If your business runs Local Services Ads — the “Google Guaranteed” ads with the green checkmark that sit right at the top of local searches — a major change is coming. Google is moving Local Services Ads out of their separate dashboard and into the main Google Ads platform, rebuilt as Performance Max pay-per-lead campaigns. The shift begins in August 2026 for a first group of U.S. advertisers and rolls out through 2027. Here’s what’s actually changing, what stays the same, and how to prepare — especially if you’re a Canadian business with time on your side.
What’s happening
Local Services Ads have always lived in their own separate interface, apart from regular Google Ads. That’s ending. Google is migrating them into the main Google Ads platform as a type of Performance Max campaign built specifically for pay-per-lead goals. The rollout starts in August 2026 with a limited group of U.S. advertisers across categories like home services, pet care, wellness, and education, then expands to more U.S. accounts later in 2026. Non-U.S. accounts — including Canada — and the remaining business categories follow in 2027.
Despite the “Performance Max” label, these campaigns aren’t the sprawling, everywhere-at-once PMax you may know. They keep the same limited reach as Local Services Ads: no keywords, and appearing only on Google Search and Maps. So the ads themselves work much as before — it’s the management that moves.
What stays the same
The core of what makes Local Services Ads attractive doesn’t change:
You still pay per lead, not per click. Billing remains based on valid leads — calls, messages, and bookings — not clicks. This is the fundamental appeal of LSA, and it survives the move.
Same placement and reach. Your ads still show at the top of Search and on Maps, keywordless, exactly where they appear today.
Your lead history comes with you. Past lead records transfer into the new setup (though your performance reports do not — more on that below).
What’s changing — and where to pay attention
Several management workflows change once your account migrates. The most important ones:
Weekly budgets become daily budgets. You’ll manage an average daily budget instead of a weekly one — a small mental adjustment, but worth noting when you reconcile spend.
Manual bidding goes away. If you currently set a maximum cost per lead manually, that option disappears. Bidding moves to Google’s automated system.
One Target CPA per campaign — not per service. This is the big one. Today you can set different target costs per lead for different service categories. After migration, Google calculates a single campaign-level target across all your services. For a contractor running, say, plumbing and HVAC under one campaign — where a plumbing lead and an HVAC lead are worth very different amounts — that single blended target can be a real problem.
Business details sync from your Google Business Profile. Your business name, address, and standard hours will pull automatically from your Google Business Profile, rather than being managed separately. Keeping your Profile accurate becomes more important than ever.
Reports don’t transfer. Your historical performance reports will not carry over, and the old dashboard disappears after migration. Lead histories move, but year-over-year reporting data does not.
BBB callouts end; a new Lead Manager arrives. Better Business Bureau callouts are no longer supported (Google suggests using at least six other callouts instead), and lead management moves into a new “Lead Manager” inside Google Ads, replacing the old inbox.
The single-target problem, explained
The move to one campaign-level Target CPA deserves a closer look, because it’s where businesses are most likely to lose money quietly. Imagine you offer two services with very different economics — one where a lead is worth $150 and another where it’s worth $600. Today you’d target those separately. After migration, Google blends them into one average target, which can mean overpaying for the cheap leads and underbidding on the valuable ones.
The fix is to split those services into separate campaigns so each gets its own target. But there’s a trade-off: separate campaigns each hold less conversion data, and Google’s automated bidding works better with more data. For lower-volume businesses, one combined campaign may actually perform better despite the blended target. The right call depends on your numbers — compare each service’s lead volume, cost per lead, close rate, and customer value before deciding. This is exactly the kind of judgment that separates a thought-through account from a “set it and forget it” one.
How to prepare (especially in Canada)
Because Canadian accounts don’t migrate until 2027, you have a real advantage: time to prepare instead of scramble. Here’s the checklist:
Download your historical reports before migration. This is the most urgent item when your time comes. Once you migrate, the old dashboard and its performance history are gone. Export everything you need for year-over-year comparisons or client reporting first. If you manage multiple accounts, start these backups early.
Get your Google Business Profile pristine now. Since your name, address, and hours will sync from it, any errors there will flow straight into your ads. Clean it up well ahead of time — and know that major name or address changes can trigger a 24–48 hour re-verification that temporarily pauses your ads.
Map your service economics. Before the single-target change hits, know your cost per lead, close rate, and customer value for each service. That’s what tells you whether to split campaigns or keep them combined.
Plan your callouts. If you rely on a BBB callout, line up at least six strong alternatives that highlight your guarantees, experience, and differentiators.
Watch the U.S. rollout. U.S. businesses migrate first. The early results will reveal how the blended target behaves in practice — free lessons before it’s your turn.
When migration does happen, expect a heads-up: account admins get a notice 14 days before, another reminder at 7 days, and a confirmation when it’s done. After it completes, verify your daily budget, campaign target, service categories and locations, ad schedule, lead-routing phone number, and photos all transferred correctly, and allow up to two weeks for performance to settle.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to do anything right now?
If you’re in Canada, there’s no forced action yet — your migration comes in 2027. But two things are worth doing now regardless: make sure your Google Business Profile is accurate, and start keeping clean records of your Local Services Ads performance so you’re not caught out when reports stop transferring.
Will my ads still pay per lead instead of per click?
Yes. The pay-per-lead billing model is staying. You’ll continue paying for valid calls, messages, and bookings rather than clicks, even though the campaigns are technically built on Performance Max.
Should I split my services into separate campaigns?
Only if your services have meaningfully different lead values and enough volume to support separate campaigns. Splitting gives you tighter control but divides your conversion data, which can weaken automated bidding. Lower-volume businesses often do better with one combined campaign. Compare each service’s economics before deciding.
Will this make Local Services Ads harder to manage?
For a hands-on business owner, there’s a learning curve — the interface, bidding, and reporting all change. The upside is having ads, leads, and any regular Google Ads campaigns in one place. If you’d rather not learn a new system while running your business, this is exactly the kind of transition an agency handles for you.
Want a smooth Local Services Ads transition?
Local Services Ads are one of the best lead sources a home-services business can have — and this migration is a chance to come out ahead rather than lose ground. The Social Shepherd is a Google Premier Partner agency in Toronto that lives and breathes Local Services Ads for Canadian home-services businesses. We’ll make sure your reports are backed up, your Business Profile is clean, your targets are set right, and your leads keep flowing through the change. Get your free Local Services Ads review → https://thesocialshepherd.ca/#contact