At Riley Summers, we manage Google Local Services Ads for home services businesses, from setup and verification through service categories, service area, budget and lead status in the platform. We measure results against booked jobs rather than lead counts, and charge a flat monthly management fee.
On this page
- Who LSA Management Is For
- What's Included in LSA Management
- How We Manage LSA Performance
- What We Usually Find in Existing LSA Accounts
- How LSA Management Starts
- What's Separate From LSA Management
- Related Resources
Who LSA Management Is For
Local Services Ads put a business into a pay-per-lead marketplace at the top of Google's results, where customers compare providers side by side. They work best when three things are in place:
- Google offers LSAs for the business's category in its area. Availability varies by service type and location, so we confirm eligibility before anything else.
- The business can complete Google's screening and verification. Requirements depend on the category and can include license, insurance and background checks.
- The business has a reputation to build on. A business with few reviews can still compete. We add it to the auction from the start, because it can still win leads, and every lead it handles well gives it a chance to prove to Google that it deserves more visibility. Lead volume tends to grow as the reviews do.
LSAs also reward businesses that answer leads quickly and keep lead outcomes updated in the platform. Larger businesses with dedicated staff for incoming calls tend to do this well, and it shows in the number of leads they receive.
Your LSA account
The account belongs to your business, not to us.
Leads billed to your card
Google bills your business directly for each lead. We charge only our fee.
One flat fee
Our management fee doesn't change with your lead spend.
60-day out
No long-term contract, from the start.
What's Included in LSA Management
Every LSA engagement covers the account through its full life, from getting approved to reporting what the leads produce.
Setup and verification
We set up the account and guide the business through Google's screening and verification, keeping the process moving. The timeline is Google's.
Services and job types
We turn on the job types the business wants and switch off the ones it doesn't, so it only pays for leads that fit its work.
Service area
We set where the business receives leads, focused on the areas its jobs come from.
Lead status management and disputes
We keep leads up to date in the platform and review them for ones that don't qualify, such as the wrong service or outside the service area, requesting credit for those where Google allows it. The business's staff answer and book the customers, and keeping outcomes current helps show Google the business is responsive.
Review guidance
We advise the business on earning a steady flow of reviews within Google's policies. Full review management is available as a separate service.
Reporting
Monthly reports show lead activity, and we match leads to booked jobs from the business's monthly list.
Budget and bidding
We recommend the budget we believe it will take, manage bidding within the budget the owner sets, and say plainly if that budget is too small to compete. Our fee doesn't change with spend, so a recommendation to spend more is never about our fee.
How We Manage LSA Performance
Google's job is to show each person searching the businesses it believes will best answer their need. With Local Services Ads, that means deciding which businesses to recommend for each search, and in which order.
When Mark Riley first onboarded onto Local Services Ads, members of the Google team that built the platform explained it around three factors: Radius, Reviews and Response time. The platform has evolved since then, but those three remain at the core of how we manage every LSA account.
- Radius: Where the business is located and where it's set to receive leads. We focus the service area on where the business can realistically compete and where its jobs come from.
- Reviews: The number, recency and rating of the business's reviews, shown to customers right alongside the ad. We guide the business on earning a steady flow of new ones.
- Response: How quickly the business answers leads and keeps their outcomes updated. We track responsiveness and keep lead statuses current in the platform.
Of the three, response matters most at the start. In our experience, Google sends a newly added account a small number of early leads. If the business misses them, it can take three months or more of low lead volume to regain Google's trust, regardless of budget. That's why we walk owners through the three R's when an LSA account starts, and stress above all how important it is to answer the phone quickly.
We measure beyond the lead. LSAs report leads; what matters to the business is the work those leads produce. Each month, we match leads against the jobs the business booked, so we can see whether the program is producing work, not just inquiries. When lead volume levels off after several months, it often means the business has reached what its market and reputation can deliver, and we'll discuss the options with the owner.
For more on how LSAs work, see Local Services & Pay-Per-Lead.
What We Usually Find in Existing LSA Accounts
LSAs are a fairly simple platform, so there's less to audit than in a Google Ads account. The problems we find are few, but each one costs the business leads.
No plan for building reviews
Reviews appear right beside the ad, yet nobody is helping the business earn new ones.
What we do instead
We guide the business on earning a steady flow of reviews within Google's policies.
Lead statuses left untouched
Leads come in and are never updated in the platform, so Google sees a business that doesn't follow through.
What we do instead
We keep lead statuses current and request credit for leads that don't qualify.
Too few images, and none new
The profile has a handful of old photos, or none, so it looks inactive next to competitors.
What we do instead
We keep the profile stocked with images and add new ones regularly.
Targeting that doesn't fit the business
Job types or service areas are set for work the business doesn't want, or areas it doesn't serve.
What we do instead
We match job types and areas to the work the business wants and where its jobs come from.
A budget setup that limits lead volume
Many businesses get fewer LSA leads than they expected, and how the budget is set up in the platform is often part of the reason.
What we do instead
Our own proven budget approach keeps the account open to more leads, within what the owner approves. We explain it during the free LSA audit.
Getting fewer LSA leads than you expected?
We'll review your Local Services Ads account and show you what's holding your lead volume back.
Request a free LSA auditHow LSA Management Starts
- Free LSA audit. If the business already runs LSAs, we review the account, profile and lead history. If it's new to LSAs, we confirm its category is available in its area.
- Discovery. We learn which jobs the owner wants more of, the area the business serves, and where its jobs have come from in the past.
- Account setup. We set up the account, or rebuild an existing one, with the right job types, service area and profile. Setup is a one-time fee.
- Verification. Google screens the business before ads can run, which can include license, insurance and background checks. Unlike paid search, LSAs can't be switched on the same day, and the timeline is Google's.
- Launch. Before the account goes live, we walk the owner through the three R's, especially answering the phone quickly, since Google's first leads set the tone.
- Ongoing management. We manage the account continuously, with monthly reporting and an annual review with the owner.
Engagements are billed at a flat monthly management fee, with a 60-day out from the start. There's no long-term contract.
What's Separate From LSA Management
Every agency defines LSA management differently, and many never discuss what's left out. We set it out plainly. LSA management covers the full Local Services Ads account, and a few related services are available separately, depending on what the business needs.
Paid search (PPC). Google Ads campaigns are managed as their own service. See Paid Search (PPC).
Review management. Review guidance is included in LSA management. Hands-on review generation and response management is a separate service. See Reputation Management.
Message-lead handling. LSA message leads can be answered in real time by a staffed live chat service we work with, with high-value inquiries transferred to the business. It's available as an addition.
Google Business Profile management. The business's profile is separate from its LSA account and is managed as part of our Local SEO service. See Local SEO.
Enhanced reporting. A paid addition that includes monthly meetings and deeper call reporting.
CRM integration. Connecting LSA leads to the business's own customer records is additional work, available where the business's systems allow.
Related Resources
Find out what's holding your LSA leads back.
If you're already running Local Services Ads, we'll review your account, profile and lead history and show you where you're losing leads. If you're new to LSAs, we'll confirm whether your services are available in your area and what it takes to get started.
Request a free LSA audit