Local Services Ads connects verified businesses with customers. Local Services Ads are subject to the standard Google Ads policies and the requirements below.
All advertisers and third-parties managing accounts on behalf of advertisers must comply with these requirements when using Local Services Ads. For all advertisers, these policies apply to your employees, contractors, or other workers who provide services in customers' homes, workplaces, or any other properties on your behalf. You are responsible for ensuring your workers comply with these policies. For third-parties managing accounts on behalf of advertisers, you are responsible for sharing these policies with the advertisers and for instructing them to comply.
On this page
- Legal requirements
- Dishonest pricing practices
- Inappropriate behavior and safety
- Non-fulfillment of services
- Misleading representation
- Lead selling
- Circumventing systems
- Circumventing systems: Monetization abuse
- Minimum Provider Requirements
- Local Services Ads photos guidelines
- Headshots requirements
- Options to fix
- Related policies and common disapprovals
Legal requirements
- You must comply with all relevant licensing, insurance, privacy, or other regulatory requirements
- You are solely responsible for all compensation, licensing, regulatory fees or dues, insurance, or any other related costs and legal duties required of you
For more information, refer to the Legal requirements policy.
Dishonest pricing practices
- You can't provide low estimates that trick customers into booking services and later charge unusually high rates when the service is provided
- You should not increase the price when you arrive to do the work unless the scope of work or circumstance is significantly different than the customer described when the estimate was given
- Diagnostic charges and trip fees must be disclosed and the customer must be told they will need to pay that charge regardless of whether further services are provided
- You cannot exploit individuals in vulnerable situations or under duress, leveraging their immediate need or lack of reasonable alternatives to demand a payment significantly higher than the prevailing market rate
Examples (non-exhaustive):
- Quoting a price on the phone but charging a higher price upon arrival for the same job
- Charging a customer for work not completed
- A locksmith threatening to leave the customer unless a cost above what was quoted is paid on the spot
- Sending a bill to a credit collector before sending it to the customer
- Refusing to provide a customer a receipt
- Putting a lower price on the receipt than what was actually charged
- Stating you will refund the consumer a certain amount and then failing to do so
- Maliciously charging customers for unnecessary work
For more information, refer to the Dishonest pricing practices policy.
Inappropriate behavior and safety
- You should treat everyone with respect and act in a professional manner during every interaction. In cases of customer disputes, you are expected to work with your customers to resolve any issues, concerns, or damages
- You should not make threats, use derogatory terms, sexualize someone, stalk, disparage, physically intimidate, assault, or harass customers
- You cannot take any items that do not belong to you or vandalize a customer's property
Examples (non-exhaustive):
- Sexual harassment or misogynistic comments
- Threats of physical or sexual violence
- Speaking to the Google customer support representative in an inappropriate way
- Declining to provide service to someone based on a protected class such as race or gender
- Receiving multiple consumer complaints against you or your business regarding inappropriate behavior
Non-fulfillment of services
- You must complete and deliver the work you promise to your customers
- You must compensate for or otherwise resolve issues related to your work, including damage, incompleteness, or no-shows
- You should address customer complaints regarding your services
Examples (non-exhaustive):
- Accepting payment for work then never completing it
- Accidentally damaging customer's property with no compensation
- Leaving work partially finished
- Having multiple verified consumer complaints filed against you or your business for incomplete work, poor craftsmanship, and/or unresolved disputes
Misleading representation
- You should not provide erroneous information about accounts or account ownership, qualifications, licenses, insurance, work experience, service areas, work verticals, prices, or any other aspect of yourself or your business
- If your business license is geographically restricted to an area, you should not advertise your business as servicing outside of that area
- You may only accept the type of work that you are licensed, insured, and able to complete
- You cannot use the license of a person who does not work for their business
Examples (non-exhaustive):
- Posting content to your account that inaccurately represents your business location, equipment, vehicles, and employees
- Using a professional or business license of another person
- Saying or implying that you are an employee of Google or its affiliates, or that you otherwise work for Google or its affiliates
For more information, refer to the Misleading representation policy.
