Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals

Google Local Services Ads is transitioning to a more integrated, self-service experience inside the Google Ads platform. This transition allows you to manage all your Google advertising in one unified platform while keeping the pay-per-lead model you rely on. Over the upcoming months, existing Local Services Ads campaigns will be automatically migrated to a specialized Performance Max campaign type optimized specifically for pay-per-lead goals. While the platform you use to manage your advertising is changing, where and how your ads appear to local customers on Google Search and Google Maps remains exactly the same.

On this page

• What’s not changing with this migration
• What’s changing with this migration
• Migration timeline
• What to expect during migration
• Bidding and budget adjustments
• Managing your campaigns in Google Ads
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What’s not changing with this migration

• Pay-per-lead model: You still only pay for valid leads (such as phone calls and messages) rather than ad clicks.
• Performance: The focus on high-intent customer connections is unchanged.
• Ad placements: Your ads in Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals will continue to show exclusively on Google Search and Google Maps in the same ad positions as before, as was the case with Local Services Ads.
• Keywordless targeting: Your campaign remains keywordless. Your targeting is based on the service categories and areas you offer with the other settings you select.

What’s changing with this migration

• A new home integrated with Ads: Manage your budgets, adjust targeting settings, and reply to customer inquiries directly from the Google Ads platform instead of the separate Local Services Ads dashboard. Please note that previous performance reports won’t carry over to Google Ads. You can refer to the FAQ section below for steps to back up your historical data before migrating.
• Bidding and budget adjustments: To align with Google Ads bidding models, manual bidding and industry-level Target CPA are being deprecated. We highly recommend reviewing the "Bidding and budget adjustments" section below to prepare your bidding strategy.
• Self-service campaign changes: You gain greater control over your local campaigns. In Google Ads, you can edit the phone number to which your call and message leads are routed in real time. Core business details, such as your business name and physical address, must be updated on your Google Business Profile and will sync automatically to Google Ads.
• Google Business Profile integration: Google Ads pre-populates your campaign setup using details from your Google Business Profile to make setup easier. Your business name, business address, and business hours sync in one direction from your Google Business Profile to Google Ads to ensure consistency. While core details sync automatically, significant updates to your business name or physical address will trigger a standard verification review to keep your account secure. This review typically takes 24 to 48 hours, during which your campaign may temporarily pause. Other fields, such as photos and service areas, are pre-populated but can be customized independently for your ads.
• Better Business Bureau (BBB) callouts deprecation: BBB callouts are no longer supported. To help your business stand out on Google Search, navigate to your campaign's assets tab and select at least 6 other structured callouts (such as business hours, specialties, or accepted payment methods).

Migration timeline

The rollout is structured to ensure a smooth transition with no disruption to your advertising. Rather than migrating all accounts at once, Google will transition businesses in the following phased approach:

• August 2026: The first phase of the migration begins for select home and storefront service advertisers in the United States (including plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, and moving).
• Late 2026: The migration expands to broader advertiser groups, including service-area businesses without physical storefronts and accounts with custom bidding or booking configurations.
• 2027: Non-U.S. accounts, and all remaining business categories that were not migrated in 2026 will transition to Google Ads.

What to expect during migration

Google automates the migration process so that your campaigns undergo minimal down time. To prepare for transition day, please keep the following process in mind:

• Advance email alerts: The account administrator listed on your profile will receive an advance notification email 14 days before your migration date, along with warning banners inside your current dashboard. A final reminder email is sent 7 days later. Your account administrator will also receive another email once migration is successfully completed.
• Automatic settings transfer: Our system automatically transfers your entire campaign setup to Google Ads. Your targeted locations, service types, business categories, budget limits, ad schedule, and business photos will move over seamlessly without requiring your manual input.
• Local Services Ads dashboard: Once your account is migrated, you will no longer be able to access your original Local Services Ads dashboard. Attempting to log into your dashboard on or after your migration day will automatically redirect you to your campaign overview in Google Ads. Please note that previous performance reports will no longer be accessible. Please refer to the FAQ section below for instructions on how to download your reports before migrating.
• Verification status carries over: If you have already completed business verification, your verified status and your Google Verified badge will transfer to Google Ads automatically. Insurance and license reverification are no longer required, but if any additional business-level checks are ever required, you will see a notification in your Google Ads account.

Important: While many ads will start running right away, please allow up to two weeks for the migration process to fully complete and for your campaign performance to ramp back to stable levels.

Bidding and budget adjustments

Bidding and budget management are adjusted to fit standard Google Ads bidding configurations. The following changes will be applied automatically on transition day:

• Weekly to daily budgets: Your historical average weekly budget is automatically divided by 7 to determine your daily average budget. This change does not affect your monthly spend, which is capped at your daily average budget multiplied by 30.4 (the average number of days in a month). Daily spend may fluctuate on high-demand days, but your monthly billing will not exceed this limit.
• Deprecation of manual bidding: Manual bidding (such as setting a maximum cost-per-lead) is no longer supported in Google Ads.
• Deprecation of vertical-level target CPA: Google Ads doesn't support vertical-level Target CPA bidding. If you previously managed different Target CPA amounts for separate verticals under a single campaign, a unified campaign-level Target CPA will be calculated and applied to all vertical categories. If you wish to maintain separate bidding rules for different business categories after migration, you can achieve this by setting up separate campaigns for each vertical (for example, creating separate campaigns for plumbing and HVAC in Local Services).

