Per-lead pricing typically $25–$150 in most US markets, $20–$120 in Canada. Higher in major metros and saturated categories (legal, real estate can hit $300+).
**Realistic 2026 per-lead ranges by category and market tier:**
**Trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing):** - Major metros (NYC, LA, SF, Toronto): $40–$120/lead - Mid-size cities: $25–$80/lead - Smaller markets: $15–$50/lead
**Home services (cleaning, landscaping, pest control):** - Major metros: $30–$80/lead - Mid-size cities: $20–$50/lead
**Legal:** - Personal injury: $200–$600+/lead in major metros - Family law: $80–$250/lead - Immigration: $50–$150/lead
**Real estate:** - Buyer leads: $40–$200 - Seller leads (higher value): $80–$400
**Financial planning / accounting:** $60–$300/lead
**The factors that move you within the range:**
**Up (more expensive):** densely-populated metro, high commercial intent for the category, well-funded competitors bidding aggressively, peak season for the category.
**Down (less expensive):** suburban/exurban service areas with less competition, off-season, niche specializations that filter out general queries, smaller cities.
**What you actually pay for:**
LSA bills per "qualified lead" — defined as a phone call over 30 seconds OR a message that's not spam OR a booking request. You can dispute leads that don't qualify (wrong service area, wrong service type, spam) and Google will refund qualifying disputes — but excessive disputing reduces your ranking and lead volume.
**The lead-to-customer conversion math:**
If your average lead-to-job conversion is 30% (typical for trades) and your average job is $1,200, you can profitably pay up to ~$120 per lead before margin gets thin (assuming 30% gross margin on the $1,200 job = $360 contribution, $120 lead cost = 33% of contribution). LSA tends to outperform standard Google Ads for service businesses because the lead intent is higher (caller is already at "I need this now" stage).
**Budget structure:** LSA uses weekly budgets, not daily. Set the budget at 10× your expected weekly leads needed × your max acceptable lead cost. Google rarely spends the full budget, especially as you start.
- **What are Google Local Services Ads (LSA)?** — Pay-per-lead ads that appear above standard Google Ads for local-intent service queries. You pay only when someone calls or messages you — not for clicks. - **Should I use Yelp Ads for my service business?** — Mixed answer — Yelp Ads work well in specific categories and metros (especially restaurants, beauty, local entertainment in major US cities) and poorly in most others. - **How do I rank #1 in Google Maps?** — Optimize your Google Business Profile for relevance (correct categories), distance (define accurate service areas), and prominence (review velocity + citations + GBP posts). - **What is the Google Guarantee badge?** — A green-checkmark badge on Local Services Ads listings showing Google has verified your license + insurance and will refund customers up to $2,000 if work is unsatisfactory.