Google is overhauling Local Services Ads (LSAs), the pay-per-lead listings that sit above the regular results on Google Search and Google Maps for service queries. Google is adding more categories to LSAs to help local businesses tell Google what they offer in more detail and target customers more precisely. People looking for local services often search for something quite specific, and seeing general results such as “auto repair shop” when they’re looking for an oil change doesn’t help businesses generate relevant leads. This is happening alongside other changes that will require more active management going forward…
Granular Categories for Local Businesses
Until now, many local businesses have had to use broad categories to advertise their services and generate leads through Local Services Ads on Maps and Search. Google is now breaking several of these broader categories into far more specific options, mainly across the restaurant, beauty, and automotive services industries. A restaurant, for example, can now list as sushi, pizza, Italian, or vegan (among other options). Category availability varies by country, so check Google’s list of eligible categories for your region before you plan any changes. Google says the extra detail is intentional, because it lets businesses identify exactly what they offer and reach people searching for it.
Campaign Management is Also Moving
In addition to this update, Google is also moving campaign management for Local Services Ads, retiring the standalone LSA dashboard and automatically migrating every campaign into Google Ads as a specialised Performance Max campaign type built for pay-per-lead goals. Ads keep showing only on Google Search and Google Maps, in the same positions as before and you still pay for valid leads rather than clicks. What changes is the console…
Budgets, targeting and customer replies move into Google Ads, and previous performance reports won’t carry over. Manual maximum cost-per-lead bidding isn’t supported after migration. Vertical-level target CPAs are also being retired. If you advertise across several categories, they’ll share one campaign-level target CPA. Weekly budgets will also switch to a daily average (your weekly budget divided by seven), with monthly spend capped at 30.4 times that daily figure.
These campaigns keep the reach of LSAs, so they won’t appear on YouTube, Gmail or Display. Treat them as their own campaign type, not as another standard Performance Max build. The first stage of this migration is already underway for some US advertisers, while non-US accounts, including UK advertisers, are scheduled to move in 2027. Google emails account admins 14 days before their migration date, with a reminder a week later, and asks advertisers to allow up to two weeks afterwards for performance to stabilise. That’s a short runway to save data you can’t get back.
What the Changes Mean for Local Services Campaigns
The fundamentals of the LSA model aren’t changing. LSAs are keywordless (and will remain so), so the category you select and your service area are the main targeting levers you control. A narrower category list does the job that keyword selection does in a standard search campaign. Review the category on each campaign and match it to what generates your revenue. A garage that earns most of its margin from transmission work should say so. Specific categories also mean a smaller pool of competitors per listing, which makes each campaign easier to benchmark.
Three checks to run before your account migrates
With these new category updates, now is a good time to review your LSA setup:
- Export your reporting now. Save enough history to keep year-on-year comparisons and your cost-per-lead trend. Don’t wait for the 14-day notice.
- Review your category. With narrower options available, check that you’re listed under the one that describes what you actually sell, not the broad one you picked years ago. It’s a small change, but it could significantly improve lead quality.
- Track lead outcomes outside Google. Lead history moves across, but performance reporting (impressions, clicks, weekly spend, ad-level data) doesn’t, so your own record of lead outcomes is the only performance baseline that survives the move.
The Final Word
The expansion of Google’s LSA categories will give local businesses more control over how their services appear in Search and Maps. The move to Google Ads will also bring campaign management closer to the rest of their paid media activity. For businesses previously grouped into broader service categories, the added specificity is highly valuable. Now is a good time to review your setup and ensure Google has the clearest possible information about what you offer.
If you’d like to understand more about Local Service Ads and how the expanded categories apply to your business’s paid media strategy, we’d love to chat. Get in touch, and let’s start a conversation.