How Does Google LSA Work?

Google Local Service Ads, or LSAs for short, are ads which appear at the top of search engine result pages (SERPs). A potential customer can learn essential information about a local business at just a glance with an LSA. And by hovering over the ad, a unique phone number allows customers to call a business while allowing the business to track the conversion rates of their LSAs.

There’s a lot more to it than that of course. But that’s the gist of what an LSA is and how it works.

If you’d like to go deeper into how Google LSAs work, then keep reading. We put together a blog just for you! We’ll cover essential questions that businesses ask us about LSAs, including:

• How are LSAs different from Google Search Ads?

• Does a Google My Business (GMB) listing impact my LSAs?

• What the heck is this “Google Guaranteed” badge I keep seeing?

And that’s just for starters! So grab a seat and buckle up. We clocked this blog at a speedy 3-minute read. And by the end of it you’ll practically be an LSA expert!

Looking to jump into LSA right away?

Rocket Media is a boutique digital marketing agency specializing in home services. Because LSAs are such an essential part to home service marketing, we’ve spent a ton of time perfecting them for our customers.

Give Rocket Media a call today and see how we can jump start your LSA marketing efforts in record time!

The Anatomy of a Local Service Ad

If this is the first time you’re seeing an LSA, the first thing you’ll notice is that they’re a lot smaller than the Google search ads that you’ve seen in the past. The norm is to place three Local Service Ads side by side on a page. Standard search ads are now pushed a level lower.

While smaller than a standard search ad, LSAs still pack quite a punch when it comes to useful information provided to the customer. Let’s take a look at these ads in a bit more detail.

As you can see, LSAs can be broken down into three main parts. Let’s dissect these parts and get a closer look at how a Local Service Ad works.

Star Rating & Reviews Link

Right beneath the business name is a star rating. This rating is pulled directly from a company’s Google My Business page as well as from ads left on the business’s LSA listing. Clicking the “See reviews” link on the ad will navigate the customer to the company’s LSA listing, where they can read ads left by previous customers.

Location & Service Hours

At the very bottom of the ad, customers can find essential information about the service area of a business as well as its hours of operation, or even whether the business is currently open based on the time a customer sees the ad.

Google Guaranteed Badge

A Google Guarantee badge was added to LSAs in July of 2020. For $50 a month, Google will perform a regular screening process of your business. If the business aces the screening process, then the business receives a “Google Guaranteed” badge at the top of their listing.

There are some nuanced details about the Google Guaranteed badge that may be relevant for business owners to understand. For example, Google will actually refund customers for up to $2,000 if the business doesn’t deliver on the services it promised.

In addition to that, you may hear of something called a “Google Screened” badge. This badge however cannot be displayed on home service LSA listings. But other service companies (lawyers, real estate agents) may have this present on their LSA.

What Do I Need to Get Started with Google LSA?

If you are a home service company with a Google account, then you’re more than halfway there. The only other thing you’ll need to get started is to create your LSA account with Google and build out your LSA listing.

Here’s how to set up your account:

Step 1: Visit Google’s LSA page and follow the instructions

Visit Google’s LSA set up page, click “Get Started” and then follow the instructions on the page. The main point of step 1 is to make sure a business is eligible to create LSAs. If you’re a home service company (as many of our readers are), then you shouldn’t have any issues with getting approved for an LSA listing.

Step 2: Build out your LSA listing

LSA listings provide barebones details about your company and what it does. This is by design. Google sees the listing as a place for customers to gather essential information about your business. While it’s technically a landing page, it’s been stripped of any marketing language.

Here’s what you’ll be providing to set up your LSA listing:

• A brief business bio featuring a few short bullet points
• A business overview detailing: the location you serve, your hours of operation, licensing information, and services offered
• Your GMB listing (if you have one) to connect your reviews to the LSA listing. (Optional)

In addition to the above, you can request that Google begins the process of getting you Google Guaranteed, so you can have a Google Guaranteed badge at the top of your listing.

Step 3: Capture New Leads and Track Progress

Like all forms of advertising, you’ll want to track how many leads come through via your LSA listing. Tracking metrics will give you critical insights into how much you’re paying per lead. And you can use those insights to improve your LSA listing and pay less money for better results.

Here’s what you won’t need to get started with LSAs

That’s what you’re going to need to get started. Here’s what you won’t need:

• A keyword strategy: You can’t control which keywords are targeted by an LSA. Rather, Google controls who sees the ad by using your LSA listing (and more specifically, the job types and service area you selected in the listing).
• A GMB listing: You don’t need to have a GMB listing to get started using Google LSAs. However, a GMB listing can help improve your LSA through its connected reviews feature. As a reminder, GMB reviews are connected to your LSA listing.
• A Google Guaranteed badge: Forking over $50 per month to Google for your Google Guaranteed badge isn’t a requirement. But it does help with conversions, especially if you’re going up against competitors who all have Google Guaranteed badges.

Want to Skip Ahead to the Part Where LSAs Win You More Business?

If you’re ready to get Google’s LSAs working for you, but don’t have hours and hours to research how to do it, then there’s a super-secret tactic to doing so that can speed up the process dramatically. It’s called “give your friends at Rocket Media a call!”

Rocket Media has been helping home service companies set up and manage their LSA listings since Google first started offering them. Call us today and find out how we can help you capture more leads with local service listings!