Google Moves Local Services Ads to Google Ads in 2026

Key Takeaway

• Google is retiring the standalone Local Services Ads dashboard and moving all LSA campaigns into Google Ads as a Performance Max pay-per-lead campaign type, with the first migration wave beginning in August 2026.

• Home service businesses including plumbing, HVAC, roofing, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, pest control, and moving companies are the first accounts to migrate.

• Your pay-per-lead model, ad placements on Search and Maps, and keywordless targeting stay exactly the same after migration.

• Historical performance reports do not transfer and must be manually exported before your migration date. They cannot be recovered after the fact.

Google has confirmed that the standalone Local Services Ads dashboard is going away. Starting in August 2026, LSA campaigns for home service businesses move into the main Google Ads platform as a new campaign type called Performance Max with pay-per-lead goals. If you run Local Services Ads for plumbing, HVAC, roofing, or a similar trade, your account is likely in the first migration wave.

This is a meaningful change in where and how you manage your campaigns. It is not a change in how your ads actually work or what you pay for. Understanding the timeline, what moves automatically, and what you need to handle before your window opens will help you get through this without disruption.

The Migration Timeline

Google is rolling accounts forward in phases rather than moving everyone at once.

The first wave begins in August 2026 for select home and storefront service advertisers in the United States. That group includes plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, and moving companies.

A second wave follows in late 2026 and covers service area businesses without a physical storefront and accounts running custom bidding setups.

Non-US accounts and every remaining business category follow in 2027.

Your account administrator receives an email notification 14 days before your specific migration date, along with a banner alert inside the current LSA dashboard. A second reminder arrives 7 days before the migration happens. Once your account moves, logging into the old dashboard redirects you automatically into Google Ads.

Performance Max in Name Only

The Performance Max label on these campaigns has caused more confusion than the migration itself. These campaigns do not behave like standard Performance Max.

Your ads continue to run exclusively on Google Search and Google Maps in the same positions they always have. You still pay only for valid leads such as phone calls and messages, not for clicks. Targeting stays keywordless and pulls from your Google Business Profile instead of a keyword list.

A standard Performance Max campaign runs across YouTube, Gmail, and the Display Network, charges per click, and accepts keyword inputs. The two campaign types share a name and almost nothing else.

What Transfers Automatically

Google migrates your campaign setup without requiring you to rebuild anything. Targeted locations, service types, business categories, budget limits, ad schedule, and business photos all carry over. Your Google Verified badge and verification status transfer automatically with no reverification required.

Your lead history also transfers, including customer contact details, message threads, and call recordings. That record stays intact inside the new Lead Manager interface in Google Ads.

What Does Not Transfer

Historical performance reports do not migrate.

Every impression count, weekly spend figure, and ad-level report in your current LSA dashboard is inaccessible once your account moves. Google does not carry this data into Google Ads, and it cannot be restored after migration.

If you rely on that data for year-over-year comparisons, seasonal planning, or showing clients where cost per lead has trended, export everything from your LSA dashboard before your migration date. Waiting until the 14-day notice arrives means doing it under pressure alongside everything else on this list.

What Changes After Your Account Moves

Manual bidding goes away. The ability to set a maximum cost per lead is no longer supported after migration.

Vertical-level target CPA goes away. If you currently run one campaign covering both plumbing and HVAC with separate CPA targets for each, Google collapses those into a single campaign-level target applied across both services. If your services have meaningfully different lead values, splitting them into separate campaigns before migration is the recommended workaround.

Weekly budgets become daily budgets. Google divides your historical weekly average by 7 to set a daily average. Monthly spend then caps at that daily figure multiplied by 30.4, which is the average number of days in a month.

BBB callouts are no longer supported. Google requires at least six alternative structured callouts in their place. Options that work well for home service accounts include emergency service availability, same-day appointments, years in business, financing options, licensing and insurance, and accepted payment methods.

Your Google Business Profile drives more of the campaign. Business name, address, and hours sync from GBP into Google Ads. Significant changes to your business name or address after migration trigger a verification review that typically takes 24 to 48 hours. Your campaign can pause during that window, which is worth knowing before you make any profile changes.

