Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads, and local service businesses shouldn’t treat this as a routine dashboard change. According to Google’s migration notice, select U.S. home and storefront service advertisers began moving in August 2026. The transition will expand to more U.S. advertisers in late 2026 and continue internationally through 2027.

The migrated campaigns will become specialized Performance Max campaigns built for pay-per-lead goals. Despite the “Performance Max” name, these campaigns will remain keyword-free and appear exclusively on Google Search and Google Maps.

Advertisers will also continue to pay for valid leads rather than clicks. However, campaign management, bidding, budgeting, reporting, lead handling, and profile integration are all changing.

Local Services Ads Are Getting a New Home

Once an account migrates, advertisers will manage their campaigns and respond to leads inside Google Ads. The separate Local Services Ads dashboard will no longer be accessible.

Google will send the account administrator an email 14 days before the scheduled migration date. A second reminder will follow seven days later. Advertisers will also see notifications inside the existing Local Services Ads dashboard.

Google says it will automatically transfer the campaign’s:

• Targeted locations
• Service types
• Business categories
• Budget limits
• Ad schedule
• Business photos
• Existing verification status

Many ads may begin running immediately after the transition. However, Google recommends allowing up to two weeks for the migration to finish and campaign performance to stabilize.

Back Up Historical Performance Reports

Historical campaign performance reports won’t transfer into Google Ads. That includes past impressions, clicks, weekly spending, and ad-level performance data.

Google says a dedicated download page for historical reports will be available. Advertisers who need their information immediately should take screenshots before migration.

Past customer leads will transfer. Customer contact details, message histories, and older call recordings should remain available through the new Leads page in Google Ads.

Still, advertisers should save historical performance data before losing access to the original dashboard. That information is essential for year-over-year comparisons, seasonal planning, budgeting, and evaluating lead costs.

At a minimum, preserve:

• Monthly and weekly spending
• Total charged leads
• Average cost per lead
• Lead volume by service
• Lead volume by location
• Disputed or credited leads
• Conversion and close-rate data from your CRM
• Revenue connected to completed jobs

Without that history, it’ll be harder to determine whether performance changed after migration.

Manual Bidding Is Going Away

The biggest change isn’t the logo in the corner. It’s the shift in bidding and budget controls.

Manual bidding, including maximum cost-per-lead settings, won’t be supported after migration. Google is also removing service-category-level Target CPA settings.

If an advertiser previously used different Target CPA amounts for multiple service categories, Google will calculate one campaign-level Target CPA. That target will apply across all categories within the campaign.

For example, a contractor may advertise plumbing and HVAC services under one account. Those services might have significantly different lead costs and average job values. Applying one Target CPA to both could make performance harder to control.

Google says advertisers can create separate campaigns for different service categories when they need separate bidding rules. Before splitting campaigns, businesses should compare each category’s:

• Lead volume
• Average cost per lead
• Close rate
• Average job value
• Profit margin
• Seasonal demand

Separate campaigns provide more control, but they also divide the available conversion data. Businesses with lower lead volume may need to balance bidding control against the amount of data available for optimization.

Weekly Budgets Will Become Daily Budgets

Local Services Ads previously used an average weekly budget. Google Ads will convert that amount into an average daily budget by dividing the weekly total by seven.

Google says this conversion won’t change the monthly spending limit. Monthly spending will remain capped at the average daily budget multiplied by 30.4.

Daily spending can still fluctuate when demand changes. That makes it important to review the converted budget rather than assuming the automatic calculation aligns with your existing goals.

After migration, check the daily budget, campaign-level Target CPA, service categories, locations, ad schedule, and lead-routing phone number.

Audit Your Google Business Profile

Google Ads will use information from your Google Business Profile to pre-populate parts of the campaign. Business names, physical addresses, and standard business hours will sync from the Business Profile into Google Ads.

That makes outdated or inaccurate profile information more dangerous. Before migration, confirm that your profile contains the correct:

• Business name
• Physical address
• Standard hours
• Primary category
• Phone number
• Photos
• Service information

Minor changes may sync automatically within 24 hours. Significant changes to a business name, storefront address, or primary category may trigger another verification review. Google says that review typically takes 24 to 48 hours, and the campaign may pause temporarily.

Service areas and ad schedules can still be customized independently inside Google Ads after migration.

Replace Unsupported BBB Callouts

Better Business Bureau callouts are no longer supported. Google recommends selecting at least six alternative structured callouts to help the business stand out.

Possible replacements include:

• Business hours
• Service specialties
• Accepted payment methods
• Emergency availability
• Licensed or insured status
• Years of experience

Don’t wait until migration day to discover that an important callout has disappeared. Review existing assets and prepare accurate replacements in advance.

Local SEO and Paid Lead Generation Are Getting Closer

The migration places more weight on accurate business information and consistent account management. Local SEO and paid local lead generation aren’t becoming the same service, but they’ll increasingly depend on some of the same foundational data.

Businesses that understand their close rates, service areas, lead values, and profit margins will be better prepared. Those still judging lead quality by call volume alone may struggle to set realistic campaign-level targets.

Before your account migrates, back up historical reports, audit your Google Business Profile, review callouts, and document your current performance benchmarks. After migration, verify every transferred setting and watch lead costs closely while the campaign stabilizes.

If your local visibility, Business Profile, and lead tracking are already disconnected, getting outside help with your search engine optimization strategy can help you clean up the foundation before the transition exposes larger problems.