Managing your campaigns in Google Ads

When you log into Google Ads for the first time, it’s recommended to check your settings to ensure they are accurate. Familiarize yourself with these key local ad management workflows:

• View campaign performance: In your Google Ads campaign dashboard, you can view real-time performance data for your campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. Focus on key metrics such as the following:
  • “Conversions” (which displays the total number of leads for which you’re charged)
  • "Cost" (your total ad spend)
  • "Cost / conv." (your average cost-per-lead).
• Review budgets and bidding targets: Navigate to the Settings tab within the Campaigns menu. Select your campaign with pay-per-lead goals to review your daily budget and adjust your bidding targets.
• Review your targeting settings: In the “Settings” tab for your Campaigns page. Select your campaign with pay-per-lead goals to review your service areas, ad schedules, and business categories. These settings operate independently of your Google Business Profile once migration is complete, allowing you to customize your ad targeting without changing your organic business details.
• Pausing and resuming your ads: You can temporarily stop receiving leads at any time. Navigate to the “Settings” tab for your “Campaigns” page, select your campaign, and toggle the campaign status to Paused. To resume receiving leads, toggle the status back to Enabled.
• Managing Google Business Profile details: Your business name, physical address, and standard hours sync automatically in one direction from your Google Business Profile to Google Ads. To update these core details, you must edit them directly on your Google Business Profile. Other targeting elements, such as service areas and ad schedules, can be customized independently in Google Ads.
• Access Lead Manager in Google Ads: To check, download, or interact with your leads, navigate to the “Goals” dropdown, click Conversions, and select Leads. This table replaces your Local Services Ads lead inbox. It has all the same features that you’re used to, including “charged” status, lead type (call, message, etc.), a lead feedback form and the ability to download your leads to import into your own CRM.
• Manage message leads: If message goals are active, click on an individual lead to open your communication panel. You can read and reply to text messages or emails directly from within Google Ads.
• Manage your ad assets (Optional): Navigate to the Assets page. Here, you can upload up to 100 additional business photos to highlight your work and manage your business callouts (up to 6 per category). Keep in mind: While Performance Max campaigns generally require or support additional asset types such as Headlines, Videos and Sitelinks, these don’t apply to campaigns with pay-per-lead goals.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How do I know when my business is migrating?

You will receive a dedicated advance email 14 days before your scheduled migration date, and a prominent banner notification will appear inside your current Local Services Ads dashboard. On transition day, trying to log into the LSA dashboard will automatically redirect you to Google Ads.

Can I create a new campaign with pay-per-lead goals in Google Ads?

You can’t create new campaigns with pay-per-lead goals directly within Google Ads at this time. If you need to set up additional campaigns or local accounts, please continue to visit g.co/localservices. Campaign creation will become available later.

How do campaigns with pay-per-lead goals differ from standard Performance Max campaigns?

To optimize for a pay-per-lead model, this campaign type differs from standard Performance Max campaigns in the following ways:

• What you pay for: You only pay for valid, qualified leads (such as phone calls, message leads, or bookings) rather than standard ad clicks. Standard Performance Max campaigns operate on a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) model, charging you whenever a user clicks your ad, regardless of whether they ultimately contact your business.
• Search and Maps serving: Campaigns with pay-per-lead goals focus strictly on local placements, serving only on Google Search and Google Maps. In contrast, standard Performance Max campaigns serve across all Google ad networks, including YouTube, Gmail, and the Google Display Network.
• No Keyword Management: Campaigns with pay-per-lead goals are completely keywordless, utilizing information from your Google Business Profile instead of manual keyword lists.
• Google Verified Badge: Eligible businesses in select verticals can display the Google Verified badge on their profile page after passing required business registration and representative checks.
• Simplified Onboarding: Onboarding for campaigns with pay-per-lead goals provides for a simpler and less complex onboarding process, which does not require manual account linking, inputting business information, or setting up complex bidding strategies. Because campaigns with pay-per-lead goals serve on Google Search and Google Maps and utilize automated profile pre-population, certain standard Performance Max features, assets, and optimization practices are not supported.

Will my campaign performance reports (total spend, leads, etc.) carry over?

No. Your previous campaign-level performance metrics (such as past impressions, clicks, weekly spend, and ad-level performance reports) will not migrate to Google Ads.

What you should do: Because your historical campaign performance reports won’t carry over, you must download or export your data from your original Local Services Ads dashboard before migrating.
To back up your ad’s previous performance reports, follow the steps in “View reports on Local Services Ads” From there, you can manually save them.

Will my past customer leads carry over?

Yes. Your past customer lead history (including customer contact details, back-and-forth message history, and older call recordings) from your original Local Services Ads dashboard will automatically transfer to Google Ads and remain fully accessible within the new Lead Manager interface.

Why was my weekly budget changed to a daily average budget?

Google Ads manages campaign spend using daily averages. Changing your budget type simplifies platform integration and budget forecasting. While your daily spend may vary on busy days, your monthly spend won’t exceed your daily average budget multiplied by 30.4.

What happens if my business details change on my Google Business Profile?

Google Ads runs a daily sync with your Google Business Profile to keep key details aligned, including the following:

• Automatic updates: Changes to your business hours, phone number, and minor updates to your business name will sync automatically within 24 hours.
• Updates requiring review: Making significant updates to your business name, storefront address, or primary category require verification. Your campaign may temporarily pause while Google's operations team reviews these changes, which typically takes 24 to 48 hours.