The short version
- US accounts move in phases from August 2026. Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe move in 2027. Australia and New Zealand don’t have Local Services Ads.
- Screenshot your spend, cost per lead by category, bids and targets. Manual bids and per-category targets are retired at the move.
- Your weekly budget ÷ 7 becomes a daily average, and the month is capped at that × 30.4.
- Hold big Business Profile edits until the move settles. A name, address or category change triggers a 24–48 hour review that can pause ads.
US benchmarks · USD. Every cost in this guide is a US figure, in US dollars, from US accounts and studies. Use it as a guide until your own account has numbers.
On this page · 9 parts
- When does your account move?
- What should you save before the move?
- What happens to your bids?
- What happens to your budget?
- What do you need to replace in callouts and photos?
- Should you edit your Business Profile during the move?
- What should you check in the first two weeks?
- Who do you call if something goes wrong?
- FAQ
When does your account move?
When Google’s 14-day email says. You don’t choose the date: US accounts move in phases from August 2026, and the rest in 2027. Each Local Services campaign becomes a pay-per-lead Performance Max campaign, Google’s automated campaign type, inside Google Ads. The account admin, the person with full control of the account, gets an email 14 days before, a reminder 7 days later, and a confirmation once it’s done. Google says to allow up to two weeks for the move to settle.[1] What the move changes, and how Local Services work, is on the main Local Services page. This page is the checklist.
| Where you are | When you move | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| US:plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, moving | From August 2026, select businesses first | Save everything on this page now |
| US: service-area businesses with no storefront, and accounts with custom bidding or booking setups | Late 2026 | Save everything now |
| US: every other category | 2027 | Save before your 14-day email |
| Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe | 2027 | Start a monthly screenshot habit |
| Australia and New Zealand | Doesn’t apply | Local Services Ads don’t run there. Your Search campaigns are the plan. |
Work from a service area with no storefront, like many plumbers and roofers? You’re likely in the late-2026 group. Either way, don’t wait for the email.
What should you save before the move?
Your past leads move across. Your performance reports don’t: impressions, clicks, weekly spend and ad-level reports stay behind.[1] Google says a download page is coming. Don’t wait for it: screenshot now.
Do this yourself, in your own account. This is WebFX’s list, plus a few of ours:[2]
What happens to your bids?
Manual bidding and per-category targets are retired. A target cost per lead is the average you tell Google you want to pay for a lead, and now one target applies to every category in the campaign. If you want separate targets, you need one campaign per category, and those still get created at g.co/localservices, not inside Google Ads.[1] Pay-per-lead campaigns default to Maximize Conversions, where Google aims for as many leads as your budget allows.[3]
That matters if your categories are worth very different amounts. A drain clear and a tankless water heater install now share one target.
What happens to your budget?
Your weekly budget is divided by 7 and becomes a daily average budget. Monthly spend is capped at that daily average × 30.4.[1] Here’s the math on a typical budget:
| Before the move | After the move | Monthly cap |
|---|---|---|
| $700 a week | $100 daily average | $3,040 |
| $1,400 a week | $200 daily average | $6,080 |
Used to lift the weekly budget for AC or storm season? Now you lift the daily average. Sizing it from the jobs you want is in the budget guide.
Campaigns › Settings
Checked against the official help pages, Oct 2026
What do you need to replace in callouts and photos?
Your BBB (Better Business Bureau) callouts. Callouts are the short trust lines on your ad, and the BBB ones are retired at the move. Google asks you to pick at least 6 others from its list, up to 6 per category. You can also add up to 100 business photos. Headlines, videos and sitelinks don’t apply to pay-per-lead campaigns. Those are Search assets.[1]
Campaigns › Assets
Checked against the official help pages, Oct 2026
Should you edit your Business Profile during the move?
Hold off on the big edits. After the move, your business name, address and hours come one way from your Google Business Profile into Google Ads. Hours, phone number and small name edits sync within 24 hours. A major change to your name, address or primary category triggers a review that typically takes 24–48 hours, and the campaign can pause while it runs.[1]
Google doesn’t call this a freeze. It’s our advice. From the 14-day email until two weeks after the move, don’t change your business name, address or primary category. If you’ve just rebranded or moved premises, make that change well before your email, or after things settle. A paused campaign in week one makes a bad move look worse.
What should you check in the first two weeks?
Locations, service types, categories, budgets, ad schedule and photos transfer automatically. Check them anyway. Compare against your saved baseline, not an empty dashboard, and don’t read anything into two or three bad days.[2]
Goals › Conversions › Leads
Checked against the official help pages, Oct 2026
Who do you call if something goes wrong?
Google runs a migration support line: +1-844-205-0011, Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm Eastern.[1] Before you call, have your Google Ads customer ID (the 10-digit number at the top of your account), your screenshots and a short list of what’s different. “Cost per lead on water heaters doubled since the move, screenshots attached” gets further than “it’s not working”.
Bad leads and credits after the move are covered on the main Local Services page. Running Search too? Read Local Services vs Search before you touch either budget. Ads that still say “Google Guaranteed”? See Google Verified.
FAQ
Can I stop or delay the move?
Google says campaigns move automatically, and it doesn’t describe a way to opt out or pick your date, as of October 2026. Use the time before your email to save your numbers.
Will I lose my past leads?
No. Past leads move to the new Leads page with their contact details, message history and call recordings. You can download them for your job software too.
Do I need to re-upload my insurance or license?
No. Google says “insurance and license reverification are no longer required”, and your verified status and badge transfer automatically.
My leads dropped after the move. What now?
Give it the two weeks Google asks for, then compare with your saved numbers by category. Still down? Call the support line with your screenshots.
Sources
- 1. Google Ads Help, “Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals”, checked Oct 28, 2026 (opens in a new tab) ↩
- 2. WebFX via Stacker, “Google Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max: What to save before your account migrates”, Sep 17, 2026 (opens in a new tab) ↩
- 3. Google Ads Help, “How leads work in Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals”, checked Oct 28, 2026 (opens in a new tab) ↩
