Local Services Ads Cost Calculator

How the numbers are worked out

Google lets you set an average weekly budget for Local Services Ads and caps your spending for the month at that weekly budget multiplied by the average number of weeks in a month (about 4.33). The calculator assumes you spend that full amount, divides it by your cost per lead to get leads, then applies your booking rate to get jobs.

For Search Ads it spends the same amount: clicks are the budget divided by your cost per click, leads are the share of those clicks that call or fill in your form, and jobs follow the same booking rate. Comparing the cost per booked job is the fairest way to judge two channels that charge in different ways.

One thing to keep in mind: if there are not enough people searching in your area, you may not receive enough leads to spend your full weekly budget. In that case your real spend, and your lead count, will both be lower than shown.

What Google charges you for

According to Google's own help page on how leads work, you pay only for valid leads related to your business. In short:

• Charged: calls you answer, missed calls during business hours where the caller stays on for more than 20 seconds, messages, voicemails and booking requests.
• Not charged: spam and duplicate contacts that Google filters out, repeat contact from the same number or email within 15 days, and unanswered calls outside your business hours or ad schedule.
• Credits: charged leads are reassessed over 30 days, and some low-quality or invalid ones are credited back automatically. You can also report a lead through its feedback survey, but credits for reported leads are not guaranteed.
• Lead price: varies by location, job type, lead type and the bidding mode you choose. Message leads are usually cheaper than phone leads.

Where to find your real cost per lead

If your Local Services Ads are already running, divide what you spent by the number of leads you were charged for over the same period. Both figures are in your Local Services Ads dashboard, and charges are listed under Billing. Use at least four weeks of data, because a single week can swing a lot.

If you have not started yet, treat any number as a guess and come back after your first month. For the Search Ads side, choose your service above to fill in a typical cost per click from Google Keyword Planner, or use the figure from your own account.

Which one should you run?

Often both. Local Services Ads sit at the very top of the results and only charge for real contacts, while Search Ads give you more control over which services, areas and searches you pay for. A good test is to run them side by side for a month or two and compare the real cost per booked job, which is exactly what this calculator estimates. For a fuller comparison, read Google Ads vs. Local Services Ads for pool companies.

If you run a pool company, see how I set up Google Ads for pool service companies. You can also plan a Search Ads budget with the Google Ads budget calculator.

Questions owners ask about Local Services Ads costs

Is there a minimum budget?

You set an average weekly budget yourself. Google can spend more than that in a busy week, but never more than the monthly maximum. Once that maximum is reached, your ad stops showing for the rest of the month unless you raise the budget.

Do I pay for spam or wrong-number calls?

Google filters out spam and duplicate contacts and says you are not charged for them. Leads that slip through can be credited during the 30-day review, and you can report others through the lead's feedback survey.

Why is my cost per lead higher than a competitor's?

Lead prices depend on your location, the job type, whether the lead is a call or a message, and your bidding mode, so two businesses in the same trade can pay quite different amounts.

Is a cheaper lead always better?

No. What matters is the cost per booked job. A $40 lead that books half the time is better value than a $25 lead that rarely books, which is why the calculator asks for your booking rate.