If Local Services Ads bring your company calls, bookings, or estimate requests, put this change on your calendar now. Google is moving LSA campaigns out of the standalone Local Services Ads dashboard and into Google Ads.
This isn’t just a new login screen. Historical campaign reports won’t move with you. Weekly budgets will become daily budgets. Manual bidding and category-level target costs are going away. Some account changes may temporarily pause a campaign.
The good news is that the pay-per-lead model remains. Google says migrated ads will still appear only on Search and Maps, in the same positions, and advertisers will continue paying for valid leads rather than clicks. The full details are in Google’s official migration announcement.
Here’s how to get ready without losing your baseline or finding expensive surprises after the switch.
What is changing with Local Services Ads?
Existing LSA campaigns will become a specialized type of Performance Max campaign built around pay-per-lead goals. Despite the Performance Max name, these campaigns are not the standard version that can run across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, and other Google properties. The new pay-per-lead version stays on Search and Maps and remains keywordless, according to Google’s comparison of the two campaign types.
Campaign management moves into Google Ads. Budgets, service targeting, lead responses, reporting, and campaign status will all live there. Google will transfer your locations, services, business categories, schedule, budget, and photos automatically.
Your customer lead history will transfer too. That includes contact details, messages, and older call recordings. However, your old performance reports, including prior impressions, spend, and campaign-level results, will not carry over.
That distinction matters. A list of old leads tells you who contacted the business. It doesn’t preserve the full record you need to compare cost per lead, category performance, or results before and after the migration.
Who moves first, and when?
Google is using a phased rollout rather than moving every advertiser on the same day. Its published migration timeline is:
- August 2026: Select U.S. home and storefront service advertisers, including plumbers, HVAC contractors, electricians, appliance repair companies, cleaners, lawn care companies, roofers, pest control businesses, and movers
- Late 2026: Broader advertiser groups, including service-area businesses without storefronts and accounts using custom bidding or booking setups
- 2027: Non-U.S. advertisers and remaining business categories
Google says the account administrator will receive an email 14 days before migration, followed by another reminder seven days later. A banner will also appear in the current dashboard. Once the move happens, the old dashboard redirects to Google Ads.
Don’t treat the email as the start of your preparation window. Two weeks can disappear quickly when an agency owns the login, a former employee remains the administrator, or nobody knows where last year’s reports are stored.
Your pre-migration checklist
1. Confirm who controls the account
Log in now and verify the current administrator, recovery email, payment profile, and users with access. The advance notice goes to the administrator on the profile, so an outdated email could leave your team unaware until the dashboard changes.
Also confirm that the correct Google Ads account is connected to the business. If you have multiple locations or an agency manages your advertising, document the customer ID for each account. A simple spreadsheet with location, LSA account, Google Ads customer ID, administrator, and billing owner can prevent a lot of confusion.
2. Export every historical report
This is the one task you can’t fix afterward. Google says previous campaign performance reports will no longer be accessible after migration.
Export reports for the longest useful date range, then save monthly and year-to-date views. At minimum, preserve charged leads, total spend, lead credits, lead type, service category, and bookings. Google’s current LSA reporting documentation confirms that reports include charged leads, spend, call/message/booking breakdowns, credits, and a filterable lead list.
Store the exports somewhere the owner controls, not only inside an agency account. Keep the untouched raw files and create a separate summary showing:
- Spend, charged leads, cost per charged lead, booked jobs, and estimated revenue by month
- Results by service category, location, and lead type
- Lead credits, disputed leads, and the percentage of leads that became booked work
Without this snapshot, you won’t know whether post-migration cost changes are normal seasonality, a reporting difference, or a real decline.
3. Record your current campaign settings
Take screenshots or write down your service areas, business categories, selected services, ad schedule, weekly budget, bidding settings, phone routing, message settings, and photos. Google plans to transfer these automatically, but you still need a source of truth for checking the result.
Pay close attention to businesses that offer unrelated service lines. Google is removing category-level target CPA settings inside one campaign. After migration, a single campaign-level target CPA may apply across all included categories. Google says advertisers who need different bidding rules can create separate campaigns for separate verticals, such as plumbing and HVAC. That guidance appears in the bidding and budget section of the migration notice.
Before splitting anything, look at actual job economics. If an HVAC replacement lead is worth far more than a minor plumbing repair lead, forcing both into one target may not reflect what the business can afford.
4. Audit your Google Business Profile
Google Ads will pull the business name, physical address, and standard hours from your Google Business Profile. Those details sync one way, from the profile into the ad account.
