Google Is Moving Local Services Ads Into Performance Max: What Advertisers Need to Know.

Google is bringing Local Services Ads into the Google Ads platform, marking a significant change in how local businesses manage campaigns, leads and performance data.

Beginning in August 2026, selected advertisers will transition from the standalone Local Services Ads dashboard to a new type of Performance Max campaign built around pay-per-lead goals. Google plans to expand the rollout to more advertisers throughout 2026 and 2027.

Despite the Performance Max name, Local Services Ads are not becoming traditional Performance Max campaigns. Advertisers will still pay for valid leads rather than clicks, and ads will continue to appear within Local Services placements on Google Search and Google Maps.

The customer experience may look familiar, but several important campaign-management and reporting changes are coming.

What Is Changing With Local Services Ads?

Once an account is migrated, advertisers will manage their Local Services campaigns, budgets and leads directly within Google Ads.

The transition includes several notable changes:

• Weekly budgets will become average daily budgets.
• Manual bidding will no longer be supported.
• Service-specific Target CPA settings will be replaced by one campaign-level Target CPA.
• Business information will sync more closely with the advertiser's Google Business Profile.
• Leads will be managed through Google Ads Lead Manager.
• Historical performance reports will not transfer into Google Ads.

Google says existing campaign settings, customer leads, conversations, verification status and Google Verified badges will transfer automatically. Historical campaign reporting, however, must be exported before the migration.

What Is Staying the Same?

This change does not eliminate the defining features of Local Services Ads.

Advertisers will continue to pay for valid customer contacts, including eligible phone calls, messages and bookings. These campaigns will also remain keywordless, using service categories, service areas and information from the business's Google Business Profile to match ads with relevant local searches.

Unlike standard Performance Max campaigns, the new pay-per-lead campaigns will not automatically expand onto YouTube, Gmail, Discover or the Google Display Network. They are designed specifically for local placements on Search and Maps.

This distinction is important. Google is moving Local Services Ads into the Performance Max campaign infrastructure, but it is not replacing their local, pay-per-lead advertising model. Our Paid Search team is tracking the rollout as accounts begin to migrate.

Google Business Profiles Will Become Even More Important

The closer connection between Local Services Ads and Google Business Profiles is one of the most consequential parts of the transition.

Core information such as the business name, physical address, standard hours, photographs and review ratings may be pulled directly from the connected profile. Some of these details cannot be edited from within Google Ads.

That makes Google Business Profile management part of paid advertising management, not simply a local SEO responsibility.

Businesses should confirm that their profile accurately reflects:

• Business name, address and phone number
• Service categories
• Hours of operation
• Service areas
• Licensing and verification information
• Photos
• Customer reviews

Incorrect or inconsistent information could affect campaign eligibility, ad content and the quality of leads generated. Major changes to a business name or address may also trigger another verification review.

Bidding Changes Could Affect Multi-Service Businesses

Under the previous Local Services Ads system, some advertisers could establish different Target CPA amounts for different service categories. After migration, Google will calculate one Target CPA at the campaign level.

That could create challenges for companies whose services have significantly different lead costs or customer values.

For example, a contractor may advertise both routine maintenance and large installation projects. Combining those services under one bidding target could cause Google to favor the category that generates leads most easily, even if another category produces more revenue.

Creating separate campaigns may provide greater control, but it also divides conversion data between campaigns. The right structure will depend on lead volume, cost per lead, close rates and the value of each service, not simply the number of leads Google reports.

Export Your Historical Reports Before Migration

Google has confirmed that historical campaign performance reports will not transfer to the new Google Ads interface. Once migration is complete, access to the former Local Services Ads dashboard will end.

Advertisers should download their historical reporting before the account transitions, including:

• Lead volume
• Advertising spend
• Cost per lead
• Lead types
• Service-category performance
• Location performance
• Lead-credit history
• Monthly and year-over-year trends

Lead conversations and call recordings are expected to transfer to Google Ads Lead Manager, but those records are not a replacement for historical campaign reporting.

Without exporting the data, businesses may lose the benchmarks needed to determine whether performance improved or declined after migration.

Lead Quality Matters More Than Lead Volume

The move into Google Ads will make campaign management more centralized, but it will not solve the underlying challenge of Local Services advertising: not every lead has the same value.

Google may report a call or message as a lead, but businesses still need to determine whether that person was qualified, whether the inquiry matched an offered service, whether the lead received a timely response and whether it became an appointment or customer.

Advertisers should measure performance beyond Google's top-line lead count by tracking:

• Qualified leads
• Booked appointments
• Sales or completed jobs
• Close rate
• Cost per booked appointment
• Cost per acquired customer
• Revenue by lead source

Google automatically evaluates charged leads and may issue credits when its systems determine that a lead was invalid or low quality. Advertisers can also provide feedback about poor-quality leads, although credits are ultimately determined through Google's automated process.

Call tracking, lead qualification and CRM integration will therefore remain essential. The campaign interface may change, but businesses still need their own measurement system to connect advertising activity with actual revenue.

How Advertisers Should Prepare

Businesses running Local Services Ads should take several steps before and immediately after migration:

1. Export historical campaign reports and preserve performance benchmarks.
2. Record current budgets, bidding settings, services, locations and schedules.
3. Audit the connected Google Business Profile for accuracy.
4. Review how leads are routed and confirm the correct phone number.
5. Evaluate whether services with different economics should be separated.
6. Verify the converted daily budget and campaign-level Target CPA.
7. Monitor qualified leads and booked business, not just total leads.
8. Allow the migrated campaign time to stabilize before making unnecessary changes.

Google expects some campaigns to begin serving immediately after migration, although performance may take up to two weeks to stabilize.

What This Means for Local Advertisers

Bringing Local Services Ads into Google Ads should make campaign administration easier, especially for businesses and agencies already managing paid search and Performance Max campaigns within the platform.

At the same time, the change gives Google's automated systems more control over bidding, targeting and campaign optimization. Advertisers will have fewer manual bidding options, making accurate business information and reliable first-party lead data increasingly important.

The businesses best positioned for the transition will be those that understand what happens after the lead arrives. Fast response times, accurate lead qualification, strong Google Business Profiles and revenue-based reporting will matter more than simply generating the largest possible number of calls.

At Raincross, our Advertising practice combines paid advertising expertise, analytics and human intelligence to evaluate the entire customer journey, from the search that generated a lead to the outcome that produced revenue. As Google continues moving advertising products toward automation, that layer of strategy and accountability becomes even more important. Talk with our team about preparing your accounts for the transition.