Local Service Ads (Google Verified)
Local Service Ads (LSA) are a separate Google ad format for local service providers: they appear above the classic search results and are billed per qualified lead instead of per click. Once the trade licence, insurance and references have been checked, the business receives the "Google Verified" badge, which merges the former "Google Guaranteed" and "Google Screened" badges into a single label. Google lists the available industries in one shared list covering every supported country; which of them are actually enabled at a given location in Austria is shown by Google's availability check.
In practice
For businesses with customer contact or on-site service, LSA pays off above all where trust drives the buying decision, such as electrical, plumbing or cleaning services. Activation often takes several weeks, because Google checks the trade licence, liability insurance and sometimes references. Unlike classic Google Ads, you do not pay per click but only for enquiries that match your location and service area; unsuitable leads can be disputed in the dashboard. The former money-back guarantee no longer applies: it ended with the move to "Google Verified", and Google states that reimbursement can only be requested for services booked through Local Services Ads before 7 December 2025. The badge is therefore a trust signal, no longer a safeguard you can promise customers. Important for agencies: in Austria, LSA campaigns currently still run separately from the Google Business Profile and the Google Ads account and need their own approval and their own budget. Google began the move into Google Ads in August 2026 with selected US advertisers – in future as a Performance Max campaign with a pay-per-lead goal; accounts outside the US are due to follow in 2027. The separate LSA dashboard disappears with the changeover, which makes it worth saving historical reports (as at August 2026).