Google Local Services Ads guide
The LSA playbook. Verification. Setup. Ranking.
Local Services Ads sit above every other ad on the page and you pay per call, not per click. This is the same process we run with every generator dealer we put into the program: how to get verified, set up the account correctly, and rank.
Your Google Business Profile is now required
Since November 2024 a linked, verified profile is mandatory to run Local Services Ads at all, and since July 2025 your LSA reviews live on that profile. A weak profile means a weak LSA rank, full stop. If yours isn't set up right, start with the GBP guide.
Eligibility and what you need
Most licensed generator dealers qualify, but verification runs two to four weeks. Start it before storm season, not in the middle of one. Check these off as you gather them.
Your progress saves in this browser only. We never see it, and there's no email gate.
Tip
Request your certificate of insurance before you start the application. The most common delay we see is a dealer waiting on their agent after the background check has already cleared.
Getting verified
Three checks run at once, each on its own clock. Your account doesn't go live until all three clear.
Background check
Triggered when you start the application. Google emails the owner a link. Complete it the day it arrives. Usually one to five business days.
License verification
Google checks your electrical or contractor license against state records. Enter the number exactly as it appears on the official record.
Insurance verification
Upload the COI. Coverage has to meet Google's minimum for your state. If yours is borderline, raise it before you apply.
What to do while you wait
- —Push reviews hard. Review count is a ranking factor from the minute you go live.
- —Finish your Google Business Profile. LSA pulls from it and your profile reviews are your LSA reviews.
- —Set up job types, service area and hours inside the dashboard. You can do this before verification clears.
- —Decide who answers the phone and how fast. Response time affects rank from day one.
- —Note that the LSA mobile app was retired in January 2025. Everything runs through the web dashboard now.
The badge changed
As of October 2025 the old "Google Guaranteed" badge became "Google Verified", a blue checkmark next to your name. The consumer money-back guarantee is gone, but the checkmark still does real trust work when a homeowner without power is picking between three dealers.
Profile and account setup
Most dealers fill out half of this. Every empty field is a signal you're not sending, and a call you don't get.
Your progress saves in this browser only. We never see it, and there's no email gate.
How LSA ranking actually works
There's no bid you can raise to jump the line. Rank is earned across these six factors, and reviews plus responsiveness are where most dealers win or lose.
Proximity to the searcher
The biggest single factor and the one you can't buy your way past. Your service area settings decide where you're even eligible to show.
Review score and volume
Pulled straight from your Google Business Profile. Rating matters, count matters, and recency matters. A dealer with 180 reviews and a steady drip beats one with 300 from 2021.
Responsiveness
Answer rate and speed on LSA calls and messages. Miss calls and you slide down, fast. This is the factor most dealers lose on during storm weeks.
Budget
Running out of weekly budget takes you out of the auction entirely. Being offline Thursday through Sunday reads as unavailability.
Business hours
You only show during the hours you list. Extending hours during outage season is the cheapest rank increase available to you.
Complaint and dispute history
Serious complaints hurt. So does disputing every lead no matter what. Dispute the junk, pay for the real ones.
Budget and bidding
You set a weekly budget and Google charges per lead. The mechanics are simple; the discipline is not.
Step 1 — Start with a real weekly number
Work backwards: if a generator lead costs $60 and you close one in four, a $12,000 install costs about $240 in lead spend. Set a budget you can defend at that math, then hold it for 60 days before judging.Step 2 — Choose your bid mode
Maximize leads lets Google chase volume. Maximum per lead gives you a ceiling. Most dealers should start on maximize leads to gather data, then tighten once you know what a lead is actually worth by job type.Step 3 — Raise it before storms, not after
Demand spikes for a few days and so does competition. If your budget runs out Tuesday of an outage week, you paid for the ramp and missed the harvest.Step 4 — Watch cost per booked estimate, not cost per lead
A $90 lead that books at 50% beats a $40 lead that books at 10% every time. Track it to the estimate, not to the ring.
Rating leads and getting credits
Google charges for junk leads if you let them. Rating and disputing takes about fifteen minutes a week and directly lowers your real cost per lead.
Step 1 — Rate every lead weekly
Go through the dashboard while calls are fresh. Mark booked jobs as booked. That data feeds back into your account and helps Google send you better-matched calls.Step 2 — Dispute the ones that qualify
Spam and robocalls, wrong service (someone wanting a portable unit or a panel repair you don't do), outside your service area, duplicates of the same customer, and job-seekers or solicitors. Not 'they didn't buy.' That one's on you.Step 3 — Give a specific reason
One clear sentence about what actually happened on the call. Vague disputes get denied; specific ones get credited.Step 4 — Don't dispute everything
Blanket disputing gets flagged and can hurt your standing. Dispute the junk, pay for the real calls, and fix how your team handles the phone if too many real calls are going nowhere.
Ongoing management
LSA is not set-and-forget. This is the weekly and monthly rhythm we keep on managed accounts.
Weekly
- —Rate and dispute leads
- —Listen to a few recordings and coach whoever answers
- —Check answer rate and missed calls
- —Send review requests to every completed install
- —Confirm the budget didn't run dry mid-week
Monthly
- —Review cost per lead and cost per booked estimate by job type
- —Trim or expand ZIPs based on what's actually closing
- —Turn off job types that keep producing work you don't want
- —Confirm license and insurance aren't approaching expiry, since a lapse pauses your ads
- —Compare LSA against your search ads and shift budget to what's booking
The one that kills accounts
An expired license or lapsed COI pauses everything without much warning. Put both renewal dates on a calendar with a 60-day reminder.
Questions
LSA, answered straight
No pitch deck. No pressure.
A 20-minute conversation about your install pipeline: where your calls are going today, and what it takes to make them ring at your shop instead.