Local Services Ads Are Moving to Performance Max
Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads as a pay per lead type of Performance Max campaign. Everything your customers see stays the same, while the way you manage, bid, and report on leads changes, and for Perth businesses the switch arrives in 2027.
TL;DR key takeaways
- Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads as a pay per lead type of Performance Max campaign.
- The parts your customers see stay the same: pay per lead billing, the Google Guaranteed badge, and placement on Search and Maps only.
- Behind the scenes it changes: you manage the campaign inside Google Ads, bidding becomes automated, your weekly budget becomes a daily one, and your old performance reports do not come across.
- United States accounts move first from August 2026. Australian accounts are scheduled for 2027, so Perth businesses have time to prepare.
- The one thing you cannot get back later is your historical reporting. Export it before your migration date.
Table of Contents
- What is actually changing with Local Services Ads?
- What stays the same after the migration?
- What changes behind the scenes?
- When will the migration reach Perth?
- What should you do before Google moves your account?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is This Article For?
Owners of Perth service businesses that run Local Services Ads, the ones with the green Google Guaranteed tick. If you are a plumber in Fremantle, an electrician in Joondalup, a cleaner in Cannington, or you run any trade that pays Google per lead, this is about your account. It is also for anyone managing these campaigns on behalf of local clients across Western Australia.
Why This Matters
Local Services Ads have been their own quiet corner of Google for years. Separate dashboard, separate login, a simple weekly budget, and a bid you set yourself. That corner is closing. Google is folding the whole thing into Google Ads and putting automated bidding in charge. For a Perth business owner who has never opened Google Ads, that is a real shift in how leads get bought and measured. Get ahead of it and nothing breaks. Ignore it and you could lose your reporting history and hand your budget to a system you have not set up properly.
What Is Actually Changing With Local Services Ads?
Google is moving Local Services Ads into the main Google Ads platform. Your campaign becomes a specialised version of Performance Max built only for pay per lead goals. Search Engine Journal reported the change and Google has published its own migration guide. This is not the broad Performance Max that chases clicks across YouTube and Gmail. It stays narrow, local, and lead focused. Think of it as your Local Services Ads campaign moving into a new house, not a different campaign replacing it.
| Stays the same | Changes for you |
|---|---|
| Pay per lead billing | Managed inside Google Ads |
| Search and Maps only placements | Automated bidding replaces manual |
| Keywordless service area targeting | Weekly budget becomes a daily one |
| Google Guaranteed badge and verification | Old performance reports do not transfer |
| Ability to dispute invalid leads | Business Profile details sync one way |
What Stays the Same After the Migration?
The parts your customers see do not move. You still pay only for valid leads such as calls and messages, not clicks. Your ads still show in the same spots on Google Search and Google Maps. Targeting stays keywordless, driven by your service categories and the Perth areas you cover. Your Google Guaranteed badge and your verification status carry over automatically, and you can still dispute leads that are out of area or the wrong job. If you already earned trust with reviews and a verified profile, none of that is lost.
What Changes Behind the Scenes?
This is where you need to pay attention.
- Management moves into Google Ads. The old Local Services Ads dashboard retires once your account migrates. Logging in simply redirects you to Google Ads.
- Bidding becomes automated. Manual bidding, where you set your own maximum cost per lead, is gone. So is industry level Target CPA. Google sets one campaign level target and bids for you.
- Your budget format changes. Google takes your average weekly budget and divides it by seven to set a daily average. Your monthly spend is capped at that daily figure times 30.4.
- Your reports do not come with you. Past spend, lead volume, and performance history stay behind. Your lead history, messages, and reviews do transfer into the new Leads page.
- Smaller things shift too. Better Business Bureau callouts are dropped, so Google asks you to pick at least six other callouts like hours and payment methods. Your business name and address now sync one way from your Google Business Profile.
When Will the Migration Reach Perth?
Google is rolling this out in waves, not all at once.
- August 2026: the first United States home and storefront services, including plumbing, electrical, roofing, and pest control.
- Late 2026: broader United States groups, including service area businesses without a storefront.
- 2027: accounts outside the United States, which includes Australia, plus any remaining categories.
So Perth is a 2027 job, and that is good news. You are not being moved this week, and you get to watch the United States rollout play out first and learn from it. Google assigns each account its own date and emails the administrator about 14 days ahead, with a reminder around 7 days out. You do not choose the date and there is no opt out.
What Should You Do Before Google Moves Your Account?
You have months, so use them.
- Export your reporting now. This is the only step with a hard deadline you cannot recover. Save your spend, lead volume, cost per lead, and monthly trends while the old dashboard still holds them. Screenshots work if nothing else does.
- Learn the Google Ads interface. If you have only ever used the Local Services dashboard, open Google Ads and get familiar before you are forced in.
- Write down your real cost per lead. Once bidding automates, your cost per lead can move, so you need a clean before number to judge the after. From Call Only to Call Assets covers why owning that lead data matters.
- Tidy your Google Business Profile. Since your name, address, and hours now sync one way from your profile, make sure it is accurate. Weak profiles feed weak campaigns.
- Decide if you need separate campaigns. If you run different Target CPA goals for, say, plumbing and drain work, you may need to split them into separate campaigns to keep distinct targets.
If you already run search or other Google Ads campaigns alongside Local Services, this move could make your week simpler. Google Ads for Tradies and Local Services in Perth compares the campaign types for local work, and if automation makes you nervous, The AI Max Migration Playbook walks through the same shift toward automated Google campaigns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my Google Guaranteed badge disappear when my account moves?
No. Your verified status and the Google Guaranteed badge transfer to Google Ads automatically. You do not need to reverify your insurance or licence just because of the migration.
When will my Perth business be migrated?
Australian accounts are scheduled for 2027, since the rollout reaches accounts outside the United States last. Google assigns your exact date and emails your account administrator about 14 days beforehand.
Will I lose my past leads and reviews?
Your leads, message history, call recordings, and reviews carry over into the new Leads page inside Google Ads. What does not carry over is your performance reporting, so export that before your migration date.
Get Migration Ready
Not sure how your Local Services setup will hold up once Google moves it, or want your reporting exported and your account ready before the 2027 wave reaches Perth? That is exactly the kind of Google Ads work I handle for local Western Australian businesses. Book a quick review and we will get you migration ready, well before Google picks your date.
