Key Takeaways
- LSA leads cost $53 on average across home services in SearchLight Digital's February 2026 benchmark of 888 contractors.
- 43.9% of LSA leads became booked jobs, for a cost per paying customer of $233, against $472 for Google Ads in the same study.
- By trade: electrical $39, HVAC $51, plumbing $57, drain and sewer $59 per lead.
- Since October 20, 2025, the Google Verified badge has replaced Google Guaranteed and Google Screened, and the money-back guarantee has ended.
Google doesn't publish average results for Local Services Ads, so the main public reference is SearchLight Digital's February 2026 benchmark: 888 contractors, $6.72 million of tracked spend, 126,650 leads and $52.7 million of closed revenue. The figures below come from that study unless another source is named. Earlier versions of this page carried ranking-factor weights, dispute success rates and adoption percentages we couldn't trace to any source; they're gone.
What LSA leads cost
- Blended cost per lead across home services: $53 (SearchLight, February 2026).
- Book rate (leads that became booked jobs): 43.9%.
- Cost per paying customer: $233, against $472 for Google Ads in the same benchmark.
- Average ticket: $1,826; blended closed return on ad spend: 7.84x.
SearchLight's published summary names those trades; for others (roofing, cleaning, restoration), we haven't found a figure we can source, so treat any number you see as an estimate.
For comparison, WordStream and LocalIQ's 2026 benchmarks put Home & Home Improvement at $42.95 per lead on Facebook and $90.92 per lead on Google Search. LSA often costs a little more per lead than Facebook, but converts to paying customers far more cheaply than search ads.
The Google Verified badge (since October 2025)
- On October 20, 2025, Google replaced the Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified by Google badges with a single Google Verified badge, a blue check next to the business name.
- The money-back guarantee that came with Google Guaranteed was discontinued; consumers could claim for services booked before December 7, 2025.
- Businesses already verified for their category moved to Google Verified automatically.
What decides LSA placement
Google doesn't publish weights. Its help pages name the factors: how close the business is to the customer, its review score and number of reviews, how responsive it is to customer calls and messages, its business hours, and whether it has serious or repeated complaints. Answering calls and messages quickly and building steady reviews are the levers you control.
Disputes and credits
You pay per lead, not per click, and Google credits some leads that aren't valid (for example, a job outside your service area or category). It now reviews many leads automatically, and you can still request a credit for others through the dashboard. Credit rules change, so check Google's current Local Services help pages.
Sources
The public studies behind the figures on this page, with what each one was used for. Last verified 2026-09-25.
- 1SearchLight Digital — Home Services LSA Benchmark — Google Local Service Ads Cost Per Lead by Trade
February 2026 · 888 contractors, $6.72M tracked spend, 126,650 leads, $52.7M closed revenue. Blended and per-trade cost per lead, book rate (43.9%), cost per paying customer ($233 vs $472 for Google Ads), average ticket ($1,826) and closed ROAS (7.84x blended, 9.55x HVAC).
- 2Google — About Google Verified badge - Local Services Help
2025. The Google Verified badge that replaced Google Guaranteed and Google Screened.
- 3Search Engine Roundtable — Google Verified Badge To Replace Other Local Service Ads Badges
2025. The October 20, 2025 switch and the end of the money-back guarantee.
- 4WordStream — Facebook Ads Benchmarks 2026
2026. Facebook Home & Home Improvement cost per lead ($42.95) for comparison.
- 5WordStream — Google Ads Benchmarks 2026: Competitive Data for Every Industry
Apr 2025 – Mar 2026 · 13,474 US-based search advertising campaigns. Google Search Home & Home Improvement cost per lead ($90.92) for comparison.