PPC briefing · 11 minute read
Local Services Ads Are Moving into Google Ads: A Migration Guide
What the phased move from Local Services Ads to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals means, what transfers, and what service businesses should save and check.
Primary source
Google Ads Help
Source dated Migration begins August 2026. Our explanation and recommendations below are original editorial analysis.
What changed
The short version.
Google is phasing Local Services Ads into the main Google Ads platform as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. The first phase begins in August 2026 for selected US home and storefront service advertisers, expands to broader groups later in 2026, and reaches non-US and remaining categories in 2027. Google says settings such as targeted locations, services, categories, budget limits, schedules and photos transfer automatically, but historical Local Services Ads performance reports will not remain accessible after migration.
Why it matters
What this changes for a business.
- 01
Affected advertisers need to download historical reports before their migration date because the old Local Services Ads dashboard and its previous reporting will no longer be available.
- 02
Weekly budgets become daily average budgets, manual bidding is removed and vertical-level Target CPA settings are consolidated, so multi-service businesses may need a different campaign structure.
- 03
Core business details continue to come from Google Business Profile, while service areas, schedules and other advertising settings can be managed independently in Google Ads after migration.
Practical guide
How to prepare for the Local Services Ads migration
Confirm whether your business is in the current phase
Check the administrator inbox and the Local Services Ads dashboard for Google's migration notice. Google says the account administrator should receive an email 14 days before migration, a reminder seven days later and a completion notice. Do not assume every account moves in August: the rollout depends on country, business category and configuration.
Export the historical record before the deadline
Download the reports you may need for year-on-year comparisons, lead disputes, budgeting and management reporting. Preserve at least spend, charged leads, lead types, cost per lead, service category and location performance for a representative period. Record the reporting dates and currency so the archive remains understandable later.
Capture the settings that should transfer
Take a dated record of targeted locations, service categories, schedule, budget, bidding method, photos, phone routing and message settings. Google says the campaign setup transfers automatically, but a before-and-after record gives the team a reliable checklist if something is missing or changed.
Review Google Business Profile accuracy
Confirm the business name, physical address and standard opening hours are accurate before migration. These core details sync from Google Business Profile into Google Ads. Make genuine business updates in the profile rather than changing facts only to influence advertising; significant name or address changes can trigger a verification review and a temporary pause.
Plan for bidding and budget differences
Google converts the historical weekly budget into a daily average by dividing it by seven. Manual bidding is no longer supported, and separate vertical-level Target CPA amounts under one campaign are replaced by a unified campaign target. If plumbing and HVAC, for example, need different economics, decide whether separate campaigns would provide cleaner control.
Audit the migrated campaign on day one
In Google Ads, check the daily budget, campaign-level target, service areas, categories, schedule, business photos, call routing and message goals against the saved record. Confirm that the verified status carried over and note anything still processing. Avoid making unrelated changes until the transferred configuration is understood.
Verify lead handling and measurement
Google's Lead Manager replaces the Local Services Ads lead inbox. Test who receives calls and messages, who can reply, how charged leads are reviewed, and how leads are downloaded or sent to the customer relationship system. Reconcile Conversions, Cost and Cost per conversion with the internal qualified-lead record rather than judging success from platform totals alone.
Allow for a stabilisation period
Google advises allowing up to two weeks for migration and performance to settle. Monitor delivery, lead quality, spend and routing daily at first, but do not treat a short ramp-up as a permanent trend. Escalate clear configuration or customer-contact failures immediately.
Avoid these mistakes
What not to do.
- Do not wait until migration day to download historical Local Services Ads reports.
- Do not assume that a weekly budget divided by seven will produce identical daily spend; Google describes a daily average and a monthly cap, so daily delivery can vary.
- Do not combine services with materially different lead values under one target without checking whether separate campaigns are more appropriate.
- Do not edit Google Business Profile facts merely to change ad targeting; core business information and campaign targeting have different jobs.
- Do not judge the new campaign only by charged lead volume. Track answer rate, qualified lead rate, booked work, revenue and disputed leads.
Jet Fuel Digital view
The move should simplify administration by bringing local lead campaigns into Google Ads, but it also removes the old reporting surface and changes several controls. The safest response is operational: save the evidence, document the current setup, check the transferred campaign line by line and measure the quality of the work won—not just the number of charged leads.
Quick answers
Questions about this update.
Is every Local Services Ads account moving in August 2026?
No. Google describes a phased rollout. Selected US home and storefront service advertisers begin in August 2026, broader advertiser groups follow later in 2026, and non-US plus remaining categories move in 2027.
Will historical Local Services Ads reports appear in Google Ads?
No. Google says previous performance reports will not carry over and will no longer be accessible through the old dashboard after migration, so advertisers should download them beforehand.
Will the verified badge transfer?
Google says completed business verification and the Google Verified badge transfer automatically. The account should still be checked after migration for any business-level notifications.
Does the business still pay per lead?
Google describes the migrated campaigns as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. In the Google Ads view, Conversions represents charged leads, while Cost and Cost per conversion support spend and cost-per-lead monitoring.