Where Your Leads Live Now

Your LSA lead inbox becomes Lead Manager inside Google Ads. You access it through the Goals dropdown, then Conversions, then Leads.

The core features carry over: charged status, lead type, the dispute form for bad leads, and CSV export into your CRM. The metric labels shift though. Leads now appear as Conversions and cost per lead appears as Cost / conv. That naming difference catches most people off guard in the first week.

One more thing worth knowing before your account moves: you cannot create new pay-per-lead campaigns directly inside Google Ads yet. Adding a new campaign or opening a new local account still runs through g.co/localservices until Google enables in-platform campaign creation.

What to Do Before Migration Day

Export your performance reports now. Every other preparation on this list can be addressed after migration if you need to. Historical data cannot be recovered once it is gone.

After that, review your bidding setup if you currently run separate targets by service type, put together at least six callouts to replace BBB, and make sure your Google Business Profile is accurate and current before your migration window opens.

Google recommends giving your account two full weeks after migration before drawing conclusions from performance data. Results will look uneven while the system stabilizes.

If you want a second set of eyes on your Local Services Ads account before your migration date, the team at Leacon Digital handles Paid Advertising (Google and Meta Ads) for home service businesses across Western Pennsylvania. If you are also weighing where to put your ad budget more broadly, our breakdown of Google Ads vs Facebook Ads: Which Is Better for Small Business is a good place to start. And for anyone who wants to understand what managed PPC Management Services actually include, that post covers what to look for and what you should expect to pay.

People Also Ask

What is Local Services Ads Performance Max?

Local Services Ads Performance Max is a new campaign type inside Google Ads that keeps the pay-per-lead model and keywordless targeting from the original LSA platform. Unlike standard Performance Max campaigns, these ads run only on Google Search and Google Maps, charge for valid leads rather than clicks, and pull targeting from your Google Business Profile. The two campaign types share a name but work very differently.

Do I lose my lead history when Local Services Ads migrate to Google Ads?

No. Lead history, including customer contact details, message threads, and call recordings, transfers automatically to Lead Manager inside Google Ads. What does not transfer is your historical performance data such as impressions, weekly spend totals, and ad-level reports. That data must be manually exported from your current LSA dashboard before your migration date because it cannot be recovered afterward.

Will my ads stop running during the migration?

Most accounts experience minimal disruption. Google migrates your campaign settings automatically and ads typically resume quickly. Google recommends allowing up to two weeks after your account moves for performance to fully stabilize, so expect some variability in results during that initial window.

When will my Local Services Ads account migrate?

The first migration wave begins in August 2026 for plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, and moving companies in the US. Your account administrator will receive an email 14 days before your specific migration date, followed by a final reminder 7 days before migration happens.

FAQ

Can I still dispute bad leads after the migration?

Yes. The lead feedback form and dispute process carry over into Lead Manager inside Google Ads. Access it through Goals, then Conversions, then Leads. The process works the same way it does now, though the interface looks different.

What happens to my manual bidding settings when I migrate?

Manual bidding and the option to set a maximum cost per lead are not supported after migration. Google moves accounts to campaign-level target CPA. If you ran separate targets by service type or vertical, splitting those into separate campaigns before your migration window is the recommended workaround.

Do I need to rebuild my campaign after migrating?

No. Google automatically migrates your campaign settings, including targeted locations, service types, budget, ad schedule, and business photos. Your Google Verified badge and verification status also carry over without requiring you to re-verify your credentials.

How do I create a new Local Services Ads campaign after migration?

New pay-per-lead campaigns cannot yet be created directly inside Google Ads. New campaigns and new local accounts are still set up through g.co/localservices. Google has indicated that in-platform campaign creation will be available at a later date.

Local Services Ads Migrating? Leacon Digital Can Help You Stay Ready.

With more than 10 years of experience helping small businesses across Western Pennsylvania grow online, Leacon Digital understands what it takes to keep your paid advertising working through platform changes like this one. Home service businesses in the Pittsburgh region working with an experienced marketing partner consistently come out of transitions like this with less downtime and more clarity on what to do next.

Visit Leacon Digital or call 724-953-7685 today. Whether you need your LSA account reviewed before migration or want a broader paid advertising strategy built for what comes next, we are ready to help. Contact us to get started.