PPCs (Pay-Per-Click Ads) and LSAs (Local Services Ads) are both forms of paid advertising offered by my friend and yours, Google. But that’s about all they have in common.
While PPC ads for plumbing and HVAC have been around for more than 20 years, Google’s only been testing the LSA program since 2016. In fact, it’s still only available to specific industries and in specific markets.
But if Local Service Ads for home services companies aren’t yet available in your area, they will be soon. And you’re (probably) going to want to use them.
Before we hit the listicle, let me say this: I’m not—not even a little bit—going to recommend you replace your PPCs with LSAs. In most cases, it’s best to run both types of ads, with a bit of a budget nod toward Local Services. Let’s talk about why.
With PPCs, you pay every time someone clicks your ad. With LSAs, you only pay when someone actually reaches out to you from your ad.
Now, it’s important to keep in mind you’ll pay more per lead than you will per click. But the investment is often worth it because someone who actually reaches out is way more likely to become your customer than someone who’s just clicking around.
In short: Calls lead to more conversions than clicks.
Home services companies can expect to pay $20–35 per lead. It feels like a lot. But it pays off in sales.
Google’s LSA budgeting tool will help you estimate your monthly spend based on your service area and how many leads you want per month.
Not only do you only pay for leads with LSAs, but also you only pay for actual leads. For example, if a call generated from a Local Services ad lasts fewer than 30 seconds, you aren’t charged.
Google will also refund poor-quality leads: those not in your service area or requesting a service you don’t provide, spam calls, calls from people trying to sell you something, and duplicate leads.
There are a couple of catches: you must request a refund within 30 days, refunds are credited back to your LSA account, and it takes a while to get your money back. But you do get it back.
If you’re tired of testing keywords in your Google Ads, you’ll love Local Services.
LSA placement isn’t about keywords. Instead, Google compares information from your business profile to users’ search terms. More importantly, Google takes into consideration your geographic proximity to the person looking for help.
With PPCs, you’ve got to fiddle with your budget all the time and try to guess what your competitors are paying so you can outbid them. With LSAs, you actually can’t buy your way to the top of the search engine results page (SERP).
Your search rank depends far more on:
LSAs show up at the very top of the SERP—above PPCs, above the map pack, above organic results.
Now, that doesn’t mean your LSA will always show up at the top, because Google only shows three ads on desktop and two on mobile. If several of your competitors are also using LSAs and are close to the searcher, they may need to click “more” to see your listing.
Also, if you run low (or out) of budget, you’ll drop off temporarily. When your budget resets at the start of a new week, you’ll return to visibility.
LSAs are great except for one thing: getting approved to run them.
Local Services and Google Guaranteed go hand-in-hand, which means you’ll have to put up with a two- or three-week approval process. That’s slightly annoying, but good for customers, because they know they’re getting a reputable provider.
Ultimately, a rigorous application process is good for you, too. More customers will trust you, you have recourse if you get bad leads, and there’s a decent chance your competitors haven’t bothered applying.
The process isn’t too bad: provide your business license, insurance certificate, at least one online review, and submit to identity and criminal background checks for the owner and anyone who interacts with customers. Thankfully, that’s all on Google’s dime.
LSAs sound great, but don’t toss out PPCs. PPC ads are important, too, primarily because you have more control over who sees your ads compared to LSAs. And if you don’t have many Google reviews or ratings, your LSA placement will suffer.
While you’re fixing your review problem (and you should absolutely fix that problem), PPCs will keep getting you more eyeballs.
Listen, I know your to-do list is 6.2 miles long, so even if you geek out on this stuff like I do, you may not have time to dive deep into all things LSA and PPC. Whether you want someone to just handle it or you need some fresh ideas or a sounding board, I’m here to help. Let’s jump on a call.
Ryan Redding