Local Services Ads Are Moving Into Google Ads. Save Your Numbers First.

Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads. Your past leads carry over, but your performance reports don't. Here's what to save before the move.

The premise

Local Services Ads are the pay-per-lead ads at the top of Google for plumbers, HVAC companies, electricians, roofers, and other service businesses. For years they've had their own dashboard, separate from regular Google Ads.

That's changing. Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads, where they will run as a campaign type. The first advertisers started moving in August 2026.

Google is doing it in three phases:

• August 2026: Select US home service and storefront advertisers
• Late 2026: More advertiser groups and custom bidding setups
• 2027: Accounts outside the US and remaining categories

Account administrators get an email 14 days before their migration and a reminder 7 days before.

Why it matters

For many home service businesses, Local Services Ads are a major source of calls. Changes to how they're managed can change how many leads you get and what each one costs.

The most important detail for owners: your historical performance reports do not transfer. Past leads and message history do carry over. The reports you use to judge whether your ads are working do not.

Without those numbers, you have no baseline. If lead costs rise after the move, you won't be able to show by how much or for which services.

How it works

Here's what stays the same:

• You still pay per lead, not per click.
• Ads still show on Google Search and Google Maps.
• Past leads and messages move to Google Ads automatically.

Here's what changes:

• Where you manage it. Campaigns move from the Local Services Ads dashboard into Google Ads.
• Budgets. Weekly budgets become daily averages. Google divides your historical average weekly budget by 7.
• Bidding. Manual cost-per-lead bidding and separate targets for each service are being phased out. They're replaced by one cost-per-lead target for the whole campaign.
• Reports. Historical performance reports stay behind. Google says a download option will be available on the redirection page, and recommends screenshots if you need the data sooner.

The move to one campaign-wide target is worth watching. If you used to bid higher for water heater installs and lower for drain cleaning, you'll now set one target across everything. Knowing your past cost per lead for each service is the only way to tell whether your lead mix shifts after the move.

What to do

Do this before your migration notice arrives, or as soon as it does.

1. Export or screenshot your performance reports. Cover at least the last several months, and a full year if you have seasonal swings.
2. Record cost per lead for each service. This is the number that's hardest to rebuild later.
3. Record lead volume by month. Seasonality matters for HVAC, roofing, and other weather-driven trades.
4. Note your current bid settings and budgets. Write down what you had, so you can compare it to what you're given.
5. Track which leads became booked jobs. Your job management software or your notes are the real measure of lead quality.
6. Tell whoever manages your account. If an agency or employee runs your ads, confirm they're saving this data too.

The takeaway

The way customers see and contact your business through Local Services Ads isn't changing much. The way you manage and measure those ads is. Save your numbers now. They're how you'll know whether the new setup is producing the same calls and jobs at a cost that works.

Sources

Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, Google Ads Help. This is the primary source. The page doesn't show a publication date.

Google Local Services ads transition to Performance Max: What to save before your account migrates, Stacker via KTVZ, September 16, 2026

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