Google Local Services Ads Case Study: 113% More Leads With a Lower Cost Per Lead

Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) are the ads that appear at the very top of Google when someone searches for a local service. These ads show a business name, reviews, phone number, and a “Google Verified” badge.

Instead of paying for clicks or impressions, businesses pay for phone calls or messages from people who are actively looking for help.

When LSAs work effectively, they can be one of the most valuable sources of new customers. When they don’t, businesses often spend money without seeing consistent results.

Background

Top Notch Garage Door is a garage door repair and service company serving the Atlanta, Georgia area. Because most customers search online for urgent garage door repairs, strong visibility on Google is critical to maintaining a steady flow of leads. Top Notch came to us because we have over a decade of experience marketing garage door companies.

Prior to partnering with us, Top Notch had been running LSAs but began experiencing a serious technical issue that severely limited performance.

Our primary goals were to:

• Increase qualified LSA leads
• Reduce wasted spend and irrelevant/low-quality calls
• Improve visibility and ranking within Google’s LSA results
• Create more predictable, consistent lead growth year over year

Challenge

Top Notch was experiencing an LSA issue that disproportionately impacts garage door repair businesses. LSA was no longer syncing with their Google Business Profile, an issue we’ve encountered in multiple garage door LSA accounts. If you don’t work with Google every day, it can be unclear how to fix this (as well as frustrating and time-consuming).

They had been struggling with this issue for more than three months when we were brought on. After collecting everything we needed to fix the issue, it took less than a week to get LSA back up and running.

If they hadn’t sought professional help, they may have simply given up on LSA (as many frustrated business owners do in this situation) and lost out on hundreds of leads per year.

Initial Audit and Next Steps

We began with a comprehensive Local Services Ads audit, reviewing both the account setup and operational factors that directly impact Google’s LSA algorithm.

Our audit focused on:

• Verifying which services Google believed the business offered
• Confirming where and when ads were eligible to appear
• Reviewing missed or delayed calls that could impact ranking
• Ensuring business information was complete, accurate, and verifiable
• Evaluating review volume, ratings, and trust signals

Through this process, we identified the root cause of the Google Business Profile sync failure and outlined the exact steps required to resolve it.

Strategy and Fixes Implemented

After LSAs were live again, we ensured Google clearly understood the business’s services, service areas, and availability. This alignment improved ad visibility and reduced the likelihood of irrelevant or low-quality leads.

We also addressed call handling and responsiveness, which play a critical role in LSA rankings. Improving these operational signals helped strengthen ad placement and impression share. Finally, we adjusted budgets gradually as performance improved, allowing lead volume to scale while maintaining an efficient cost per lead.

Results & Year-Over-Year Performance

Comparing the previous period to the first year after optimization:

Previous Period: Oct 15, 2023 – Oct 14, 2024
Optimized Period: Oct 15, 2024 – Oct 15, 2025

• Total LSA leads increased by 113% year over year
• Cost per lead decreased by 9%, resulting in a lower cost per qualified lead despite higher overall volume
• LSA impressions increased by 111%, more than doubling overall exposure in Google’s Local Services results
• Absolute Top Impression Share (ATIS) increased by 26%, meaning Top Notch Garage Door appeared in the very top LSA positions significantly more often than the previous year

Continued Growth Across Managed LSA Accounts

LSA performance is not static. Google frequently updates how rankings, impression share, and lead quality are determined. As a result, even well-performing accounts require ongoing refinement to maintain and improve results.

This is something we consistently see across accounts we’ve managed for extended periods of time.

For another long-term Local Services Ads client in the garage door repair market, continued optimization and adaptation to evolving LSA trends produced strong year-over-year gains, even though the account was already stable and active.

Between 2024 and 2025:

• Total LSA leads increased by 67%
• Total cost per lead decreased by 15%
• LSA impressions increased by 3%
• ATIS increased by 33%

Whether resolving technical issues or optimizing accounts that are already performing well, long-term LSA success comes from continuous, informed optimization. As Google’s Local Services Ads platform evolves, accounts that actively adapt continue to gain visibility and efficiency, while static accounts often plateau or even lose ground to well-maintained competitors.