Is Google Getting Rid of Local Service Ads? The Real Cost

Google Local Services Ads are moving to Performance Max: what it actually costs contractors. FIRST-PARTY DATA (PushLeads-managed Google Local Services Ads account, Bear Restoration, Asheville NC general-contractor category, 5 months Apr 23 - Aug 26 2026, pulled from Google Ads API v24 customer 7092252142): total LSA spend $7,043.25; 22,999 impressions; 132 total leads (76 phone calls, 56 messages); 83 charged leads; 49 leads NOT charged (37% dispute/credit rate). Cost per charged lead $84.86. Cost per lead all-in $53.36. By month - Apr: $477.25 spend / 16 leads / 9 charged. May: $2,101.44 / 35 / 25. Jun: $1,093.57 / 25 / 15. Jul: $2,124.92 / 38 / 25. Aug (partial): $1,246.07 / 18 / 9. Top service mix by lead volume: hvac_maintenance 16, clean_ducts_vents 7, home_remodel_renovation 6, home_building 4. CONTEXT FOR COMPARISON: the widely-cited SearchLight industry benchmark puts home-services LSA cost per lead at ~$53 - our all-in figure matches it almost exactly at $53.36, but the cost per ACTUALLY CHARGED lead is 60% higher at $84.86, which is the number contractors should budget against. MIGRATION FACTS: Google announced July 2026 that the standalone LSA dashboard is retiring and pay-per-lead LSA campaigns migrate into Google Ads as a pay-per-lead Performance Max campaign type, phased from August 2026 for US home/storefront categories. Pay-per-lead billing, top-of-Search/Maps placement and the Google Verified badge all stay. Ads do NOT expand to YouTube/Gmail/Display despite the Performance Max name. Historical LSA performance reports DO NOT transfer and Google gives only 14 days notice - export first. The Google Guaranteed badge was replaced by Google Verified on Oct 20 2025 and the $2,000 money-back guarantee was discontinued Nov 7 2025. - hero illustration

Key moments0:00 LSA Is Moving to Performance Max: What Every Home Service Contractor Must Know0:37 Who this is for1:03 Google Made It Official in July1:44 Three Phases: Who Moves and When2:21 Google’s Notice Window Is Razor Thin2:51 Staying vs. Going Away After Migration3:30 LSA Performance Max Is Not Standard Performance Max4:13 The Real Cost Per […]

How Do You Optimize a Website for AI Search and ChatGPT?

Key Takeaways Data tracked across 41 local businesses and 166 citation records shows that a contractor’s own website remains the dominant AI citation source, appearing in 38 of 39 cases. YouTube citations appeared in 23 of 39 businesses, accounting for roughly 15.5% of all citations. Yelp appeared in only 2 of 39. The practical implication […]

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