Search for a plumber on your phone, and you’ll often see two kinds of ads before the regular results: a row of businesses with a badge and star ratings, and below them, text ads that look a lot like regular search results. The first are Local Services Ads. The second are Google Search Ads. They both come from Google, they work very differently, and owners keep asking us the same thing: Local Services Ads vs. Google Ads, which one first?
Here’s how each one works, a side-by-side comparison, and our verdict by type of business.
How Local Services Ads work
Local Services Ads, or LSAs, are Google’s ads for local service businesses, like plumbers, HVAC companies, electricians, locksmiths, and many other trades. They show at the top of search results for eligible service categories, with your business name, your rating, and a badge.
You pay per lead, not per click. You’re charged when a customer contacts you through the ad, like a call or a message, not when someone just looks. Google has a process for disputing leads that don’t fit, like a request for a service you don’t offer.
You earn a badge. Businesses that pass Google’s screening show a Google Guaranteed badge (for most home services) or a Google Screened badge (for many professional services). Screening can include background checks and license and insurance verification, depending on your category and location.
You get limited control. You choose the services you offer, the areas you serve, your hours, and your budget. You don’t pick keywords or write ad copy. Google decides which searches show your ad.
Reviews and responsiveness matter. Google weighs factors like your distance from the customer, your reviews, and how reliably you answer when deciding who shows up.
How Google Search Ads work
Google Search Ads, often called pay-per-click or PPC ads, are the text ads above and below the regular results.
You pay per click. You’re charged when someone clicks your ad, whether or not they call. Your cost per click, or CPC, depends on how many businesses are competing for that search.
You get much more control. You choose the keywords you want to show for, write the ads, set budgets and bids, pick locations and schedules, and add negative keywords, search terms you don’t want to show for.
You need landing pages. A landing page is the page someone lands on after clicking. A page built for that service and area turns more clicks into calls than your homepage does.
You need conversion tracking. It tells Google which clicks turned into calls or form fills. Without it, you’re paying for clicks and guessing at results.
They work for almost any business, including categories that aren’t eligible for Local Services Ads.
Local Services Ads vs. Google Ads, side by side
How you pay: LSAs charge per lead. Search Ads charge per click.
Where they show: LSAs show at the top of results for eligible categories. Search Ads show above and below the regular results.
Control: LSAs give you services, areas, hours, and budget. Search Ads add keywords, ad copy, bids, schedules, and negative keywords.
Trust signal: LSAs carry the Google Guaranteed or Google Screened badge. Search Ads rely on your ad copy and your landing page.
What you need first: LSAs need screening, verification, and a healthy set of reviews. Search Ads need landing pages and conversion tracking.
Ongoing work: LSAs mostly need fast responses and lead management. Search Ads need regular keyword, bid, and ad reviews.
Verdict by business type
Emergency and repair trades
Plumbers, HVAC companies, electricians, locksmiths, and garage door companies: start with Local Services Ads if your category is eligible. Someone standing in a wet basement taps the first trustworthy option they see, and paying per lead ties your spending to actual contacts. Add Search Ads once your tracking is in place, to go after specific services and towns.
Project-based home services
Landscapers, fence companies, remodelers, and concrete contractors: start with Search Ads and good landing pages. Bigger projects mean customers search for specific things, like “paver patio” or “cedar privacy fence,” and you want control over which of those you pay for. If your category is eligible for LSAs, run them alongside. For Peerless Fence, we ran Google Ads and Local Services Ads together, along with Facebook and radio ads.
Businesses LSAs don’t cover
If your category isn’t eligible, the decision is made for you. Start with Search Ads, and put extra care into your landing pages and Google Business Profile.
Already running one
If you have LSAs and the leads are good but there aren’t enough of them, add Search Ads. If you have Search Ads and your category is eligible, test LSAs, and compare cost per booked job, not just cost per lead.
What you need before either one
A complete Google Business Profile with recent reviews. Our free busy-season marketing checklist walks through it.
Someone to answer the phone. Both ad types reward fast responses, and a missed call is a paid-for lead walking to a competitor.
Tracking, so you know which leads came from which ads and which ones turned into jobs.
A budget you can hold for a few months. Both need time and data to settle in.
Where we’d start
If you’re a plumber in St. Charles and your phone isn’t ringing enough, we’d usually start with LSAs. If you’re a landscaper in Geneva getting ready for the spring cleanup rush, we’d usually start with Search Ads. Most businesses that grow end up running both, and the real question is just which one goes first.
If you want a second opinion on your situation, see how we manage paid ads, or tell us about your business, and we’ll tell you which one we’d try first and why.
