Google Local Services Ads are the listings with a Google Verified badge that appear above the normal ads when someone searches for a plumber, electrician or roofer near them. You pay per lead, such as a call or message, not per click, and Google checks your business before the badge appears. In the UK they’re available for most home-service trades. There’s no reliable UK average cost per lead: it depends on your trade, your area and how many firms are competing, and Google shows an estimate when you set up.
This guide covers how they work, what they cost, the UK details that catch people out, the move into Google Ads in 2027, and how they fit alongside normal Google search ads.
How Local Services Ads work
- You choose the jobs and areas, not keywords. You pick the job types you do and the postcodes or towns you cover, and Google decides which searches to show you for.
- Customers contact you from the ad. Your listing shows your rating, reviews, hours and the Google Verified badge. People call or message you directly from it, without visiting your website.
- You pay for leads, not clicks. A charged lead is a call, message or booking request related to your services. Google’s help pages say follow-ups from the same customer within 15 days aren’t charged again.
- Ranking isn’t just about budget. Google says it weighs your bid, how relevant your services are to the search, how responsive you are (missed calls count against you) and your profile quality, including your rating, number of reviews, response time and photos.
The Google Verified badge
Google used to have two badges, Google Guaranteed for home services and Google Screened for professional services. Google’s help pages now describe a single Google Verified badge. Older UK guides still mention the old badges and a money-back guarantee, so check the date of anything you read.
To get verified, Google checks your business registration, insurance and any licences or qualifications your trade needs. You’ll also need a verified Google Business Profile and enough reviews for your category. Firms that pass the early checks can start getting leads before the badge is granted, but Google places them below fully verified providers.
Which UK businesses can use them
Local Services Ads cover most home-service trades across the UK, including plumbers, electricians, heating engineers, roofers, carpenters, cleaners, landscapers and pest control. One UK agency counts 28 home-service categories nationwide, with some professional services, such as certain legal services and estate agents, available in Greater London only. The list changes, so check your trade and postcode in Google’s own sign-up before planning around it.
What Local Services Ads cost
There’s no published UK price list. Each lead is priced by an auction, so cost per lead depends on your trade, your area and how many firms are bidding. A one-off cleaning job will usually cost far less per lead than an emergency plumber in a big city. Most published cost-per-lead benchmarks are American and in dollars, so don’t plan a UK budget around them.
You set a budget and choose how to bid:
| Bidding option | How it works | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Maximise leads | Google sets your bid to get as many leads as your budget allows | Most firms, and Google’s recommended option |
| Target cost per lead | Google aims to average the cost per lead you set, with some leads above and some below | Firms that know what a lead is worth |
| Max per lead | A hard cap on what you’ll pay for any lead | Being phased out once accounts move into Google Ads |
To work out what you can afford, start from what a job is worth and how many leads turn into work. If an average job is worth £400 in profit and one in three leads becomes a job, a lead is worth up to about £133 to you before it stops paying. That’s an illustrative example, not a benchmark. Our CPA calculator does this sum for you.
The UK catch: poor leads aren’t refunded
In the US and Canada, advertisers can dispute a bad lead and get a credit. Google’s help pages say lead disputes are US and Canada only, and its automatic credits for low-quality leads aren’t available to advertisers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In the UK, you’ll generally pay for wrong numbers, spam and jobs you don’t do. That makes a few things more important here:
- Turn off job types you don’t want, so Google stops showing you for them.
- Keep your service area tight to where you’ll actually travel.
- Answer the phone, or set your hours to when you can. Missed calls hurt your ranking as well as costing you work.
- Log every lead and its outcome, so you know your real cost per booked job, not just cost per lead.
From experience
The biggest waste I see for trades is paying for jobs they don't want: DIY searches, job hunters, or small repairs that aren't worth the trip. A good list of negative keywords, and switching off unwanted job types, often saves more money than any bidding change.
The move into Google Ads in 2027
Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads, where they’ll run as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. The first US categories moved in August 2026, and Google says non-US accounts move in 2027. When it happens:
- you’ll manage them in Google Ads rather than a separate dashboard;
- weekly budgets become average daily budgets;
- manual bidding (a maximum per lead) goes, leaving automated bidding;
- one target cost per lead applies per campaign, so firms wanting different targets for different trades will need separate campaigns.
Pay-per-lead billing, the badge and the listing format stay. It’s worth downloading your lead history before the move, as older Local Services reports may not carry over.
