How-to · Updated October 11, 2026
Handle the Local Services conversion action you can't edit in Google Ads
Updated October 11, 2026
15 minutes
Leave the Local Services conversion actions as they are: Google sets them up and keeps them to its own configuration, and a script that tries to change their value may be refused. Instead, read Google Ads results with the Local Services campaign split from the rest, and value its leads in your own lead log.
Before you start
- Access to the Google Ads account that runs or pays for Local Services Ads.
- Your own lead log, with Local Services leads marked by source, and the jobs they became.
Find the actions and what they count
These actions record leads Google charged you for, so their count means something different from the other actions in the account.
- In Google Ads, click the Goals icon, open the Conversions drop-down and select Summary.
- Find the actions Google added for Local Services. In an account moved to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, Google names them Phone call lead, Leads from messages and Book appointments.
- Read what they count. Google says the Conversions column for these campaigns is the total number of leads you were charged for. A lead Google credits later, within about 30 days, is refunded to your account balance, so check the Charge Status column on the Leads page rather than assuming the Conversions count has dropped.
- Select Edit goal to review the settings. Google lets you adjust them, but says that, unlike standard campaigns, which let you add custom conversion actions, pay-per-lead goals must keep its verified local service goal setup.
A script or API change that tries to change these actions' value along with others may be refused for them, and depending on how it is sent, the whole batch can fail. Leave them out of any bulk change to conversion settings.
Read results with Local Services split out
When you view all campaigns together, the Conversions total includes charged Local Services leads alongside every other campaign's conversions, so read them apart.
- Open Campaigns and read the Local Services campaign on its own row. Google says Conversions there is charged leads and Cost / conv. is your average cost per lead.
- To see every action's share of the total, select the segment icon above the table, then under Conversions choose Conversion action. Remove the segment (choose None) before reading cost or cost per conversion: Google blanks cost columns while a conversion segment is on.
- When you work out cost per conversion for your click-based campaigns, filter the table to those campaigns first. A total that includes charged Local Services leads mixes two kinds of count.
- Do not set a target cost per conversion for other campaigns from an account-wide figure that includes Local Services leads. That is a judgment, not Google's rule.
Value the leads in your own log
The action's value is not yours to set, so the value of a Local Services lead belongs where you record what each lead became.
- Give every Local Services lead its own source in your lead log, matched to Google's lead list.
- In Google Ads, go to Goals > Conversions > Leads and mark leads that became work as Booked or Completed (in an account not yet moved, open the lead in the Local Services Ads inbox and select Mark Booked). Google says updating these statuses helps its systems optimize the campaign over time.
- Each month, divide what the Local Services campaign cost by the jobs it produced in your log. That cost per job is the figure to compare across channels.
Check it worked
After the next month closes, you should have two separate figures: cost per charged lead for Local Services, read from its campaign row, and cost per conversion for your other campaigns, read with the Local Services campaign filtered out. Neither should move when the other campaign type has a busy week.
In your lead log, each Local Services job should carry its value, and the cost per job should be one you can set against the same figure for other channels.
Accounts that have not moved yet
Google began moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads in August 2026, in phases through 2027. Until an account moves, Google says to pause or edit campaigns in the Local Services Ads inbox rather than the main Google Ads interface. The Google Ads account may still hold a Local Services conversion action; treat it the same way.
Where this differs from Business Profile local actions
Local actions conversions, such as call and direction requests for a Business Profile location, are a separate set. Google counts one when someone clicks the call or directions button during or after interacting with an ad. Choosing which campaigns count them is covered on its own page.