Migration brief · Google Ads
Four decisions to make before the LSA dashboard closes
The campaign moves automatically, but the reporting baseline and several controls do not survive without deliberate action.
- Export performance reports before migration day
Historical campaign metrics will not move into Google Ads. Customer lead history will transfer, but the old reporting view will become inaccessible.
- The pay-per-lead product is not becoming standard Performance Max
Billing remains based on valid leads, ads continue to serve only on Search and Maps, and targeting remains keywordless.
- Budget and bid controls need a fresh baseline
The weekly budget becomes a daily average, manual max-per-lead bidding retires, and vertical-level targets merge into a campaign-level target.
- Google gives each account a short warning window
A dedicated email arrives 14 days before migration. The first selected U.S. service categories enter the rollout in August 2026.
Google is moving existing Local Services Ads campaigns into a specialized version of Performance Max with pay-per-lead goals. The first phase begins in August 2026 for selected U.S. home and storefront service categories, followed by a broader U.S. phase later in 2026 and remaining countries and categories in 2027.
This is an operating-console migration, not a switch from paying for leads to paying for clicks. The campaign keeps its local placements and lead-based economics, while budgets, targeting, inquiries and assets move into Google Ads. The practical risk is assuming that every historical report and every control will arrive unchanged.
The campaign keeps its economics and changes its operating home
Still Local Services Ads in practice
- Billing for valid leads
- Search and Maps placements
- Keywordless service targeting
- Google Verified eligibility
Now managed inside Google Ads
- Budget and campaign status
- Service areas and schedules
- Lead conversations
- Photos and business callouts
The product name changes more than the delivery model
Google says the migrated campaign will still charge only for valid leads such as calls and messages. It will continue to serve exclusively in the existing Local Services positions on Google Search and Google Maps. Service categories and service areas remain the targeting foundation, so the campaign stays keywordless.
That makes this campaign materially different from standard Performance Max. It does not expand into YouTube, Gmail or the Display Network, and it does not use the usual package of headlines, videos and sitelinks. Advertisers should not import ordinary Performance Max optimization advice without checking whether the feature exists in the pay-per-lead version.
The warning window is the migration project
Export the performance history before migration day
Previous campaign-level performance reports do not carry over. Historical impressions, clicks, weekly spend and ad-level reports remain in the original LSA dashboard only until the transition. On migration day, the old dashboard redirects to Google Ads, so the report export is a hard pre-migration task rather than optional housekeeping.
Download a period long enough to preserve seasonality and recent economics, then store the raw export with its date range and filters. At minimum, retain charged leads, spend, lead type, category and direct-business-search splits, bookings and credits. Agencies or multi-location operators using the Local Services API should preserve the same baseline at account level.
Customer lead history is treated differently. Contact details, message history and older call recordings are expected to transfer into the new Lead Manager. The distinction is easy to miss: the people and conversations move, while the historical campaign-reporting surface does not.
Translate the weekly budget before comparing performance
LSA uses a weekly budget. The migrated campaign uses a daily average calculated by dividing that weekly amount by seven. Google then applies a monthly spending limit of the daily average multiplied by 30.4. A $1,400 weekly budget therefore becomes a $200 daily average and a $6,080 monthly cap.
Record all three numbers before the move. Otherwise a team can compare a weekly control with a daily interface and incorrectly conclude that spend has been reduced or increased. After migration, review cost, charged conversions and cost per conversion together; the interface labels change, but the economic question remains cost per valid lead.
One weekly limit becomes two controls
Worked example from Google’s stated conversion rules
Separate service verticals when they need different targets
Manual max-per-lead bidding is not supported after migration. Target cost per lead remains available, but a multi-vertical advertiser loses separate vertical-level targets inside one campaign. Google will calculate a weighted campaign-level target from the current settings.
If plumbing and HVAC genuinely require different acquisition economics, the durable solution is separate campaigns rather than one blended target. Capture the pre-migration lead mix and target by vertical before deciding whether the weighted result is acceptable. This is a structure decision, distinct from the target-based bidding behavior reviewed in our August 2026 Google Ads bidding audit.
Google weights the existing vertical targets into one campaign-level target during migration.
Appropriate when service categories can share one acquisition target and budget.
Use when plumbing, HVAC or another service requires a materially different target or operating rule.
Treat Business Profile changes as an operational event
Business name, physical address and standard hours sync one way from Google Business Profile into Google Ads. Those core fields must still be edited in the Business Profile. Service areas, ad schedules and business categories can be managed independently in Google Ads after migration.
A significant Business Profile update can trigger a review lasting 24 to 48 hours and may pause ads temporarily. Do not combine an address or identity change with migration week unless it is necessary. Assign an owner for Profile access, capture the verified business details and keep a contact route ready if a review outlasts the expected window.
Move address, business identity or standard-hours changes away from migration week. Core fields sync one way from Business Profile, and a significant update can send the profile back into review.
The migration control room assigns every checkpoint
A useful migration record does not list every screen. It assigns each business-critical item to one of three states and names the person who validates it after the redirect.
Three checkpoints protect the operating record
- Export historical reports
- Capture budget and targets
- Record areas, schedule and categories
- Match daily budget and monthly cap
- Open Lead Manager and inspect history
- Confirm status, access and targeting
- Avoid simultaneous structural changes
- Watch charged leads, cost and CPL
- Separate configuration faults from learning
The control room separates continuity from reconstruction. It prevents the most expensive category error in the migration: assuming that an automatically created campaign has also preserved the evidence needed to judge it.
The first two weeks are a stabilization window
Google says performance may take up to two weeks to stabilize while the migrated campaign adjusts. That is not a reason to ignore obvious configuration errors. It is a reason to avoid rewriting the budget, target, service areas and schedule simultaneously when the campaign is otherwise configured correctly.
On the first day, verify access, status, budget, targeting, lead delivery and Business Profile fields. During the stabilization window, compare charged leads, cost and cost per lead with the exported baseline, while noting that normal weekly variation can be mistaken for a migration effect. Keep this review separate from the targeting governance work in our AI Max transition analysis.
Selected U.S. home services move first
The August 2026 first phase covers selected U.S. advertisers in plumbing, heating and air conditioning, electrical work, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control and moving services. Google plans a broader U.S. phase later in 2026, including more service-area businesses, custom bidding configurations and booking features. Non-U.S. advertisers and remaining categories follow in 2027.
The schedule is account-specific. Do not use the phase date as a substitute for the migration email. The dedicated notice and in-dashboard banner identify the actual window for each advertiser.
Selected U.S. home and storefront service categories enter the first phase.
Broader U.S. advertisers follow, including more service-area and custom setups.
Non-U.S. advertisers and remaining service categories move later.
A migration-day runbook keeps the evidence intact
Evidence pack
- Historical reports with date range and filters
- Weekly budget, bid mode and vertical targets
- Schedule, service areas and categories
- Named owners for Ads and Business Profile
Receiving check
- Daily budget and calculated monthly cap
- Recent contacts, messages and call history
- Search and Maps pay-per-lead delivery
- Access for campaign owners and responders
Frequently asked questions
Will Local Services Ads start charging for clicks?
No. Google says the migrated campaign keeps the pay-per-valid-lead model and continues to serve in local positions on Search and Maps.
Does lead history disappear with the old dashboard?
No. Customer lead history is expected to transfer into Lead Manager. Historical campaign performance reports do not transfer and must be exported separately.
Can advertisers create a new pay-per-lead campaign directly in Google Ads?
Not yet. Google says new campaigns and local accounts must still be created through the Local Services entry point until direct creation becomes available.
