# Google is moving Local Services Ads into Performance Max pay-per-lead campaigns Google has begun migrating U.S. Local Services Ads into a specialized Performance Max pay-per-lead campaign inside Google Ads. The lead-pricing model and Search/Maps placements stay, but the standalone LSA dashboard disappears, historical campaign reports do not transfer, and several bidding controls change. The August Local Services Ads migration is an operational cutoff, not a rebrand. Selected U.S. home and storefront service advertisers are moving into Google Ads now; teams need to export old reports and re-check budget and bidding assumptions before their account is transferred. - Status: Active - Published: 2026-08-27T20:55:05+12:00 - Updated: 2026-08-27T20:55:05+12:00 - Categories: Marketing & Distribution, Paid Acquisition - Tags: Google Ads, Local Services Ads, paid acquisition, Performance Max - Canonical HTML: https://beyondthe.news/dossiers/google-local-services-ads-performance-max-pay-per-lead-migration ## What changed Google began the first phase of migrating Local Services Ads into Google Ads in August 2026. Selected U.S. home and storefront service advertisers — including plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control and moving — are being converted into a specialized Performance Max campaign type with pay-per-lead goals. Google says the core local model remains: these campaigns continue to charge for valid leads, remain keywordless and serve on Google Search and Maps. But campaign management moves out of the standalone Local Services Ads dashboard. Historical campaign performance reports do not migrate, weekly budgets are converted to daily averages, manual bidding is removed, and separate vertical-level Target CPA settings are collapsed unless advertisers split categories into separate campaigns. Google says the migration expands to broader U.S. groups later in 2026 and to remaining categories and non-U.S. accounts through 2027. ## Why it matters For local-service businesses and the agencies or software builders managing their acquisition, this is a platform migration with real reporting and control consequences. Losing the old dashboard after migration means historical data needs to be exported before the account moves. The shift from weekly to daily budget framing and the removal of manual and vertical-specific bidding controls can also change how advertisers structure campaigns and compare lead economics across services. Google is preserving the pay-per-lead proposition, but operational ownership is moving into the broader Performance Max/Google Ads system, where automation and campaign structure matter more. ## The migration is already underway Google says the first phase began in August 2026 for selected U.S. home and storefront service advertisers. Account administrators receive advance notices before their individual migration date. Broader service-area and custom-configuration groups are scheduled later in 2026, with remaining categories and non-U.S. accounts moving through 2027. ## The pay-per-lead model survives the platform move Google describes the destination as a specialized Performance Max campaign with pay-per-lead goals. Unlike ordinary Performance Max campaigns that are typically CPC-based and can serve across more Google inventory, these migrated local campaigns remain focused on Search and Maps and continue charging for valid leads rather than ordinary clicks. ## Historical campaign reports do not follow the account After migration, advertisers lose access to the old Local Services Ads dashboard and are redirected into Google Ads. Google explicitly says prior campaign-level performance metrics such as impressions, clicks, weekly spend and ad-level reports will not transfer. Advertisers who need comparison history should export or capture that data before migration. ## Budget and bidding semantics change Google converts the historical average weekly budget into a daily average by dividing it by seven. Manual bidding, including maximum cost-per-lead controls, is no longer supported after migration, and vertical-level Target CPA settings are replaced by a campaign-level target. Advertisers that need distinct bidding economics for different services may need separate campaigns. ## Migration can temporarily disturb performance Google says the transition is designed for minimal downtime but advises allowing up to two weeks for the migration to complete fully and for campaign performance to return to stable levels. That makes the cutover a measurement event: agencies should avoid interpreting short-term post-migration lead-cost changes as a durable trend without accounting for the transition period. ## Key details - Google began migrating selected U.S. Local Services Ads accounts in August 2026. - The destination is a specialized Performance Max campaign with pay-per-lead goals inside Google Ads. - Migrated campaigns remain keywordless, continue to serve on Search and Maps, and continue charging for valid leads. - The standalone Local Services Ads dashboard is no longer accessible after an account migrates. - Historical campaign performance reports do not transfer into Google Ads. - Weekly budgets are converted into daily average budgets. - Manual bidding and vertical-level Target CPA settings are not supported in the migrated campaign model. - Google says broader U.S. migrations continue later in 2026 and remaining categories/non-U.S. accounts move during 2027. ## Builder takeaways - Export Local Services Ads historical reports before your migration date; Google says campaign-level history will not carry into the new Google Ads experience. - Snapshot current weekly budget, lead volume, cost per lead, service mix and Target CPA settings so you have a clean pre-migration baseline. - If different service categories need different economics, plan separate campaigns rather than relying on the old vertical-level Target CPA controls. - Treat the first one to two weeks after migration as a transition period and compare backend booked jobs/revenue as well as Google-reported leads. - Audit integrations, dashboards and agency automation that depend on the old LSA dashboard or report exports; management is moving into Google Ads. - Confirm that the migrated campaign still reflects the correct services, locations, schedule, business photos, routing and verification state after cutover. ## What to watch - Whether migrated advertisers see systematic changes in lead volume, lead quality or cost after the stabilization period. - The promised download path for historical Local Services Ads performance data. - How Google exposes APIs and reporting for the specialized pay-per-lead Performance Max campaign type. - Whether later migration phases change booking, bidding or lead-dispute behavior for advertisers with more complex setups. - Expansion beyond the first U.S. service categories and the exact timing for non-U.S. accounts. ## Uncertainties - Migration timing is account-specific within Google’s phased rollout, so not every eligible advertiser moves at the same time. - Google describes the destination as Performance Max with pay-per-lead goals, but some ordinary Performance Max documentation and controls do not apply to this specialized local campaign type. - Real-world post-migration changes in lead quality and cost are not yet established across a broad independent dataset. ## Sources - [Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17213585) — Google Ads Help · primary documentation. Current migration timeline, dashboard/reporting loss, budget and bidding changes, pay-per-lead behavior and stabilization guidance. - [Local Services Ads are transitioning to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals](https://support.google.com/google-ads/thread/456909801/local-services-ads-are-transitioning-to-performance-max-campaigns-with-pay-per-lead-goals) — Google Ads Community · primary platform announcement · 2026-08-03T00:00:00+12:00. Google community-manager announcement confirming August rollout, preserved pay-per-lead model and preparation steps. - [Google expands Local Services Ads categories ahead of migration](https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-local-services-ads-categories-ahead-of-migration-485695) — Search Engine Land · specialist reporting · 2026-08-24T00:00:00+12:00. Current specialist context on category expansion during the migration period.