Local Services Ads or Google search ads?
| Local Services Ads | Google search ads | |
|---|---|---|
| You pay for | Leads (calls and messages) | Clicks |
| Targeting | Job types and areas | Keywords, areas and times |
| Where people land | Your listing, then a call | Your website or a call |
| Control | Limited | High: keywords, negatives, ad copy, schedule |
| Best for | Urgent “near me” jobs | Planned, high-value or specialist work, and filling gaps |
Most firms that can should run both. Local Services Ads take the top spot for urgent searches like “emergency plumber near me”. Search ads cover the work the listing can’t target precisely, such as boiler installations, loft conversions, commercial jobs or particular towns, and let you control exactly what you pay for. Measure them together on cost per booked job. Our guide to Google Ads call tracking explains how to track calls from search ads, and how much Google Ads cost in the UK covers search click prices.
From experience
For most tradespeople, I'd start with normal search ads, not Local Services Ads. You control which jobs, areas and times you pay for, and in the UK you can't get refunds for poor Local Services leads. Once search ads are bringing in profitable work, Local Services Ads are worth adding for urgent "near me" jobs.
How to get more from Local Services Ads
- Get reviews steadily. They affect both ranking and whether people call.
- Respond fast. Answer calls and reply to messages quickly. Google counts missed calls against your responsiveness, and switching on message and booking leads gives customers more ways to reach you.
- Pick job types carefully. Only switch on work you want, at the margin you want.
- Mark leads as booked or archived in your account, so you keep a record of what works.
- Review your cost per booked job monthly, and compare it with your search ads.
What Brightpace charges
We set up and manage Local Services Ads alongside Google search ads for trades and home service firms, as part of media management. Our fee is a monthly fee agreed up front, scaled to your ad spend and scope, no setup fee and a 30-day rolling contract, and your ad spend is paid directly to Google. See how we work with home services firms, or ask for a quote.
FAQs
Are Google Local Services Ads available in the UK?
Yes, for most home-service trades across the UK, and some professional services in Greater London. Check your own trade and postcode when you sign up, as the list changes.
What happened to Google Guaranteed?
Google’s help pages now describe a single Google Verified badge in place of the old Google Guaranteed and Google Screened badges. The checks are similar: business registration, insurance and any licences your trade needs.
Do I pay for bad leads?
Usually, in the UK. Google’s lead disputes are for the US and Canada only, and its automatic credits for low-quality leads aren’t available to advertisers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Tight job types, service areas and opening hours keep wasted leads down.
How much does a Local Services Ads lead cost in the UK?
There’s no reliable UK average. Lead prices are set by an auction and depend on your trade, area and competition. Google shows an estimate when you set up, and your own records of cost per booked job are the number to judge it on.
How do I get the Google Verified badge in the UK?
Sign up for Local Services Ads and pass Google’s checks: your business registration, insurance and any licences or qualifications your trade needs. You also need a verified Google Business Profile and enough reviews for your category. Leads can start before the badge is granted, but you’ll appear below fully verified firms.
How much can I afford to pay for a Local Services Ads lead?
Work back from a booked job. Multiply your average job value by your gross margin, then by the share of leads that become jobs. For example, a £400 job at a 40% margin, with one lead in three booked, makes each lead worth about £53 in profit, so your target cost per lead should sit comfortably below that. These figures are illustrative: use your own.
Should I use Local Services Ads or normal Google Ads?
Both, if you can. Local Services Ads win urgent “near me” searches, while search ads give you control over the specific jobs, areas and times you want.
In short
Local Services Ads put a Google Verified listing at the top of local searches, and you pay per lead rather than per click. In the UK, poor leads generally aren’t refunded, so tight job types, service areas and fast responses matter. They move into Google Ads in 2027. Run them alongside search ads and judge both on cost per booked job.
Sources
The platform documentation and coverage this guide is checked against. Last checked October 2026.
- About the Google Verified badge, Local Services Help
- How leads work, Local Services Help
- About automated Local Services Ads lead credits, Local Services Help
- How bidding works for Local Services Ads, Local Services Help
- About ad rankings, Local Services Help
- Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, Google Ads Help
- Google Local Services Ads UK: cost, setup and is it worth it?, Sway Digital
Want Local Services Ads and search ads working together for your firm? See how we work with home services firms, or let’s chat.
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