Google Local Services Ads UK: What Trades Need to Know (2026)

Search "electrician near me" on your phone and, depending on where you are, the very first thing you might see isn't the map or an ordinary ad. It's a box of local businesses with star ratings, a "Google Verified" tick and a button to ring them. Those are Google Local Services Ads.

They work differently to normal Google Ads. You don't pay when someone clicks. You pay when a customer actually gets in touch. That sounds like a great deal for a trade, and sometimes it is. This is what Google Local Services Ads in the UK look like as of October 2026: who can run them, how the pricing works, what happened to the old Google Guaranteed badge, and the catch that most guides leave out.

One thing first: I don't run ads for anyone. I build websites and do Local SEO, so I've no reason to talk you into or out of these. I've checked the details below against Google's own help pages.

What Google Local Services Ads are

Local Services Ads (people call them LSAs) are a separate kind of Google ad made for service businesses. When they show, they usually sit at the very top of the results, above the normal ads and the map. Each one shows your business name, your rating and number of reviews, and the "Google Verified" badge if you've passed Google's checks.

A customer can ring you, message you, or in some categories book through the ad. Google says you "pay only for leads related to your business and the services that you offer". A lead is that call, message or booking. Clicks and views are free.

Behind each ad is a profile with your services, the areas you cover, your hours and your reviews. You choose which jobs you want leads for and which postcodes you'll travel to.

Are Local Services Ads available in the UK?

Yes, for home services. Google's UK page on screening and verification requirements lists 28 home service categories as of October 2026, including:

• Building and repair: plumber, electrician, roofing, HVAC, carpenter, handyman, general contractor, flooring services, window repair, worktop services, foundations services, garage door.
• Outdoor: landscaping services, lawn care, tree service, fencing services.
• Cleaning and other home services: house cleaning, window cleaning, carpet and upholstery cleaning, pest control, removals, rubbish removal, appliance repair, water damage services, home inspector, plus a few that matter less here (pool and snow services).

If your trade isn't on that list (plasterers, painters and decorators and bricklayers, for example), there doesn't appear to be a direct way in right now. Google adds categories from time to time, and its sign-up page has an eligibility checker that tells you for your business and postcode. Legal firms and estate agents are being piloted separately, in Greater London only.

Availability can also depend on where you are, so check the checker before you spend an evening gathering documents.

What happened to Google Guaranteed?

If you've searched "Google Guaranteed UK", this is probably what you wanted to know. Google Guaranteed was the green tick badge that came with a money-back promise to customers. It no longer exists.

In 2025 Google merged its badges (Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and Licence Verified by Google) into a single Google Verified badge. The British Pest Control Association told its UK members the change would take effect from 20 October 2025, and Google says businesses that had already completed verification moved across to the new badge automatically.

The money-back guarantee went with it. Google's help page on the Google Verified badge says it is discontinuing the guarantee, and customers could only claim for services booked before 7 December 2025, within 30 days of the job finishing.

So in 2026 there's no Google guarantee to offer your customers. If your van, website or quotes still say "Google Guaranteed", it's worth updating them, because a customer who looks it up will find it's gone.

What you need to get verified in the UK

For UK home services, Google's requirements page lists three checks, plus the profile:

• Business registration. Google accepts a Companies House registration number or a VAT number for UK businesses.
• Public liability insurance. You upload the insurance document showing the amount of cover and the owner's name and address. Google says employer's liability insurance isn't accepted for this, so don't send that by mistake.
• A licence, where the law requires one for your work. Google words it as a business licence at country level "where applicable by local law". If you do gas work, I'd have your Gas Safe registration ready. If you're an electrician, your competent person scheme details.
• A verified Google Business Profile. It has to be public and verified first. If yours isn't, start with my guide to setting up a Google Business Profile.

Google says the process takes three to four weeks on average after you've submitted your documents. The criminal background checks you may have read about are, according to Google's help pages, for selected businesses in the US and Canada, and I couldn't find them listed for UK home services.

Google also offers "pre-badge" ads in some categories, which let you start getting leads after the first checks while the rest are finished. You'll show below businesses that have the full badge. Google says pre-badge ads aren't available in every category, garage door services being one exception.

How the pay-per-lead pricing works

This is where Local Services Ads differ most from normal Google Ads. You pay per lead, not per click, and you set a weekly budget. Google explains the bidding in how bidding works for Local Services Ads. There are three options:

• Maximise leads. Google sets your bid to get as many leads as it can for your budget. It's Google's recommended option, and Google suggests a budget big enough for at least ten leads a week.
• Target cost per lead. Google still bids for you, but aims for an average cost per lead you choose.
• Max per lead. You set the most you'll pay for a single lead.

The price of a lead is set by an auction against other businesses bidding for the same customer, so there's no fixed price list. Google doesn't publish UK lead prices. UK marketing firms writing about it in 2026 report roughly £20 to £60 a lead for plumbers and electricians, with emergency and commercial work at the top end. Those are their figures, not Google's, and your trade and town will differ. Google also says it takes about two weeks to see accurate results after you change anything.

A worked example

Say you're a heating engineer in Barnsley. You set a £250 weekly budget and leads average £30. That's about eight leads a week. If you win one job in three, you're booking two or three jobs a week, at roughly £90 to £125 of ad spend per job won.

On a £90 radiator valve swap, that's a loss. On a £3,000 combi swap, it's cheap. That sum is the whole decision, so do it with your own numbers before you start.

