Local Services Ads Lead Credits: Review Charges and Track Real Outcomes

A charged advertising lead and a booked job are different outcomes. Review both when deciding whether Local Services Ads is working for your business. Keep the original lead record, charge status, any confirmed credit, and the eventual job outcome together so your cost calculations reflect what actually happened.

Use the current credit process

Google assesses leads initially and can reassess charged leads for automated credits. Its current policy no longer supports credits for job types or geographic areas you do not service. Credits are also unavailable for healthcare verticals, tax specialists, and advertisers in EMEA. Check Google's automated lead-credit policy for the scope that applies to your account.

In the Local Services interface, use the lead feedback survey to describe an unwanted inquiry accurately. Google describes a Rate this lead option in the Leads area. Feedback is not a promise that a charge will be reversed. The policy says credits generally reach the account balance within 30 days, while the original charge remains on the invoice. That is not a universal 30-day deadline for filing a manual dispute.

Check which dashboard your account uses

Google has announced a phased transition of Local Services Ads into specialized Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. Check your account notices before following older menu instructions. For migrated accounts, Google directs advertisers to Goals, Conversions, then Leads, where lead feedback is available.

Save historical campaign performance reports before migration using the options available to you. Google's guidance says those reports do not carry over, although customer lead history does. Review the migration instructions and record your transition date so a reporting change is not mistaken for a sudden loss of leads.

A lead can be chargeable without becoming a job

Google's lead guidance includes chargeable situations where a customer seeks advice about a service you offer or you are temporarily unable to take the work. A customer choosing another contractor does not, by itself, establish an invalid charge.

Review records factually. Distinguish a mismatch in the requested service, an inquiry you could not answer, a qualified prospect who declined, a booked appointment, and completed work. Use the available feedback options honestly. If a charge or account record remains unclear, contact support with the lead identifier and relevant details rather than assuming a refund is owed.

Improve response handling without inventing a ranking formula

Google identifies responsiveness and reviews as relevant alongside bidding in its Local Services bidding guidance. That does not establish a fixed ranking penalty for missing a particular percentage of calls, or a guaranteed top position for answering them all.

Assign responsibility for incoming calls and messages during advertised hours. Check whether notifications reach the right person and whether missed inquiries receive an appropriate follow-up. If you use an answering service, assess its actual cost, service knowledge, and ability to arrange the next step. Measure qualified inquiries and bookings rather than assuming every answered call has the same value.

Reconcile spend with confirmed credits

In the legacy interface, the average weekly budget is a spending target, with a monthly maximum. Weekly spend can vary. See Google's budget guidance. Migrated accounts use average daily budgets; review the budget and billing limit displayed in your account and the migration documentation before making changes.

For each reporting period, retain gross lead charges, confirmed credits, net advertising cost, qualified leads, bookings, and completed jobs. Do not subtract a requested or expected credit before it is confirmed. Compare costs and outcomes from a consistent set of leads, allowing time for recent inquiries to become jobs.

Use this review to make specific operational decisions: correct an inaccurate service area, remove a job type you do not offer, improve follow-up coverage, or reconsider spending based on completed work. Document each change and reassess the results. A useful review produces better evidence for the next decision, not a promised refund rate or ranking gain.