwise.
Local Services Ads are a separate ad product from regular Google Ads. You don't write ad copy or pick keywords. Google builds the ad from your profile: business name, star rating, review count, years in business, hours, service area and the verification badge. When a homeowner searches for a service you offer in an area you cover, Google may show your profile in the LSA unit.
The homeowner can call you, message you, or (in some categories) book directly from the ad. That contact is the "lead." You only pay when a lead happens, and per Google's "How leads work" help page, leads Google judges invalid at the first contact are not charged.
I go through the numbers side by side in LSA vs Google Ads vs SEO, including when each one wins.
You set a weekly budget. Google spends it on leads, and the price of each lead depends on your trade, your market and the type of job. Google does not publish a fixed price list. What it does publish, on its "How leads work" page, is the rule set:
You can also choose between a "maximize leads" budget setting and setting your own maximum cost per lead in some accounts. Most contractors I talk to start on the automated setting and then complain the leads are too expensive. That's a fair complaint, and the only fix is data: know what one booked job is worth to you before you pick a number.
Third-party data is the only source here, since Google doesn't publish averages. SearchLight's February 2026 dataset, covering about $6.72M in spend across 888 contractors, puts the blended average at about $53 per lead, with trade ranges from about $39 (electrical) to $71 to $162 (roofing). I break that down by trade, with the math on cost per booked job, in what LSA leads cost in each trade.
The number that matters isn't cost per lead. It's cost per booked job. If you pay $60 a lead and book one in three, each job costs you $180 in ad spend before labor or materials.
LSA is only open to certain business categories, and the list changes by country and city. In the US, the home-service categories include plumbers, HVAC, electricians, roofers, garage door companies, locksmiths, pest control, cleaning, movers, landscapers, appliance repair, water damage, window services and more. Google keeps the current list on its "Local Services Ads eligibility" help page, and it's worth checking your exact category there before you start, because some sub-services inside a trade are not supported.
For the trades I work with, here is how LSA usually fits:
If you remember the green "Google Guaranteed" check, that badge is gone. Per Google's "About Google Verified badge" help page, Google replaced Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified with a single Google Verified badge in October 2025, and discontinued the Money Back Guarantee (consumers had to file claims before December 7, 2025). Existing advertisers who had passed verification got the new badge automatically.
People still search "Google Guaranteed" thousands of times a month, so I wrote a full page on it: how to get the Google Guaranteed badge today, what the checks involve, and what it costs.
Screening time varies by state and by how quickly your team submits documents. Expect a few weeks, not a few days.
Google lists the ranking factors on its "How ad ranking works" help page. In plain terms:
Notice how much of that overlaps with Maps ranking. Reviews and proximity matter in both. That's why I tell contractors that work on getting more Google reviews pays twice: once in the map pack for free, and once in LSA through a better ad position.
This is the change that frustrates contractors most. You used to be able to dispute a bad lead by hand. Google replaced that with an automated system. Per Google's "About automated Local Services Ads lead credits" page:
What this means in practice: track every lead yourself. Log the date, the caller, the job type and whether it booked. If you see a pattern of spam or wrong-trade calls, you'll have the evidence when you contact support, and you'll know your real cost per job instead of guessing.
It depends on three numbers: your average job value, your booking rate on LSA leads, and your cost per lead. Here's a simple way to test it.
| Input | Example (plumbing) |
|---|---|
| Cost per lead | $60 (inside SearchLight's 2026 plumbing range of about $57 to $69) |
| Leads that book | 1 in 3 |
| Ad cost per booked job | $180 |
| Average ticket | Your number |
| Gross margin on that ticket | Your number |
If $180 is a small slice of your margin, LSA is working. If it eats most of it, you're paying Google to stay busy. The example cost per lead is a third-party range, not a promise. Your market can be higher or lower.
My honest view: LSA is a good tap to turn on while your organic and Maps rankings are being built, and a good tap to turn down once they carry more of the load. The owners who get stuck are the ones who never build anything they own. If you want to see what that owned side costs, plans start at $750 a month with no contract.
LSA does not directly raise your map pack position. They are separate systems. But the inputs overlap: a complete Business Profile, steady reviews, accurate hours and a real service area help both. If you're running LSA and your Maps listing is weak, you're paying for leads you could be getting free. My guide on how to rank higher on Google Maps goes through what moves the map pack for a service-area business.
AI search is the other surface worth watching. ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews now answer "who's a good plumber in [city]" directly, and they pull from reviews and listings, not ads. I cover that in ChatGPT SEO for local businesses.
You pay per lead, not per click. Google doesn't publish prices. SearchLight's February 2026 data shows a blended average of about $53 per lead, with roofing at the high end (about $71 to $162) and electrical at the low end (about $39).
No. Per Google's help page, Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified were merged into one Google Verified badge in October 2025, and the Money Back Guarantee was discontinued.
Not manually anymore. Google now issues automated lead credits for leads its system judges invalid. Wrong job type and out-of-area leads are no longer credited, so set your services and map carefully.
Not directly. They are separate systems. Reviews and a complete Business Profile help both, though.
It depends on your state, your trade and how quickly you submit documents. Background checks, insurance and license checks all have to clear before your ads run.
LSA rents you leads. SEO builds rankings you keep. I'm the person who'll actually do the work, and I'll tell you on a short call whether LSA, SEO or both make sense for your trade and city.
Not ready to talk? Request the free 24-hour audit and I'll send what's broken, what it's costing you in calls, and the first three fixes.
I specialize in home services SEO: taking websites that sit invisible on page three and turning them into the business Google and ChatGPT recommend first. I started on the developer side, writing software and doing SEO on the side, until I saw how much home-service owners were overpaying for work that quietly hurt them. So I built a method that fixes the broken technical work and the outdated thinking behind it.
From garage door companies to plumbers, roofers, locksmiths and cleaning services, the playbook is the same: rank where your customers actually search, earn real reviews, and back it with a fast site that books the job. No PBNs, no bought reviews, no directory spam. Only work that survives Google’s next five updates. See exactly how it’s priced on the pricing page.
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