Local Services Ads (LSA)
Local Services Ads are Google's pay-per-lead format for service businesses, appearing above ordinary search ads with a Google Guaranteed badge, where you pay for a lead rather than a click.
Why it matters
For phone-driven trades, LSA often produces the cheapest qualified leads available, and it runs inside the same Google Ads account as your search campaigns - so its spend is already included in your account totals whether you have noticed it or not.
What people get wrong
Reading LSA conversion counts as a complete record. LSA reports CHARGED leads. When Google credits a lead back - wrong number, out of area, spam - it disappears from the conversion count even though the phone genuinely rang. A month with many disputed leads reads as a collapse in performance that never happened. Check the Local Services lead inbox before concluding LSA stopped working.
Where LSA spend shows up in your reporting
Local Services campaigns run inside the same Google Ads account as your Search campaigns, so LSA spend is already included in your account totals whether or not anyone has pointed that out.
This matters when you set a budget. An account running both is not spending its budget on Search and LSA separately - the two share it, and the split can be substantial in either direction. Before concluding that Search is underspending, check how much of the account's total went to Local Services in the same period.
What actually moves LSA position
LSA does not rank on bids the way Search does. Google weights review score and review count, responsiveness to leads, proximity to the searcher, whether the business is open when the search happens, and the categories and service area the profile declares.
Two of those are operational rather than advertising decisions. Answering the phone quickly and asking finished customers for reviews will move LSA position further than most changes available inside the ad account.