Local Services Ads vs Search for home services in Canada

Key takeaways

Local Services Ads charge per lead (a call, message or booking request), not per click. Search charges per click whether or not the person contacts you.
LSA needs Google’s screening before you get the full Google Verified badge. Start the paperwork early, because screening can take weeks.
LSA rankings depend heavily on reviews and how fast you answer. If your phones go to voicemail, Search may serve you better.
Most established home service businesses should run both: LSA for the top-of-page lead, Search for services, areas and searches LSA doesn’t cover.

You run a plumbing, HVAC or cleaning company, or you manage ads for one. Your Search campaign is paying $8 to $20 a click (example figures), half the clicks never call, and a competitor keeps showing above you with a green check mark and a star rating. That’s a Local Services ad, and you’re wondering whether to switch, add it, or ignore it.

This article explains how Local Services Ads (LSA) work and are charged in Canada, what the screening involves, how to get credit for bad leads, when a regular Search campaign is the better tool, and how to run both without paying twice for the same customer.

How Local Services Ads work

Local Services Ads appear at the top of Google results when someone searches for a service in an area you serve. The customer can call you, message you, or send a booking request straight from the ad. There’s no website visit required, and you don’t write ad copy. The ad is built from your profile: business name, rating, reviews, hours and service area.

You set it up by choosing your business category, the specific job types you offer (for example, water heater installation or furnace repair), and your service areas by city or postal code. Google says your ad can show for searches for those job types and sometimes for general searches like plumber, but for general searches it may only show if you offer the common services in that category. Pick every job type you actually do.

Is it available in Canada, and for which businesses?

Yes. Google’s help centre lists Canada among the countries where LSA runs, and Google’s Canadian LSA page lists home services eligible for the Google Verified badge. These include plumbing, HVAC, electrician, house cleaning, carpet cleaning, window cleaning, drain service, appliance repair, roofing, pest control, locksmith, moving, painting, landscaping, lawn care, snow removal, junk removal, garage doors, water damage restoration and general contracting, among others. Availability varies by category and location, so use the Check eligibility tool on Google’s LSA page with your exact category and postal code before you plan around it.

How you’re charged

You pay for leads, not clicks. Google’s help page defines a chargeable lead as:

An answered call, or a call you return that reaches the customer.
A missed call during business hours where the caller stays on the line more than 20 seconds (timed from the first key press if you use a phone menu).
A call to voicemail during business hours lasting more than 20 seconds, whether or not they leave a message.
A text message, email or voicemail from a customer.
A booking request (available in the US and Canada).

You are not charged for spam or duplicate contacts, missed calls outside your business hours or ad schedule, callers who hang up at your phone menu without pressing a key, or repeat contacts from the same number or email within 15 days of a charged lead. Lead prices vary. Google says they depend on the lead type, the service requested, whether the customer contacted other advertisers, and their past engagement with your ads. Message leads usually cost less than phone leads.

Bidding and budget

You set a weekly budget and pick a bid mode. Maximize leads is automated and is Google’s recommendation, with a suggested budget of at least 10 leads a week. Target cost per lead lets you set the average you want to pay. Max per lead is manual and caps what you’ll pay for any lead. Google says results take about two weeks to settle while the system learns your business.

What decides your ranking

Google names three factors: your bid, how likely your ad is to produce a lead, and your profile quality. Likelihood includes how responsive you are to customers and whether you turn on message or booking leads. Profile quality includes your rating, number of reviews, average response time, photos and completed verification checks. Google also says that if you regularly miss calls or ignore messages, your ranking can suffer. In practice, a well-reviewed shop that answers the phone can beat a bigger budget.

Screening and verification

To earn the Google Verified badge, your business goes through screening. Google says it checks applicable provincial or country-level licences, insurance where required (type and amount depend on category and location), and in some categories background checks on the business, the owner and service professionals, run by third-party companies. Urgent categories such as plumbing, HVAC, electrician, locksmith and garage door get extra screening. You also need a verified Google Business Profile.

Google’s US requirements page says screening averages three to four weeks after you submit documents, so expect a wait. Google offers pre-badge ads in some categories, so you can get leads after preliminary checks while full onboarding finishes. You’ll appear below fully verified providers. Pre-badge ads aren’t available for locksmiths or garage door services.

