Google Local Service Ads: eligibility and setup
Google Local Service Ads explained: who is eligible, how screening and verification work, how pay-per-lead billing runs, and a practical setup checklist.
By Roozbeh Nazari · CEO
Google Local Service Ads are a separate ad product from standard Google Ads search campaigns, built for local service providers such as plumbers, electricians, cleaners, lawyers and some healthcare professionals. Instead of bidding on keywords and paying per click, advertisers create a profile, pass Google's screening and pay for leads: calls or messages from potential customers. Local service ads can appear above other results for relevant local searches, and qualifying businesses can show a Google Verified badge. This guide covers who is eligible, what the screening involves, how billing and placement work, and a setup checklist, based on Google's own help documentation. Availability and requirements change by country and category, so always confirm the details for your market before you plan a budget.
How Local Service Ads differ from search campaigns
In a normal search campaign you choose keywords, write ads, set bids and pay when someone clicks. With Local Service Ads you do not write ad copy or pick keywords in the same way. You choose the job types you offer and the service areas you cover, and Google matches your profile to relevant searches. Google states that you pay only for leads related to your business and the services you offer, and that you are charged when a potential customer contacts you through the ad by phone or message, not for impressions.
That changes what you manage. In search campaigns the main levers are keywords, ads, landing pages and bids. In Local Service Ads the levers are your profile, your verification status, your responsiveness, your reviews and your budget. If you want to understand how the standard auction works for comparison, our explainer on Google Ads cost factors covers the pricing side.
Who is eligible
Google lists Local Service Ads as available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and a selection of European countries, for specific service categories. Eligibility depends on both your location and your category, and some categories, such as auto, beauty and dining, are not eligible for the Google Verified badge. Before anything else, check the Local Services help centre for your country to confirm that your category is supported where you operate. If it is not, a standard search campaign combined with a well-maintained Business Profile is usually the practical alternative.
Screening and verification
Every business has to pass Google's screening and verification before it can take part. Google explains that the process varies by business category and location and may include background checks, business registration checks, insurance checks, license checks and minimum review requirements. In more detail:
- Background checks: in selected US and Canadian categories, checks can cover the business entity, owners and field workers who provide customer-facing services. Google notes that office staff do not require background checks and that no credit checks are involved.
- Business registration: the proof required depends on the country.
- Insurance: in some regions and categories, a valid certificate of insurance is required, and the business name and address must match the advertised business.
- Licenses: Google verifies applicable state, provincial or country-level licenses, and service professionals must hold the right licenses for each location.
- Business Profile: in some markets your Google Business Profile must be verified and connected.
Some businesses qualify for accelerated verification after an initial risk assessment. They can start showing sooner but must complete the remaining verification steps within 14 days to keep their ads running. Google also says advertisers are re-evaluated regularly and may be asked to repeat checks. Missing a request can lead to losing the badge, paused ads or suspension.
Setup checklist
Based on Google's getting-started guidance, a Local Service Ads setup moves through these steps:
- Create your business profile with accurate business information and service details.
- Choose your service areas: only the locations where you can actually take jobs.
- Select your job types from the categories available for your business.
- Set your business hours so leads arrive when someone can answer.
- Complete billing setup and set your budget.
- Add reviews where your category requires them, and connect your Business Profile where needed.
- Submit the licenses, registration and insurance documents requested for your category.
Two practical tips. First, keep the details identical across your ad profile, your Business Profile and your website; mismatched names or addresses slow verification. Our guide to Google Business Profile setup and optimization covers the profile side. Second, decide in advance who answers leads and how quickly, because a lead you cannot answer is money spent for nothing.
What affects visibility and lead quality
Google does not publish a full ranking formula for Local Service Ads. What it does state is that customer feedback matters: serious or repeatedly negative customer feedback may result in lower rankings, including not showing at all. Its policies also set clear conduct rules. Advertisers must comply with licensing, insurance and privacy requirements, give honest pricing, complete promised work, handle complaints and damage promptly, and never resell leads or pass them to other businesses. Tactics to avoid lead charges, such as diverting customers to other phone numbers, are prohibited.
In practice, the businesses that do well tend to focus on the basics they control: accurate service areas and job types, realistic hours, quick responses to calls and messages, and a steady flow of genuine reviews. None of these guarantees a position, but each one removes a reason for the system, or the customer, to choose someone else.
Measuring whether Local Service Ads pay off
Because you pay per lead, the core metric is simple: how many leads turned into booked jobs, and at what cost per booked job. Track every lead in a sheet or CRM with its source, date, job type and outcome. Review leads that were not relevant to your services and learn the dispute process in your account. Compare the cost per booked job with what the same jobs cost through search campaigns or other channels. If you run both Local Service Ads and search campaigns, look at them together, since they can appear on the same results page. Our paid media services include this kind of channel comparison as part of an account review.