Google Is Moving Local Services Ads Into Performance Max: What Every Advertiser Needs to Know
Google is retiring the standalone Local Services Ads dashboard. Starting in August 2026, LSA campaigns are migrating into the main Google Ads interface as a new Performance Max campaign type with pay-per-lead goals. The rollout is phased — some U.S. advertisers in home services, pet care, wellness, and education are already receiving migration notices — but the direction is clear: the separate LSA portal is going away. Search Engine Land confirmed the migration details shortly after Google's official announcement.
If you run LSA campaigns for a plumbing company, an HVAC contractor, a lawn care service, or any other local service business, here is a clear-eyed breakdown of what is actually changing, what is staying exactly the same, and what you need to do before your migration date arrives.
Why Google is making this change
The separate LSA dashboard has always been a parallel system — a product that lived outside of Google Ads and required advertisers to manage budgets, leads, and performance in two different places. Google's argument for consolidation is straightforward: unified management means fewer context switches, better cross-campaign reporting, and tighter integration with existing bid strategies and audience signals already available in Google Ads.
For Google, the move also makes strategic sense. Bringing local service lead generation into the Performance Max ecosystem gives the algorithm more conversion signal to work with, particularly as advertisers running both traditional search campaigns and LSA campaigns in the same account will now share data across campaign types.
The timing connects to a broader restructuring of Google Ads automated campaign types. The platform has already announced the automatic upgrade of Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max and significant changes to how Performance Max handles bidding. LSA consolidation is the next step in that same direction.
What is actually changing
The LSA dashboard is shutting down
The most significant operational change is that the standalone Local Services Ads interface will no longer exist. Advertisers will manage everything — budgets, lead responses, reporting, and campaign settings — inside Google Ads. Lead responses move to a new Lead Manager interface within Google Ads rather than the existing Local Services inbox.
Google Business Profile information will sync automatically to campaigns. Business name, address, hours, and service offerings pull directly from GBP rather than requiring separate entry in the LSA portal.
Bidding structure is being overhauled
Manual bidding and industry-level Target CPA settings are both being deprecated. Under the new structure, advertisers set a single campaign-level Target CPA that applies across all service categories. This removes the ability to set different CPA targets for different service types within a single campaign — if you need different bid targets for different services, you will need to split them into separate campaigns post-migration.
Budget structure also changes from weekly averages to daily allocations with monthly spending limits, bringing LSA in line with how standard Google Ads campaigns handle budget pacing.
BBB callout badges are being removed
The Better Business Bureau callout badge that appeared on some LSA ads will be deprecated. Google recommends replacing these with structured callout assets that highlight specific business attributes: years in operation, specialties, service hours, licensing, or payment methods accepted.
Historical performance data will not transfer
This is the most operationally critical change. Previous performance data from the LSA dashboard — impressions, lead volume, cost per lead, historical benchmarks — will not carry over to Google Ads. Once migration occurs, reporting starts fresh. WordStream's breakdown of the migration specifically flags this as the action item most advertisers overlook.
What is staying exactly the same
Despite the platform change, the core LSA value proposition is unchanged. Ads continue to appear only on Google Search and Google Maps. Campaigns remain keywordless, drawing on your Google Business Profile information and the categories you select rather than keyword bids. You still pay only for valid leads — calls, messages, and bookings — not clicks. The campaigns will not expand into Display, YouTube, Gmail, or other Google properties despite sharing the Performance Max name.
The Google Verified badge and the associated screening process remain in place. Lead history from existing campaigns transfers to the new Lead Manager. The geographic and service-category targeting mechanisms work the same way.
In other words: the interface is changing and some bidding mechanics are being modernized, but the fundamental reason to run LSA campaigns — qualified, local, intent-driven leads at a pay-per-lead rate — stays intact.
Migration timeline: who gets migrated and when
| Phase | Timing | Who is affected |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | August 2026 | U.S. home services (plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, moving), pet care, wellness, education |
| Phase 2 | Late 2026 | Broader U.S. accounts, service-area businesses without physical storefronts, accounts with custom bidding or booking configurations |
| Phase 3 | 2027 | Non-U.S. accounts and all remaining business categories |
Advertisers receive a 14-day advance email notification before their specific migration date. That notification window is your practical deadline for downloading historical reports.