Bad leads and refunds: the UK catch

Every pay-per-lead service has the same weak spot: what happens when the "lead" is a wrong number, a sales call or someone wanting a job you don't do?

Google now handles this automatically. Its page on automated lead credits says leads judged invalid or low quality when they first come in aren't charged, and charged leads are re-checked over time and can be credited. Then comes the line that matters if you're in Britain: "Lead credits aren't available for health care verticals, tax specialists or advertisers in EMEA." The UK is in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa).

Google also says it no longer credits leads for "job type not serviced" or "geo not serviced" anywhere. In plain English: as of October 2026, don't count on getting money back for a bad lead after you've been charged. Protect yourself up front instead.

• Only switch on the job types you actually want. Untick the small stuff if it doesn't pay.
• Keep your postcodes tight. Two towns you can reach quickly beat a whole county.
• Rate every lead in your account. Google uses the feedback, and it can earn a bonus credit.

How Google decides who shows first

Paying more helps, but it isn't the whole story. Google's page on how Local Services Ads rank names three things: your bid, how likely your ad is to lead to a customer, and the quality of your profile. The last two include:

• Responsiveness. Google says missed calls can hurt your ranking, and that if you regularly don't answer calls or messages, your ad ranking may suffer.
• Your reviews. Your rating and how many reviews you have. A steady flow matters, and my guide on how to get Google reviews covers how to build one.
• Relevance. How well your services and business bio match the search.
• Profile quality. Good photos, completed verification checks and your average response time. Google says higher quality profiles may rank higher and pay less per lead.

The phone is the one most trades underestimate. If you're up a ladder all day and calls go to voicemail, you're paying for leads you lose and dragging your ranking down at the same time. A missed-call text back that replies to the customer straight away is the cheapest fix I know.

Local Services Ads vs Google Ads vs the map pack

They aren't either-or. Plenty of trades run ads to fill the diary while their Local SEO builds. If you're weighing up normal ads too, I've written a guide to Google Ads for tradesmen with realistic UK costs.

Are Local Services Ads worth it for a trade?

They tend to make sense when:

• Your average job is worth a few hundred pounds or more, so a £30 to £60 lead still leaves a profit.
• You or someone else can answer the phone within minutes, all day.
• You already have a decent number of good Google reviews.
• You want more work quickly, or have a quiet season to fill.

I'd keep my money if:

• Your trade isn't on the UK list.
• Most of your jobs are small call-outs where one bad lead wipes out the profit.
• Nobody can answer calls during the day.
• You're already booked weeks ahead. Put your prices up instead.

Compared with the lead sites, the big difference is that you're not sharing the lead with three other trades, and there's no annual membership. The big similarity is that the leads stop when the spending stops. I've compared the options in lead generation sites for tradesmen and Checkatrade alternatives, and there's an overview of every route to more enquiries in my lead generation guide for tradesmen.

How to sign up

1. Check you're eligible

   Use the eligibility checker on Google's Local Services Ads sign-up page for your trade and postcode. Google's UK sign-up phone number on its help pages is 0800 026 8043.

2. Get your Google Business Profile verified

   It needs to be public and verified, with your real business name and a correct service area.

3. Gather your documents

   Your Companies House number or VAT number, your public liability insurance document, and any licence or registration your work legally needs.

4. Set up your profile carefully

   Pick only the job types you want, set tight postcodes, add your hours and good photos, and write a short bio that says what you do and where.

5. Set a budget you can afford to lose while you learn

   Start with a weekly budget you'd be comfortable writing off for a month. Give it about two weeks before judging, then work out your cost per job won, not per lead.

6. Answer everything, fast

   Answer calls, reply to messages within minutes, and rate every lead. It's the cheapest way to rank higher and pay less.

Local Services Ads FAQs

Is Google Guaranteed still available in the UK?

No. Google replaced Google Guaranteed and Google Screened with a single Google Verified badge in 2025, and the money-back guarantee has been discontinued.

How much do Google Local Services Ads cost in the UK?

There's no fixed price. You set a weekly budget and pay per lead, at a price set by an auction. UK firms report roughly £20 to £60 a lead for plumbers and electricians in 2026, but that's an estimate, not Google's figure.

Who is eligible for Google Local Services Ads?

UK home service businesses in Google's listed categories (plumbers, electricians, roofers, HVAC, carpenters, handymen and others) that pass the business registration, insurance and licence checks and have a verified Google Business Profile.

Can I get a refund for a bad lead in the UK?

As of October 2026, Google's help page says lead credits aren't available for advertisers in EMEA, which includes the UK. Leads Google spots as invalid when they come in shouldn't be charged, but plan as if you won't get money back afterwards.

Will Local Services Ads help my normal Google ranking?

No. They're paid ads, and Google says there's no way to pay for a better local ranking. The reviews you collect help both, though.

My take

Local Services Ads are one of the fairer paid options for trades: you pay for contact rather than clicks, and you're not one of four names on a shared lead. But they're rented, the UK has no credit for bad leads, and the price goes up as more of your competitors join.

I don't run them for anyone. What I do is the bit underneath that makes any advertising work harder and lets you rely on it less: a Google profile that ranks, a steady flow of reviews, and a website that turns a look into a phone call. If you'd like to know where you stand, start with the free Search Opportunity Review on my Local SEO for tradesmen page.