Of the home services accounts we took over last year, more than half had never switched on Local Services Ads. That is the cheapest booked job in most of those accounts, left on the table.
What LSAs actually are
Local Services Ads are the badge units above the search ads: Google Guaranteed for trades, Google Screened for professional services. You pay per lead, not per click. Ranking depends on your review count and recency, your response time, and how completely the profile is set up. Bids matter far less than in search.
For a plumber in a mid-sized metro a lead runs $25 to $60. For a roofer, $50 to $150. For an injury firm, $100 to $400. In almost every case that is below the cost per lead from search in the same account.
Where they fall short
LSAs cap out. The unit shows three or four businesses, and Google decides who appears from the profile signals. You cannot buy more volume by raising a bid. A busy company will fill its LSA capacity in a week and still have a schedule to fill.
They also charge for junk unless someone disputes it. Spam, wrong-service and out-of-area leads are all billable until they are disputed inside the window, which is why we review every LSA lead against the call recording each week.
Why you still need search
Search is where the volume is and where you control the message. Emergency intent, high-value replacements, the suburb you want to own: all of that is search. LSAs sit on top of it and pick off the “near me” calls at a lower price.
The blended cost per booked job from both together is the number to watch. In most accounts we run, LSAs deliver a quarter to a third of the volume at half the cost, and search does the rest.
The setup that works
- Submit the license, insurance and background checks at onboarding, so the badge is live before the season.
- Ask for a review after every job through the LSA link. Reviews decide the ranking.
- Set response-time targets with whoever answers the phone. Slow responders get demoted.
- Dispute junk weekly. Reconcile every lead to a booked job every month.
- Compare cost per booked job from LSAs and search side by side, and move budget to whichever is cheaper.
Send your account and Hamid will show you the five changes that would move your cost per booked job the most. Request the plan.
