Our clients frequently ask us about the cost per lead on Google Local Service Ads and whether they are trending above or below the benchmark.
We grew tired of answering this question, so we compiled data based on over 100 clients that anyone can view.
Keep in mind that competitiveness varies depending on the market in which you’re located.
- Personal Injury: $249
- Roofer: $162
- HVAC: $80
- Fencing Pro: $71
- Plumbing: $69
- Estate Lawyer: $45
- Painter: $40
- Landscaper: $39
- Drywall Repair (handyperson): $34
- Locksmith: $34
- Dog Training: $30
- Businesses typically receive 6-7% of their LSA spend back in credits for unqualified leads
- More than 90% of leads that come through are via phone versus form fill
- For our clients who advertise with LSA and PPC, we observe a 60/40 percent budget allocation between local service ads and standard PPC advertisements, with a greater budget allocated towards LSA.
- LSAs are the #2 choice: When people see search results (organic and paid), 27.78% prefer clicking Local Service Ads – making them the second most popular option after Google Maps (41.27%)
- Consumers prefer LSA over PPC: 29% prefer clicking LSAs, while only 11% prefer Google Ads, making LSAs the new preferred paid option over traditional ads.
- Pictures and reviews drive clicks: The top reasons consumers choose LSAs are “pictures of the attorneys, first result they saw, mentions reviews/years of experience”
- Google prefers you answer calls within 30 seconds
- For messages, Google recommends responding within 4 hours.
- It’s better for your LSA account to list a phone number that rings directly to a person to help reduce the likelihood of missed calls.
- Make sure to monitor your dashboard and book leads that are legitimate
- Be sure to rate your charged leads. This allows Google to refine the leads if they are of poor quality.
- All customer reviews for businesses using Local Services Ads are fully managed through your Google Business Profile, rather than your LSA account. Get reviews on your Google Business Profile!
- Multi-location businesses should create separate Google Local Service Ads accounts for each DMA (Designated Market Area) rather than trying to target multiple markets in one account, as this improves performance and lead quality.
- If you are BBB Accredited, make sure you add this to your business information on LSA. Note: you will need to contact GLSA support to have this added.
- Local Service Ads are now available for more than 70 types of businesses [source]
- Home Services and legal are the most prominent categories, but finance, real estate, education, people care, pet care, wellness, and healthcare are other categories
Resources
In addition to our internal data, we leveraged insight from the following helpful sources for this article:
