Glossary
Google Local Services Ads
Google Local Services Ads are a paid unit shown near the top of Search for service queries, where the advertiser is billed for the lead itself, meaning a call or a message request from someone who picked that profile, rather than for a click on an advertisement.
The billing unit is what separates them from every other Google ad format, and it is the first thing to establish before comparing costs with anything else.1
A second distinction gets conflated constantly: the profile behind these ads is not the free listing, and the "Google Guaranteed" badge attached to some of them in eligible trades is part of the paid programme, carrying its own screening. Buying the unit does not alter the unpaid results underneath it.
Sources
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Google: "Getting started with Local Services Ads" (leads arrive as calls and message requests; "pay only for leads"; verified badge in select verticals): https://support.google.com/localservices/answer/6224841?hl=en (read 2026-08-23)
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