Running ads · Updated October 21, 2026
Why are my Local Services Ads not showing?
Updated October 21, 2026
Local Services Ads are usually not showing because a verification step is unfinished or a setting stopped the ad. A new account cannot show until every check on its verification dashboard is done, the Business Profile match included. One that ran before has usually been switched off, scheduled out, run out of budget or held by an alert.
Start from whether the ad ever ran
If the account is new and has never shown an ad, the cause is almost always a verification step that is not finished. If it ran before and stopped, the cause is almost always a setting, a budget or an alert. The two have different fixes, so decide which one you have before changing anything.
A third case looks like the first two. Google moved Local Services Ads into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, starting in August 2026 for some US home and storefront service businesses. If you signed in and landed in Google Ads instead of the old dashboard, the settings you are looking for have moved, and the last section of this page covers where they are.
If the account is new, finish every step on the verification dashboard
Open the verification dashboard in the Local Services Ads account and work down every requirement it lists for your business. Google says requirements vary by category and location, and the dashboard is the only place that says which ones apply to you.
The Business Profile step blocks the ad on its own. Google says the person completing the checks must own or manage the matching Business Profile, and that this step "must be done before an ad can appear in search results." If that person is not an owner or manager, they can request access from the dashboard. Google adds that the step can take up to 24 hours to be marked as done.
Google's average
3 to 4 weeks
For US verification to finish after the documents are submitted.
- Background checks in select US and Canadian categories: a business entity check by the authorized representative, a criminal background check for each owner, and checks for the workers who perform the service. Office staff do not need one. Google says the checks pull no credit and cost the business nothing.
- Business registration: in the US, a D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet, or a state business registration, an IRS EIN or a state revenue department registration if you cannot get one.
- Licenses for the state and for the county or city where they apply, for every location and every service professional.
- Insurance where your category requires it: a certificate valid for at least 14 days after you submit it, at the minimum coverage the upload screen shows, with a policy number, in a file that cannot be edited.
- Reviews where your category needs a minimum. Google's getting started page lists reviews "subject to category requirements" among what must be in place before ads go live.
Expect it to take weeks, not days. Google's US requirements page says the process takes 3 to 4 weeks on average once the documents are submitted, and recommends starting as soon as the account is created.
Make the names and addresses match before you upload
If a document was rejected, compare the business name, address and license number on it with what you advertise and with the state's own record. Google says it validates licenses against state databases, that the name and address on an insurance certificate must match your advertised name and service area, and that for representative checks the person's name and the business's legal name must match exactly across documents.
A trading name needs its paperwork. Google says a DBA document can cover a difference between the name you advertise under and the legal name on a certificate. Upload it with the certificate rather than after the rejection.
If the ad ran before and stopped
Check the four settings that switch the ad off
In the old Local Services Ads account, go through these in order. They are the causes Google's own troubleshooting page names first, and each one stops the ad outright rather than lowering it.
- Select Profile & budget from the menu and make sure the ad is toggled On.
- On the same page, read the Business Hours card. Google says that outside business hours, or when you are listed as not taking customers, your ad will not show in searches with a badge.
- Read the Ad schedule card and confirm the ad is set to run on the days and times you expect.
- Select Reports and read the Budget spent card. Once the monthly budget is reached, the ad stops until you raise the budget.
Then find out who changed it. In Google Ads, Change history under the Campaigns menu lists changes to the status and the budget, with who made each one. A setting that was switched off by someone else will be there.
If the settings are right, look for an alert or a disapproval
Select the bell icon at the top of Google Ads and work through any alert it shows. Google says ads will not run while an account or billing issue stands, and that a Local Services campaign under review, paused or inactive will not show.
A disapproved ad shows its reason in the Policy Manager. Find the ad, open the menu icon beside it and select Policy Manager, then read the policy named under the disapproval. Once the cause is fixed, Google says the ad is reviewed again automatically. Some disapprovals need an appeal instead of an edit, and the Policy Manager has an appeal button for those.
If the Business Profile changed, the match may have broken
Open the Business verification page and check that the matched profile is still the right one and still verified. Google requires a public, verified Business Profile for every Local Services account, so a profile that was suspended, lost its verification or was replaced can stop ads that were running.
- Suspended or disabled profile: fix it under Google's suspended profile guidance or appeal through the Business Profile appeals tool. The ads wait on the profile.
- Matched to the wrong profile: contact Local Services support to have it matched to the right one.
- No profile found: if you already have one, contact support to match it. Google says it does not recommend creating a new profile when one exists; a new one takes up to 5 business days to verify.
If your account moved to Google Ads
Look in the campaign's Settings tab, not the old dashboard
If the old dashboard now sends you to a campaign overview in Google Ads, your account has been moved. Google says the old dashboard and its performance reports are no longer available after the move, and that the account administrator is emailed 14 days and again 7 days before it happens.
The same checks, in new places. Open Campaigns, then the Settings tab, to see whether the campaign is enabled, to read the ad schedule and to check the budget. Google converts a weekly budget into a daily average by dividing it by 7. Leads are under Goals, then Conversions, then Leads. Business name, address and hours are now edited in the Business Profile, which updates Google Ads in one direction only.
- August 2026
- Select US home and storefront service businesses, such as plumbing, HVAC and roofing.
- Late 2026
- Broader groups, including service-area businesses with no storefront and accounts with custom bidding or booking setups.
- 2027
- Accounts outside the US and the remaining categories.
Give a moved campaign up to two weeks, and keep the name and address steady
If the ads stopped right after the move, wait before you change settings. Google says many ads start running right away but to "allow up to two weeks for the migration process to fully complete," and that verified status and the Google Verified badge carry over on their own.
One change can pause it again. Google says a significant change to the business name or address can send the campaign for review and pause it for a while, typically 24 to 48 hours. Make that kind of change on a quiet day, not in the middle of a busy week.
If it shows, just not when you search
Do not judge the ad by your own searches
If the dashboard says the ad is live but you cannot find it, read the leads and the budget spent instead of searching for yourself. Google says the ad does not appear on every search, and that whether it appears depends on factors such as your budget and the other businesses competing for the same searches. A search from your own office, outside your service area or outside your ad schedule tells you little.
An ad that runs but rarely shows is a ranking question. Google says serious or repeatedly negative customer feedback may lower rankings, "including not showing at all." The steps for that are in the guide to improving your Local Services Ads ranking.
Why does a new ad show below the verified ones?
In the US, Google can let a business run pre-badge ads once it passes the first checks, so it gets leads while it finishes onboarding. Google places those ads below providers that have completed every step and hold the Google Verified badge. Pre-badge ads are not available for garage door services, health care or locksmiths, and garage door and locksmith businesses also go through Google's Advanced Verification.
What happens after a fast approval?
Google says some US businesses qualify for accelerated verification after an initial risk review and get the badge quickly, then have 14 days to finish any further steps to keep the ads running. Google also re-evaluates advertisers over time and may ask for checks again; not completing a requested review can cost the badge, pause the ads or suspend the account.
What if a background check fails?
Google says the business or the worker can contact the background check partner to correct errors or respond to the result. After a final disqualification, the business must wait 30 days to apply again, and if that application is also denied, 180 days before the next one.