Before you apply, gather:

Your provincial business registration or incorporation documents.
Any trade licences your province requires for the work (for example, gas fitting or electrical).
Your general liability insurance certificate.
Owner and technician details, in case your category requires background checks.
A verified Google Business Profile with an accurate service area and hours.

Disputing bad leads

Bad leads happen: wrong number, a job you don’t do, someone selling you SEO. Google now reassesses charged leads over 30 days and automatically credits leads it finds poor quality, duplicate or invalid. You can also report a lead yourself with the feedback survey on that lead in the Leads page. Google says it may occasionally credit leads reported this way, so don’t count on it.

Make it a weekly habit:

Open Leads and filter for charged leads from the past week.
Listen to call recordings or read messages for anything outside your services or area.
Submit feedback on each one, with a clear reason.
Check the status later. It will show Charged, Not charged, In review or Credited.
If many bad leads trace to one job type or area, remove it.

When Search is the better choice

LSA is narrow on purpose. A Search campaign gives you control LSA doesn’t. Choose Search, or keep it as your main channel, when:

Your category or area isn’t eligible, or you’re still waiting on verification.
You want specific, high-value jobs like boiler replacements or commercial contracts. Search lets you bid harder on those keywords and send people to a page built for that service.
You have few reviews. New businesses with three reviews rarely rank well in LSA.
You can’t answer calls quickly. LSA rewards responsiveness. Search can drive form fills you answer later.
You need French-language control in Quebec. Search lets you write and test your own French ads and landing pages and add French negative keywords. Our negative keyword lists guide covers the basics.
You want to track value, not just contact. Search can import calls and jobs from your CRM as conversions. Google requires a forwarding number for calls from ads or your website to count as conversions.

LSA vs Search at a glance

Factor	Local Services Ads	Search ads
You pay for	Leads (calls, messages, bookings)	Clicks
Placement	Its own block at the top of results	Top and bottom of results
Ad copy	Built from your profile	You write it
Targeting	Job types and service areas	Keywords, locations, schedules, audiences
Setup time	Weeks, due to verification	Same day
Biggest ranking levers	Reviews, responsiveness, bid	Bid, ad relevance, landing page
Bad-traffic protection	Credits for invalid leads	Negative keywords; you pay for every click
Best for	Urgent, local jobs from well-reviewed businesses	Specific services, new businesses, tight control

Running both

Most established businesses should. They show in different spots, so running both gives you more of the page. Keep them working together:

Use the same service areas and hours in both, so a customer gets the same answer either way.
Track leads by source. Give each channel its own phone number and tag the source in your CRM.
Compare cost per booked job, not cost per lead. A $45 LSA lead (example figure) that books 40% of the time beats a $30 Search lead that books 15% of the time.
Shift Search budget toward keywords LSA doesn’t cover well, such as specific installs, commercial work, or areas outside your LSA service area.

Worked example

The numbers here are illustrative. A Mississauga HVAC company spends $3,000 CAD a month on Search and gets 60 calls and forms at $50 each, of which 15 book a job. Cost per booked job: $200. It adds LSA at $1,500 a month and gets 40 charged leads at $37.50, of which 14 book. Cost per booked job: about $107. The owner moves $1,000 from generic Search keywords like furnace repair into LSA, and keeps Search running for heat pump installs and commercial work, where it books higher-value jobs.

Common mistakes

Leaving the phone unanswered during business hours. Missed calls over 20 seconds are charged, and your ranking drops.
Selecting job types you don’t want, then paying for those leads.
Never asking for reviews. Reviews feed your ranking directly.
Comparing LSA cost per lead with Search cost per click. Compare cost per booked job.
Ignoring the lead feed and never reporting bad leads.

Your next step

Run the eligibility check for your category and postal code today. If you qualify, start verification now, since it takes weeks. While it runs, set up source tracking so that in 60 days you can compare cost per booked job across LSA and Search.

Sources: Getting started with Local Services Ads, Google Help · How leads work, Google Help · How bidding works for Local Services Ads, Google Help · About ad rankings, Google Help · About reaching customers with your Local Services Ads, Google Help · How providers qualify for Local Services Ads, Google Help · Business screening and verification requirements, Google Help · Local Services Ads, Google Business (Canada) · About phone call conversion tracking, Google Ads Help

Platform details as of November 2026.