Picture this: A homeowner sits down at their kitchen table, frustrated by outdated cabinets and worn countertops. They grab their phone, type “kitchen remodeler near me” into Google, and before they see a single website or a traditional ad, three contractors appear with a green checkmark and the words “Google Guaranteed.”
For many homeowners, that’s the end of the search. They click. They call. And if your remodeling business isn’t in that top pack, you never even had a chance.
That’s the power of Local Services Ads (LSAs). They don’t just compete with Google Ads and SEO. They sit above them, literally and figuratively. For remodelers and builders, they can be a pipeline of ready-to-buy leads. But like any tool, they have limits. Some contractors thrive with LSAs, while others stall out, frustrated by capped volume, mismatched leads, and wasted budget.
This is the story of how LSAs work, why they matter for remodelers, and how to use them as part of a complete digital strategy, not just a band-aid for slow months.
Think of LSAs as Google’s version of a referral. Instead of paying every time someone clicks your ad, you only pay when a potential customer contacts you directly, usually through a phone call or message.
But LSAs come with a twist. They’re not just ads. They’re tied to the Google Guaranteed badge, which signals you’ve passed background checks, verified your licensing, and proven you’re insured. For homeowners, it’s like seeing a contractor with a pre-checked reference list.
For remodelers, this means:
Sounds perfect, right? Not quite. Because while LSAs can deliver some of the highest-intent leads in the industry, they’re also limited in scale and heavily influenced by how you manage them.
When a homeowner searches for a service, Google decides which contractors show in the top pack. Unlike Google Ads, where you set bids and target keywords, LSAs are ranked on a mix of factors:
It’s not an auction in the traditional sense. It’s a weighted system. A contractor with fewer reviews and slower response times can spend more, but still get buried beneath a competitor who built credibility.
And here’s the kicker: LSAs bill per lead, not click. If a homeowner calls and talks for more than 30 seconds, leaves a voicemail, or submits a form through the LSA system, you’re charged. Whether that call turns into a $75,000 kitchen job or a junk lead depends on how you manage disputes, reviews, and most importantly, intake.
Imagine two remodelers sitting across the street from each other. Both invest $1,000 this month.
Who wins? It depends.
LSAs deliver fewer, but hotter leads. They’re bottom-of-funnel, perfect for homeowners who already know they need a remodeler now. Search Ads, on the other hand, let you scale, control keywords, and nurture demand, but you’ll deal with more noise.
The truth? The strongest remodelers use both. LSAs for steady, high-intent leads, Search Ads for growth, visibility, and control.
Too many contractors treat LSAs as a silver bullet. They set them up, wait for the phone to ring, and then hit a ceiling. Because LSAs alone can only take you so far.
Here’s the bigger picture:
Used together, LSAs act like the catcher’s mitt at the bottom of your funnel, grabbing the most ready-to-go homeowners while your other channels feed future demand.
Pros:
Cons:
For remodelers, this means LSAs are profitable but not scalable. They’re your high-intent lead engine, but if you want to dominate a region or grow aggressively, you’ll need more than LSAs.
Getting started is straightforward, but success comes from how well you set up your profile.
Plenty of remodelers stop here and think they’re done. But setup is just the start. Optimization is where you win.
Here’s where reality sets in. You’ll pay for leads that don’t make sense. A homeowner calls asking about roofing. Someone two hours away dials in. A wrong number slips through.
The first time this happens, it feels like a rip-off. But disputes are part of the LSA game.
Contractors who treat disputes casually bleed money. Contractors who systemize them protect thousands each year. One remodeling firm we worked with recouped $1,200 in a single quarter just by tightening their dispute process.
For more information about LSA disputes including the 2024 dispute update check out our article on - How To Dispute Bad LSA Leads - HERE.
In LSAs, reviews aren’t nice-to-have. They’re fuel. Google uses review count and quality to decide who shows at the top.
Two remodelers, same budget. One has 12 reviews, the other has 85. Guess who wins placement? Every time.
Think of reviews as compounding interest. The earlier you start, the harder it becomes for competitors to catch you.
Here’s the overlooked truth: LSAs don’t just reward businesses that buy leads. They reward businesses that can handle them.
Imagine a homeowner calls from your LSA ad. It rings into voicemail. They hang up and call the next remodeler. That $80 lead is gone, along with the potential $50,000 project.
The difference between average and elite LSA performance isn’t the ads. It’s the intake. Remodelers who master this routinely see cost per lead cut in half because fewer opportunities slip away.
Every struggling remodeler we’ve seen with LSAs made at least one of these mistakes.
The Local Remodeler:
A one-county kitchen remodeler sets up LSAs, handles intake well, and disputes leads diligently. They average 20–25 calls a month. Enough to keep crews busy, but growth caps out.
The Regional Builder:
A larger firm layers LSAs with Google Ads and GBP. LSAs bring hot leads, Search Ads expand reach, GBP builds credibility. Lead flow climbs to 80+ per month, and revenue grows predictably.
The Over-Reliant Contractor:
A remodeler spends $2K/month solely on LSAs. First three months are gold. Then volume flattens. Growth stalls until they diversify into PPC and branding.
Google is doubling down on trust-driven advertising. Expect:
LSAs aren’t going away. But they’re evolving into something bigger: Google’s attempt to be the middleman in every service transaction.
Local Services Ads are powerful. They put remodelers and builders in front of homeowners at the exact moment of intent. They deliver leads that convert at high rates. And they can be the difference between an empty pipeline and a busy season.
But LSAs aren’t the whole story. They’re the final chapter of the funnel, not the book. The remodelers who thrive are the ones who use LSAs as a foundation for immediate lead capture, while also building long-term demand through Search Ads, GBP, SEO, and branding.
The moral? Success with LSAs isn’t about flipping a switch. It’s about learning the rules, building the systems, and then weaving them into a larger marketing strategy. Do that, and LSAs won’t just bring you leads. They’ll help you build a growth engine that keeps your crews busy year after year.
Turn tactics into traction with a strategy built to perform, no guesswork, no fluff, just results.
