If you run a plumbing, HVAC, roofing, or other home-service business, you have probably been pitched both: "Get the Google Guaranteed badge" and "Run Google Ads." They both show up on the same search page, and both bill through Google Ads, so they are easy to mix up. They work very differently, though, and the difference changes what you pay for and what you have to do after someone calls.

This guide sticks to what Google itself publishes about both products. Every factual claim below links to the Google page it came from.

The short answer

Local Services Ads (LSA) are pay-per-lead. Google Search ads are pay-per-click. With Local Services Ads you pay when a customer calls, messages, or books through the ad, and Google builds the ad from your profile. With Search ads you choose the keywords, write the ads, and pay each time someone clicks. Google sums it up this way: Search ads offer more precise control, Local Services Ads are the simpler, quicker start, and both can be used together (Google).

How each one charges you

Local Services Ads: you pay per lead

You set an average weekly budget, choose a bidding mode, and get charged for each valid lead. Google says lead prices "may vary depending on your location, the job type, the type of lead, or your bidding mode," and once you hit your monthly max, your ad stops showing for the rest of the month unless you raise the budget (Google: How leads work).

Google lists three bid modes: Maximize leads, Target cost per lead, and Max per lead, and it recommends Maximize leads (Google).

Google Search ads: you pay per click

Search ads use a pay-per-click model. You pay when someone clicks your ad, and results depend on your keywords, bidding strategy, and ad copy (Google). A click is only a visit. Your landing page and your phone still have to turn that visit into a job.

What counts as a "lead" in Local Services Ads

This is the part that's easy to miss. According to Google, a valid lead can be any of these (Google: How leads work):

Read the second and fourth lines again. A call nobody picks up can still be a charged lead. With Local Services Ads you are paying for the chance to talk to the customer, and the job is only won if someone actually answers.

Google does filter spam and duplicates (Google: How leads work), and it automatically reviews charged leads and may credit low-quality ones, usually within 30 days. It no longer gives credits for "job type not serviced" or "geo not serviced" leads, so set your job types and service area carefully (Google: Automated lead credits).

How each one decides who shows up

Local Services Ads ranking

Google ranks Local Services Ads with an auction that weighs your bid and your profile quality. The factors it names include (Google: About ad rankings):

Google's own guide also lists proximity to the customer, reviews, responsiveness, your Google Business Profile, bid mode, and budget as key factors (Google). On reviews specifically, Google says star ratings and review count affect ranking, and "providers with higher star ratings and more reviews stand out and typically book more jobs" (Google: Reviews and ratings).

Google Search ads targeting

With Search ads, you decide which searches to show up for. You pick the keywords, bidding strategy, and ad copy (Google). That control is the point: you can push the jobs you want more of, like installs or replacements, and stay away from the ones you don't.

Stakd Systems runs Google Ads for NuRoof, a roofing company: in the first 30 days, about $2,800 in ad spend, 3 closed jobs, and $19,500 collected. Results vary. These are one client's numbers.

Side by side

The badge, website, and eligibility details above come from Google's own Local Services Ads guide (Google).

Which one should you run?

There is no answer that fits every shop, and anyone who gives you one without looking at your numbers is guessing. A practical way to think about it:

Whichever you choose, measure it on cost per job, not cost per lead or cost per click. A cheap lead nobody answered isn't cheap. If you are also running Meta ads, use the same test for every channel.

Where jobs are won or lost

Both ad types do the same thing in the end: they make your phone ring. After that, the ad can't help you. Google's own rules make that clear for Local Services Ads: a missed call in business hours can be charged, and missed calls count against your responsiveness (Google, Google). With Search ads, a missed call is a click you paid for that went nowhere.

So before you raise an ad budget, check the basics:

This is the work Stakd Systems does. We run Google and Meta ads for home-service businesses, and Zoe, our AI receptionist, answers your main line 24/7, answers common questions, qualifies the lead, and texts back callers you missed. If you want to hear how that sounds, try the AI demo, or read why response time matters and what voicemail costs you. For review requests, see Google review automation.

The bottom line

Local Services Ads buy you leads. Google Search ads buy you clicks. Either one only pays off when someone answers fast and sends you the details. Choose the ad type that fits your category and how much control you want, track cost per job, and fix the phone first.

Sources

Pages checked October 25, 2026. Google changes these products often, so confirm current rules in your own account.