When it comes to innovation, a company like Google certainly comes to mind. Whether it is the latest tech or their powerful search engine, they are among the leaders in many industries. Among their many services, Google allows businesses and individuals to run online advertising geared towards growing businesses and increasing sales or leads. In 2000, Google introduced Google AdWords (rebranded as Google Ads in 2018) to the world of marketing and more recently, introduced Local Service Ads (LSAs).

What Are Local Service Ads?

Google LSAs help individuals and businesses connect with potential customers who search on Google for a specific service. Because LSAs are pay-per-lead and not pay-per-click, you are only charged if a potential customer calls, books, or messages you directly through the ad. Google LSAs also offer three different badges:

Google Guaranteed: This badge earns you trust right away from potential customers and provides them with the confidence necessary to book with you if you are in the home services industry. This badge tells potential customers that you are a screened and qualified Google-backed business.

Google Screened: Businesses that are in the business, care, learning, or wellness industry, are eligible for the Google Screened badge. This badge can help you build a reputation online because it tells potential customers that you are fully licensed and a vetted Google-backed business.

License Verified by Google: For businesses in the healthcare industry, this badge tells potential customers that Google has verified your license to provide healthcare services. This helps you build a trusted reputation online and gives potential customers the confidence to book with you.

Benefits of Local Service Ads

There are many potential benefits to running Google LSAs for your business. Ultimately, you should have a good understanding of your business and marketing strategy to know if running LSAs is the right choice for you.

Among the many benefits, LSAs can drive more visibility and clicks. Your business may already rank high organically on Google search results. It’s possible that your company’s Google Business listing is included in the map results. Your business may even run Google pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. However, Google LSAs display above all of those in the search results. Potential customers may choose to click the first ad they see, rather than scrolling to the organic search results. According to a recent study, having your business featured in the Google LSAs can result in nearly 14% more clicks on search engine results pages (SERPs)

Another benefit to running Google LSAs is that you are only charged if a potential customer sees your ad and chooses to contact you. This can help eliminate a lot of the waste you can get from pay-per-view (PPV) or PPC advertising.

One more of the many benefits of Google LSAs is that businesses and individuals are able to target exactly when and where their ad is shown. You can choose from exact cities or even zip codes, and your ad will only be shown to potential customers in those regions. You can also choose to run your ads all day, during business hours, or set up a custom schedule for your ads to be shown during specific times. Individuals and businesses are also able to pause the ads for any reason and for any amount of time.

Expanding Google Local Service Ads

In 2023, Google expanded LSAs to cover more than 70 new businesses and categories. The new categories include businesses in the education, people care, pet care, wellness, and healthcare industries. As of March 2023, Google LSAs are available for the following categories and businesses:

Education:

Beauty School, Dance Instructor, Driving Instructor, First Aid Training, Massage School, Language Instructor, Preschool, and Tutoring.

People Care:

Child Care and Funeral Homes.

Pet Care:

Animal Shelter, Pet Adoption, Pet Boarding, Pet Grooming, Pet Training, and Veterinarian.

Wellness:

Acupuncturists, Personal Trainers, Yoga Studios, Weight Loss Centers, Health Care, and Dentists.

Home Services:

Appliance Repair, Carpenter, Carpet Cleaning, Cleaning Service, Countertop Pro, Electrician, Fencing Pro, Flooring, Foundation Pro, Garage Door Pro, General Contractor, Handyperson, Home Inspector, Home Security, Home Theatre, House Cleaner, HVAC, Junk Removal, Landscaper, Lawn Care, Locksmith, Mover, Pest Control, Plumber, Pool Cleaning, Pool Contractor, Roofer, Sewage System, Siding Pro, Snow Removal, Tree Service, Water Damage, Window Cleaner, and Window Repair.

Finance:

Financial Planner and Tax Specialist.

Real Estate:

Real Estate Agent.

Law:

Bankruptcy Lawyer, Business Lawyer, Contract Lawyer, Criminal Lawyer, DUI Lawyer, Estate Lawyer, Family Lawyer, Immigration Lawyer, IP Lawyer, Labor Lawyer, Litigation Lawyer, Malpractice Lawyer, Personal Injury Lawyer, Real Estate Lawyer, Tax Lawyer, and Traffic Lawyer.

Are Google Local Service Ads Right For You?

The choice of whether or not to run Google LSAs is ultimately determined by your company’s goals and budget. Google LSAs are a great tool for businesses and individuals looking to increase leads and grow their businesses. They can result in more calls or messages, more appointments, more sales, etc. Being able to say that your business is “Google-backed” can have positive effects on your reputation in the community. If your business already has a high organic search result ranking, is already included in the local map results, or is already running PPC advertising, or any combination of these, running Google LSAs can help add to your presence on Google.

If you are not currently running online advertising or do not have a strong online presence or high search engine optimization (SEO) ranking, Google LSAs can also provide a good starting point because of flexibility(budget and schedule), targeting ability, and ease of creation.