Lead selling
- You must accurately represent yourself to customers and cannot sell or pass leads to other businesses
- The leads you receive are only to be fulfilled by you or the vetted technicians of your company. Consumers should know exactly who to expect to provide the services that they are looking for
- Advertising on behalf of call-centers that re-route requests to other businesses not listed in your ads is not allowed
- Business communications with customers should reflect the same name or branding shown in your ads
Examples (non-exhaustive):
- Passing along or selling a lead to another business
- Passing along or selling a lead to someone who is not a vetted field technician that represents your company
Circumventing systems
- You cannot create duplicate accounts in an attempt to get more traffic or subvert competitors
- You should not engage in behavior that negatively impacts or subverts your competitors or other advertisers
Examples (non-exhaustive):
- Creating multiple or duplicate accounts to subvert policy actions or acquire additional traffic
- Driving spam calls to competitors
- Submitting false information as part of our verification programs
- After a previous suspension decision, attempting to use the Google Ads system again by creating new accounts to re-enter the system
- Having multiple ad policy violations across several of your accounts gradually or all at once
For more information, refer to the Circumventing systems policy.
Circumventing systems: Monetization abuse
Examples (non-exhaustive):
- Listing a phone number as your business name
- Diverting customers to a different phone number to avoid paying for a lead
- Attempting to trick our systems or support channels in an attempt to get credits for valid leads
For more information, refer to the Circumventing systems policy.
Minimum provider requirements
All advertisers must satisfy the business screening and verification requirements.
Local Services Ads photos guidelines
All photos must comply with the general Google Ads policies and the requirements below.
Business photos requirements
Local Services Ads supports uploading business photos that meet the following guidelines:
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File types: |
Resolution: |
Maximum size: 10 MB |
| You can only upload a maximum of 100 images to your account. If you receive an error when uploading assets, check the number of uploaded images to ensure you’re below this limit. | ||
Off topic
The following is not allowed:
Images that don’t relate to your business or the service offered by you.
Example:
Wrong watermark
The following is not allowed:
Example:
Phone number
The following is not allowed:
Examples:
Email address
The following is not allowed:
Example:
Street address
The following is not allowed:
Example:
Out of focus
The following is not allowed:
Example:
Bad lighting
The following is not allowed:
Examples:
Screenshot
The following is not allowed:
Example:
Duplicate image
The following is not allowed:
Headshots requirements
Select verticals on Local Services Ads including law, real estate, and finance may have a main business headshot for their ad. They also have the option to have headshots for individual professionals, such as lawyers, real estate agents, finance professionals, who show on the profile page.
Local Services Ads support headshots that meet the following guidelines:
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File types: |
Resolution: |
Maximum size: 10 MB |
| Content: Headshot image content must be someone who works at your business |
Aspect ratio: Headshots must have a square ratio (1:1) |
Examples of good and bad headshot photos
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| Shows the torso or below Should only show the head and shoulders |
Face is not centered |
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| Individual is not looking at the camera | Includes more than one person |
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| Is not a person (logo, buildings, objects) |
Is low quality |
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| Contains text or text overlays | Has a non-neutral background |
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| Is black and white or has excessive color filters applied | |
Options to fix
If your ad or photo is disapproved, you can follow the instructions emailed to you or appeal the decision if it appears in your Policy Manager. If you disagree with our decision or have any issues, you may reach out to Local Services Ads support.
Additionally, your account may be suspended if you have several violations or a serious violation. If this happens, all Local Services Ads in the suspended account will stop running. Any related accounts may also get permanently suspended and you may no longer be allowed to create new accounts. Learn more about suspended accounts.
Links to additional terms
The following additional terms apply to your participation in Local Services Ads.
- Google Ads Terms and Conditions
- Local Services additional terms for providers:
Related policies and common disapprovals
The following Google Ads policies are particularly relevant to Local Services Ads, and are often associated with disapprovals. Learn about what happens if you violate our policies.
Other restricted businesses: Local services
Some locations have advertising restrictions or require that you complete advanced verification before your ads can run. Refer to the Other restricted businesses: Local services policy for more information.
Personalized advertising
All ads using personalized advertising targeting features must comply with our Personalized advertising policy.
Destination requirements
When users click on an ad and are sent to a landing page, that destination should be functional, useful, and easy to navigate. Refer to the Destination requirements policy for more information.
Compromised sites
Destinations identified as compromised sites may represent harm to users and are not allowed. Refer to the Compromised sites policy for more information.
Clickbait ads
Ads that use clickbait tactics to drive traffic and to pressure the viewer to action are not allowed. Refer to the Clickbait ads policy for more information.