Local Services Ads vs Google search ads
Both put a local business at the top of a Google search. One charges per lead, the other per click. In published benchmarks a Local Services Ads lead cost less than a search ad lead in all four trades below.
Cost per lead by trade
RoofingSearch: roofing and gutters
HVACSearch: air conditioning
PlumbingSearch: plumbing
ElectricalSearch: electricians
Search ads: LocaliQ, search ad benchmarks for home services, medians of 3,211 US campaigns, April 2024 to March 2025. Local Services Ads: SearchLight Digital, LSA cost per lead 2026, 888 contractors, February 2026. SearchLight has no roofing row, so roofing shows 99 Calls (Q1 2026) and The Media Captain (2025), which disagree. The search data is older than the LSA data. Your market will differ, and the audit measures yours.
How they differ
| Question | Local Services Ads | Google search ads |
|---|---|---|
| You are charged for | A lead: an answered call, a missed call during business hours over 20 seconds, a message, a voicemail or a booking request | A click on your ad, whether or not the visitor contacts you |
| Targeting | The services, job types and service area on your profile. No keywords | Keywords, negative keywords, locations, hours, devices and bids you choose |
| What decides your position | Your bid, how likely you are to produce a lead, and profile quality: rating, review count, response time, photos and verification | Your bid and the quality of the ad and landing page |
| Where the customer lands | Your profile. They call or message from the ad | Your website, which then has to turn the visit into a call or form |
| Bad leads | Leads Google judges invalid or low quality are not charged, and charged leads can be credited automatically within 30 days | Clicks on poor search terms are paid for. Negative keywords stop them repeating |
| Where faults hide | Slow responses and missed calls lower your ranking | Conversion tracking. A broken form or a goal set to Secondary can hide every lead |
Where search ads still earn their place
Local Services Ads only covers the job types Google lists for your category. Search ads reach the rest: a specific install, a brand you service, a financing offer, a town at the edge of your area.
Search ads also send the customer to a page you control, so you can show prices, photos and reviews from your own customers. The trade-off is that the page and its tracking have to work. Most of what our audits find is there.
For a longer comparison, read LSA vs PPC for home services and the Local Services Ads statistics.
Questions
Is Local Services Ads cheaper than Google search ads?
In published benchmarks it was, per lead, in HVAC, plumbing, electrical and roofing. Search ads ran $93.69 to $228.15 a lead (LocaliQ, campaigns April 2024 to March 2025) and Local Services Ads $39 to $57 a lead in HVAC, plumbing and electrical (SearchLight Digital, February 2026). Roofing LSA figures disagree between sources. Your market can differ, which is why the audit compares your own numbers.
Should a contractor run both?
Usually, if your trade and area are eligible. They show in different places and are priced differently. Search ads also let you target work Local Services Ads does not cover, and send people to a page you control.
Find out which one your leads come from
Send your website. We check your ads, your landing page and your tracking, and write down what is broken. Tracking can count calls to a tracked number and form fills, but not a call from someone who saw the ad and dialed your number from memory. No call needed.