Do you need an agency to run Local Services Ads?

No. The account is designed to be run by the provider: screening, services, areas, budget and lead replies are all in one interface. What an agency sells is that somebody watches it daily, which matters most in the categories where a slow reply is a wasted charge. Small single-area accounts often do not need it.

Can a manager dispute leads on your behalf?

The account's Feedback Survey is the route for reporting a poor-quality lead. Google directs an advertiser who believes a lead was poor quality to use the Feedback Survey for that lead. Google says it may occasionally credit leads reported that way. Lead credits are unavailable for health care verticals, tax specialists, and advertisers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Automatic lead credits are available only in the US and Canada.

Should the vendor be listed on your licence or insurance?

Not by default. Google says license checks apply to advertisers and, where practical, businesses, owners or managers, and workers, while insurance requirements depend on category and location. Direct advertisers may undergo Google's checks; partner-affiliate providers use the partner's procedures. Confirm which path applies before you assume the vendor's credentials satisfy the business's requirements.

What should be in writing before you grant access?

Write down the access level, who holds administrative rights, what the fee covers and how it changes, who answers leads and how fast, and what the monthly report contains. For advertisers who do not advertise through a partner affiliate, Standard handles profile edits and lead replies; Administrative is required for bidding, budget, and user access. Google's third-party guidance also says the business keeps ownership of its Business Profile and gets a quick handoff when the arrangement ends.

Is a Google Ads certification relevant here?

Only loosely. Local Services Ads run in their own interface with their own budget model and lead flow, while screening depends on whether the provider advertises directly with Google or through a partner affiliate. Experience with search campaigns transfers unevenly. Ask how many accounts in your category they run now and what leads cost in your area.

google-local-services-ads

How do you choose who runs your Google Local Services Ads?

By Sergey Sulimko, Founder

Choose the person running your Local Services Ads by matching the work to the access level, keeping the account in the business's name, and agreeing how leads, budget, fees, and handoff will be handled. Google lists 5 access levels for advertisers who do not advertise through a partner affiliate. Screening varies by category and region, and partner-affiliate providers use the partner's screening process.

What does someone running Local Services Ads for you actually do?

Four jobs arrive as one invoice. Screening may include licences, insurance, and background checks, but Google says the requirements vary by category and region; partner-affiliate providers use the partner's screening process. The provider sets eligible services and areas, manages the average weekly budget against leads, and answers leads fast enough to matter. A missed call can count as valid if the business returns it and speaks with the customer or leaves a voicemail.

Is running Local Services Ads the same as local SEO?

No, and conflating them is the most expensive mistake in this purchase. The Google Local Services Ads overview treats paid ads and organic Maps results as separate surfaces. Local Services Ads are paid placement charged per lead; the organic map result is unpaid. Google's local-ranking guide says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity. Google also says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. A vendor selling both should price them separately, because stopping one leaves the other exactly where it was. Maps Agent works on the organic profile only.

What access does a manager need?

Less than most ask for. For advertisers who do not advertise through a partner affiliate, Google lists five account access levels: Email-only, Billing-only, Read-only, Standard, and Administrative. Google says this access information does not apply to advertisers who advertise through a partner affiliate. Standard lets a manager view leads, edit the business profile, reply to leads, and add email-only users. Administrative is required to edit bidding and budget or manage users and access. Grant, edit, or remove access under Access and security in the Admin menu.

What should you ask about the fee?

Whether it is flat or a share of spend, and what happens when the lead price moves. Lead prices vary by location, job type and bidding mode, so a percentage fee rises with a market the vendor does not control, while a flat fee does not flex when the account needs more work. Neither is wrong; an unstated one is.

How do you tell whether it is working?

Count leads and what they became, not impressions. Google's Local Services Ads reports show charged leads, total lead spend, credits, and received leads. Direct advertisers in the US and Canada can also mark a lead as booked. Compare that with completed work in the business's own records, because a booking is not revenue. A monthly report that shows spend and lead volume without booked or completed work is describing the ad, not the return.

What can nobody promise you?

A position, a screening outcome, or a lead price. Direct advertisers' profiles may carry a note that the provider passed Google's screening and verification process for that category; partner-affiliate businesses are screened through the partner instead. Lead prices move with the market. Google's third-party policy for Business Profiles bars guarantees of top placement outright, and a vendor willing to make one about the ads is telling you what their other promises are worth.

What survives when the arrangement ends?

The account, if it was opened in the business's name, and the business's Business Profile ownership should remain with the business. Google's Business Profile third-party policy requires a third party to provide a quick and easy way to discontinue its service. Within 7 business days of notice, it must let the business disassociate the Google Account used to manage the Google Business Profile from the third-party service and regain exclusive control of the profile. If the third party has permission to manage or change the account, it must relinquish and remove those permissions. That handoff should be written into the arrangement.

Where does the Business Profile fit into this?

Underneath it. The Google Local Services Ads glossary entry defines the paid format, while Google states that customer reviews on Local Services Ads are managed through Google Business Profile Manager, not your Local Service Ads account. The stars in a paid unit therefore come from the free listing. Anyone quoting for the ads without asking about the profile is quoting for half the thing that decides whether the ad converts.

See where your profile stands

The audit shows how this applies to your own profile: it reads a verified Google Business Profile and scores it the same way every month.

Visibility Score

0 to 100

20 scored factors across profile completeness, performance, competitive position. Free, no signup, on any verified Google Business Profile.

Run the free Visibility Score audit

No signup, no card. You get the score and the factors behind it.

Sources

Common questions

Do you need an agency to run Local Services Ads?: No. The account is designed to be run by the provider: screening, services, areas, budget and lead replies are all in one interface. What an agency sells is that somebody watches it daily, which matters most in the categories where a slow reply is a wasted charge. Small single-area accounts often do not need it.
Can a manager dispute leads on your behalf?: The account's Feedback Survey is the route for reporting a poor-quality lead. Google directs an advertiser who believes a lead was poor quality to use the Feedback Survey for that lead. Google says it may occasionally credit leads reported that way. Lead credits are unavailable for health care verticals, tax specialists, and advertisers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Automatic lead credits are available only in the US and Canada.
Should the vendor be listed on your licence or insurance?: Not by default. Google says license checks apply to advertisers and, where practical, businesses, owners or managers, and workers, while insurance requirements depend on category and location. Direct advertisers may undergo Google's checks; partner-affiliate providers use the partner's procedures. Confirm which path applies before you assume the vendor's credentials satisfy the business's requirements.
What should be in writing before you grant access?: Write down the access level, who holds administrative rights, what the fee covers and how it changes, who answers leads and how fast, and what the monthly report contains. For advertisers who do not advertise through a partner affiliate, Standard handles profile edits and lead replies; Administrative is required for bidding, budget, and user access. Google's third-party guidance also says the business keeps ownership of its Business Profile and gets a quick handoff when the arrangement ends.
Is a Google Ads certification relevant here?: Only loosely. Local Services Ads run in their own interface with their own budget model and lead flow, while screening depends on whether the provider advertises directly with Google or through a partner affiliate. Experience with search campaigns transfers unevenly. Ask how many accounts in your category they run now and what leads cost in your area.

More on this subject in the answers library, and on the Maps Agent blog.