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If you run Local Services Ads (LSA), you're going to see some changes over the next few months. Google announced on July 20, 2026 that it's retiring the standalone LSA dashboard and folding LSA into Google Ads as a new campaign type built for pay-per-lead advertisers. Pest control and lawn care are in the first migration wave, starting this August.
Here's the breakdown, without the jargon.
What's actually happening
Google is moving LSA management into the Google Ads platform. This is a backend migration, not a change to your ads. Your ads still show up in the same spots — Google Search and Google Maps — and you still only pay for valid leads, not clicks. Google says the transfer is automatic: budget, service area, service types, and ad schedule all carry over without you having to rebuild anything.
What's staying the same
- Pay-per-lead pricing
- Ad placement (Search and Maps only, same positions)
- Keywordless setup based on service categories and location
- Your Google Verified badge and verification status
What's changing
Bidding
Manual cost-per-lead bidding is going away entirely. Target CPA sticks around, but you lose control over it: Google will set one blended Target CPA across your whole account instead of letting you set separate targets per service line. If you run both lawn care and pest control under one LSA account, that's worth a conversation with whoever manages your ads before your migration date.
Budgets
LSA has run on weekly budgets. After migration, budgets convert to daily (your weekly number divided by seven), with a monthly cap based on that daily average times 30.4. Your total monthly spend shouldn't change, but day-to-day spend may look less even than what you're used to. Worth knowing so an up day doesn't read as a mistake.
Reporting
Your past leads themselves are safe — contacts, message threads, and call recordings all transfer automatically into the new Lead Manager inside Google Ads. What doesn't carry over is historical performance reporting (the aggregate numbers: spend, lead counts, CPL trends). If that data isn't exported before your account migrates, it's gone. If an agency manages your account, ask whether your history has been backed up. Coalmarch clients are in great hands so not to worry!
Google Business Profile Changes
Your business name, address, and hours will sync one-way from your Google Business Profile into Google Ads. After migration, a significant name or address change on your profile can trigger a re-verification review (24–48 hours), during which your campaign can pause. If you're planning a rebrand or a location change, timing matters more than it used to.
BBB callouts
Better Business Bureau callouts are being phased out. If your account leans on that callout, you'll want at least six other structured callouts (hours, specialties, payment methods, etc.) selected to fill the gap.
Timeline
Google is sending each account a 14-day advance notice to the admin, a follow-up reminder a week later, and a confirmation once migration completes. Expect up to two weeks after migration for performance to fully settle back down.
The bottom line
Nothing about how customers find you or how you pay for leads is changing. What's changing is control — bidding defaults to a blended target unless you split by service line, budgets get less predictable day-to-day, and historical reporting needs to be saved before it disappears. If you haven't heard from your ad platform rep or your agency about a plan for your account, that's the conversation to start now.
If you're a Coalmarch client, your account team already has this under control — reach out with any questions. If you're not, and you want a second set of eyes on your LSA setup, Coalmarch Marketing works exclusively with pest control and lawn care companies and can help.
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