Check them before migration. Correct old hours, duplicate addresses, outdated names, and wrong phone numbers now. Google’s notice says a significant business name or physical address update can trigger a verification review that typically takes 24 to 48 hours, during which the campaign may pause. That makes migration week a poor time for avoidable profile cleanup.
Service areas and ad schedules can be adjusted independently in Google Ads after the move. Core identity details cannot. Assign one person to own profile accuracy so the marketing team doesn’t change a business record without telling operations.
5. Convert the budget and check the math
Google will divide the average weekly budget by seven to produce an average daily budget. Monthly spend is then capped at the daily average multiplied by 30.4, although daily spending can move higher or lower based on demand. Google explains that calculation in its budget migration guidance.
Run the numbers yourself before transition day:
Current weekly budget ÷ 7 = expected daily average
Then compare the expected monthly cap with what you normally spend. Don’t judge the new campaign from one unusually busy day. Track the month-to-date pace and compare it with your saved historical baseline.
What to check immediately after migration
Open Google Ads as soon as the completion email arrives. Confirm the campaign is enabled and review the daily budget, campaign-level target CPA, locations, service areas, categories, schedule, phone number, message routing, and business photos.
Lead handling now lives under Goals, then Conversions, then Leads. Google’s new Lead Manager instructions say this area includes charged status, lead type, feedback forms, message replies, and lead downloads for CRM import.
Test the workflow with whoever answers calls and messages. A campaign can generate leads correctly while the front desk misses them because notifications, routing, or responsibilities changed.
Google also says BBB callouts are no longer supported and recommends selecting at least six other structured callouts, such as business hours, specialties, or accepted payment methods. Review these assets rather than letting generic wording represent the company.
Finally, avoid making several major changes at once. Google advises allowing up to two weeks for migrated campaign performance to stabilize. If you change the budget, target, categories, geography, and schedule on day one, you won’t know which decision caused the result.
Build a 30-day migration scorecard
Track the new campaign daily for the first week and at least weekly for the next three. Use a small set of numbers the owner and the person answering leads can both understand:
- Spend
- Charged leads
- Cost per charged lead
- Qualified leads
- Booked jobs
- Revenue from booked jobs
The first three come from Google Ads. The last three should come from your CRM, call tracking notes, or job management system. Google can report that a lead was delivered. Only your team can confirm whether it fit the service area, wanted work you perform, booked, and produced revenue.
Compare these results with the historical export. Use the same date windows where possible and note seasonal conditions. A roofer comparing a storm-heavy month with a dry month could reach the wrong conclusion even if the campaign itself didn’t change.
What should you not change?
Don’t rebuild the campaign simply because the interface says Performance Max. This pay-per-lead version is different from standard Performance Max, and Google is moving existing settings automatically.
Don’t upload headlines, videos, or sitelinks because a generic Performance Max tutorial recommends them. Google says those standard asset types don’t apply to pay-per-lead campaigns.
Don’t abandon lead quality tracking. Moving everything into Google Ads may make reporting look more convenient, but convenience isn’t the same as profitability. A cheaper lead that never becomes a job is still expensive.
And don’t wait until the old dashboard disappears to decide which data matters. Export first. Sort it later.
Frequently asked questions
Will Local Services Ads start charging per click?
No. Google says migrated campaigns keep the pay-per-lead model, so advertisers pay for valid calls, messages, or bookings rather than clicks. They also remain limited to Search and Maps.
Will the Google Verified badge transfer?
Google says completed business verification and the Google Verified badge will transfer automatically. Existing advertisers won’t need to repeat insurance and license verification, although Google may request other business-level checks when needed.
Can I create a new pay-per-lead campaign inside Google Ads now?
Not yet. Google’s current instructions say new campaigns must still be created through Google Local Services until creation becomes available inside Google Ads.
What happens to old leads and call recordings?
Past lead history, customer contact details, messages, and older call recordings will move into Lead Manager. Old campaign performance reports will not, which is why exporting reports before migration is mandatory.
Should I pause other Google Ads campaigns?
Not automatically. Search campaigns and standard Performance Max campaigns may serve a different role. Review overlap, lead quality, and total acquisition cost before changing them. The LSA migration itself isn’t evidence that another campaign should stop.
Prepare before the notice arrives
The businesses most likely to struggle with this change aren’t the ones with the smallest budgets. They’re the ones without account ownership, saved reports, documented settings, or a clear way to connect leads to booked revenue.
Export the history. Fix access. Audit the Business Profile. Write down the settings. Then measure the first 30 days against a real baseline.
If you want help checking your website and lead flow before the new campaign arrives, get started with Your Web Team.
