Home / Content, Local & Social / The Google Guaranteed badge, applied for and then actually managed.
Content, Local & Social · Google Local Services AdsLocal Services Ads sit above everything else on the page, including the regular ads, and you are charged per lead instead of per click. Getting in means passing Google's own license, insurance and background checks. That part is the work, and it is most of what this service is.
Or call and talk it through: (305) 215-6132That is the published price for this service. Buy it on its own, or fold it into a monthly plan — plans start at $297 a month and the pricing page builds any combination you like and shows the total before you commit.
Local Services Ads are the block at the very top of a local search result, above the paid ads and above the map, with the green Google Guaranteed check next to the business name. They behave differently from ordinary ads in two ways that matter: you are billed when somebody contacts you rather than when they click, and Google verifies the business before it will show you at all.
That verification is the honest gatekeeper here. Google decides which categories are eligible and it varies by area — the home trades are the widest, some professional and health categories are in, and plenty of business types are simply not offered Local Services Ads no matter who manages them. Getting approved means handing over your state or local license, a general liability insurance certificate in the business's name, and consent to background screening on the business and usually the owner. There is no shortcut around any of it, and the timeline is Google's, not mine.
Once live, Google bills you per lead on your own account, separately from what you pay me. Some of those leads will be wrong — wrong service, an address two counties away, a robocall. Google runs a dispute process for exactly that, the window is short, and most businesses never file one because nobody is watching. Working that queue is a real part of this job, not a bonus.
Category first, area second. If Google does not run Local Services Ads for what you do where you are, you get told plainly and we talk about regular ads instead.
Licenses, the insurance certificate, the background screening. This is the slow part, it belongs to Google, and pretending otherwise would be making up a date.
Job types, service area and weekly budget set to the work you actually want, not everything the category allows.
Every week: what came in, what was junk, what got credited back, and what to change next.
$300–$600/mo per tool
Priced per seat, per contact or per location, and you are the one who logs in and does the work.
$300/mo
One published price, one invoice, and the work is done for you rather than handed to you as software.
Figures are typical market ranges shown for illustration, not quotes from named providers. Many vendors price by seat, contact or location and keep pricing behind a sales call.
They are the pay-per-lead listings at the very top of local search, carrying the green Google Guaranteed check. You are charged when somebody calls or messages you, not when they click, and Google screens the business before it will run them. That screening is what the badge signals.
Not every business type is, and I would rather say that here than after you have paid. Google chooses the eligible categories and it differs by area — plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, locksmiths, garage doors and cleaning are the usual ones, with some professional and health categories in places. If your category is not offered where you are, no amount of management changes that, and regular Google Ads is the alternative. I check before anything starts.
The license your trade requires in your state or city, a general liability insurance certificate naming the business, and consent to background screening on the business and usually on you. Google runs the checks through its own vendor, nobody can hurry that along, and a business without a current license and certificate cannot be approved.
No. Google charges you per lead against your own weekly budget, on your own account, and you can see every charge in it. What you pay me is the management fee for running the profile, tuning settings and disputing bad leads. Two separate bills.
It gets disputed. Google will credit leads that were the wrong service, outside your area, spam, or a duplicate of one you were already charged for, but the window is short and the evidence has to be there. Most businesses running Local Services Ads themselves never claim any of it back.
Not on this. Growth, marketing and website services — including the website care plan — are month-to-month with no long-term commitment, and you can prepay annually for up to two months free. Payment processing is a separate thing: it is a merchant account and it has its own terms, which I go over with you personally on the free review so everything is clear before you decide.
Yes, any month. There is no cancellation fee and no notice period to argue about on the month-to-month services — I would rather earn the next month than hold you to a term you regret. If you cancel a website plan the domain is yours, registered in your name, and you can take the site elsewhere.
The difference between paying per lead and paying per click, and when each one is the right buy.
Read moreThe fallback when your category is not eligible, and the layer underneath the badge when it is.
Read moreHow the trades usually stack this: the badge on top, the phone answered underneath.
Read moreThe Growth Audit is free and takes about two minutes to request. I look at what you have now and tell you straight what would move the needle first -- and what would not.
Prefer to talk now? Call or text (305) 215-6132Pricing shown is the published Rich The Payment Guy rate for this service and is what you pay; third-party platform costs, where a tool is delivered through one, are included in that monthly. Comparison figures are typical market ranges shown for illustration, not quotes from named providers. Individual results vary.