How this interacts with other August Google Ads changes
August 2026 is a busy month for Google Ads changes, and the LSA migration does not exist in isolation. The August 17 bidding behavior change for Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns affects budget-limited campaigns across the platform, and some LSA advertisers who have already migrated will be running their new Performance Max campaigns during that transition window. If your migration lands in August, plan for two overlapping adjustments: the new interface and the new bidding behavior simultaneously.
Separately, Google is also pushing forward with new audience targeting controls in Performance Max, including household income exclusions. These controls will become available for LSA-originated Performance Max campaigns once the migration matures, giving local service advertisers more granular targeting options than the original LSA platform ever offered.
Your pre-migration action checklist
1. Download your historical LSA performance reports immediately
Do not wait for your migration notice. Log into the LSA dashboard now and export all available historical data: lead volume, cost per lead, lead quality ratings, campaign-level spend, and any benchmark data you use for reporting. Once migration happens, this data disappears from your accessible records. Depending on how long you have been running LSA campaigns, this history may represent years of cost-per-lead benchmarks that will be impossible to reconstruct later.
2. Verify your Google Business Profile is current
Post-migration, your GBP becomes the authoritative source for campaign information. Before migration occurs, audit your GBP thoroughly: confirm that business hours, service categories, service areas, phone number, and business description are all accurate. Any outdated information in GBP will propagate directly into your Performance Max campaign settings.
3. Decide how to handle multi-service bidding
If you currently run a single LSA campaign that covers multiple service categories with different profitability — say, HVAC installation (high ticket, can support a higher CPA) alongside HVAC maintenance (lower ticket, needs a lower CPA) — you will need to decide whether to split these into separate Performance Max campaigns post-migration. The new structure requires a single campaign-level CPA target rather than per-category targets. Identify these scenarios before migration rather than discovering them afterward.
4. Plan your callout asset replacement
If you currently rely on BBB callout badges for trust signaling, draft replacement structured callout assets now. Good alternatives include specific service guarantees, licensing credentials, years in business, response time commitments, or payment flexibility. Prepare these assets so they are ready to add to your migrated campaign immediately.
5. Allow a two-week stabilization period post-migration
Google recommends avoiding major optimizations for approximately two weeks after migration, giving the algorithm time to relearn performance signals in the new environment. Plan your campaign review cadence around this window — schedule a proper optimization pass for two to three weeks after your migration date rather than making changes on day one.
Should you be concerned?
For most local service advertisers, this migration is a platform consolidation rather than a fundamental change to how LSA works. The pay-per-lead model, the search-and-maps-only placement, and the keywordless targeting are all preserved. The primary operational risks are the loss of historical data (addressed by exporting early) and the bidding structure change for multi-category campaigns (addressed by planning your campaign architecture in advance).
The potential upside is access to Google Ads reporting tools and audience features that were not available in the standalone LSA dashboard. For agencies and advertisers already managing multiple campaign types in Google Ads, having LSA data in the same interface simplifies cross-campaign analysis and budget allocation.
The migration is happening regardless — the question is whether you arrive at it prepared or scrambling to download historical data after the fact.
FAQ
Will my ads stop running during the migration?
No. Google migrates campaigns automatically without any ad delivery interruption. Budgets, settings, and creative assets transfer to the new Performance Max campaign. Your ads continue running throughout the transition.
Do I need to create a new Google Ads account?
No. If you already have a Google Ads account, your LSA campaigns migrate into that account. If you have been running LSA through the standalone dashboard without a Google Ads account, Google creates one for you as part of the migration process. You receive advance notification either way.
Is the pay-per-lead pricing model changing?
No. You continue to pay only for valid leads — qualified calls, messages, and bookings. Click-through charges do not apply. The lead validation and dispute process for invalid leads also carries over to the new platform.
Will I still need a Google Business Profile?
Yes, and its importance increases post-migration. GBP becomes the primary data source for campaign information, meaning an incomplete or outdated profile will directly affect your campaign configuration. Make sure your GBP is accurate and fully filled out before your migration date.
What happens to my lead reviews and ratings from the old LSA platform?
Lead history transfers to the new Lead Manager interface within Google Ads. Your existing lead data carries over. Historical performance reports (impressions, spend, CPA benchmarks) do not transfer — those must be downloaded from the LSA dashboard before migration.
