If you've searched for a plumber, electrician, or roofer on Google recently, you've likely seen a small section at the very top of the results, above even the paid ads, with a handful of businesses showing star ratings, a "Google Screened" badge, and a phone number to call directly. That's Local Service Ads, and it's a genuinely different advertising product than the more familiar Google Ads, the text ads you've probably heard about for years. Business owners often lump the two together, but understanding the difference matters before you spend money on either.

Google Ads: Pay Per Click, You Control the Message

Google Ads, technically called Google Search Ads for the text-based version most people picture, works on an auction. You choose keywords you want to show up for, "emergency plumber Houston" for example, write your own ad text, and set a budget. You're charged each time someone clicks your ad, whether or not that click turns into a customer. You control what the ad says, what page it sends people to, and you can run it for almost any kind of business, service-based or otherwise, including online stores.

This flexibility is also what makes Google Ads harder to run well without experience. A poorly built campaign, wrong keywords, unclear ad text, a slow landing page, can burn through a budget quickly with little to show for it. It rewards ongoing attention: watching which keywords convert, adjusting bids, and refining ad copy over time.

Local Service Ads: Pay Per Lead, Google Handles the Rest

Local Service Ads work differently in almost every respect. They're currently available mainly to home service and a handful of professional service businesses, plumbers, electricians, HVAC companies, lawyers, locksmiths, and similar trades. Instead of writing ad copy, your business profile shows a rating, reviews, and a "Google Screened" or "Google Guaranteed" badge, which requires passing a background check and licensing verification process through Google.

The billing is also fundamentally different: instead of paying per click, you pay per lead, meaning a phone call or message from a real potential customer, not just someone who clicked and left. This tends to feel more directly tied to results for business owners who don't want to think about keywords and bidding at all, though it comes with less control over exactly who sees you and when.

Which One Fits Your Business

  • If you're a home service or licensed trade business, Local Service Ads is often the easier starting point: simpler to set up, less ongoing management, and you're only paying for actual leads
  • If you sell products online, run a business outside the trades Local Service Ads covers, or want more control over your message and targeting, Google Ads is likely your only real option between the two
  • Larger or more established service businesses often end up running both, since they reach customers at different points and don't fully overlap

Neither is inherently cheaper or better, they're built for different situations. The mistake to avoid is treating them as interchangeable or assuming that because one worked for a business down the street, it's automatically the right fit for yours. What actually determines the right choice is your industry, how much control you want over your ad message, and how much time you or someone on your team can put into managing a campaign that requires it.