What are the effects of Google Business Profile(GMB) listings on Local Services ads?

A Google Business Profile (GMB) page will usually be associated with a Local Services ad. The reviews that people write about them bind them together. The number of reviews and ratings displayed on a business's Google Business Profile (GMB) will be determined by the reviews left there. There are several factors that may influence your ranking in the Local Services ad, including the number of reviews you have and the number of people who like your service. So, if you have a high rating and a large number of positive reviews on GMB, it may be easier for you to get into LSA.

You can leave a review on a business's listing on Local Services. It makes no difference whether these reviews were conducted by the LSA. They are not included in your GMB review count or rating. As a result, a business's Local Services ads typically receive more reviews than its Google My Business listing.

The image below is an example of an LSA listing that has more reviews than the GMB listing. This is because there is one review that was left on the LSA listing that will not transfer over to the GMB listing.

Local Services Ad Listing

Google Business Profile/Google My Business Listing

Similarities between Google Business Profile/Google My Business and Local Services ads

While the only current link between Google Business Profile (GMB) and LSA is that GMB reviews are included in the overall review count and rating for LSA, there are signs of a future stronger link:

1. Google began a limited test feature upgrade in Google My Business in July 2021 that would allow a Google Guaranteed badge (Similar to LSA) to appear directly on a Google My Business listing.

2. Anyone in LSA will recognize the recent change to the "Services" section of the Google My Business dashboard, which now allows you to select pre-determined services based on your business category:

For the Real Estate category, search Google My Business "Services":

In LSA, enabling job types determines which queries will trigger your ad (Google decides which keywords are relevant to each job type).

3. There is a section that mentions LSA at the bottom of the  Google Business Profile (GMB) help article page specific to adding or editing your service in GMB. This is not a new addition to the page, but it may be an indication that LSA will continue to expand into new business categories:

4. The “Areas served” section on GMB listings is similar to how the service area is displayed in LSA. One significant difference, however, is that GMB now allows you to select a maximum of 20 locations for your service area. LSA does not have this limit.

With local service ads and Google Business Profile (GMB) combined, you can reach more customers!

As the landscape of local search changes, it's important for businesses to know what they can do to reach more people. It's important for businesses to keep up with changes and new features in Google Business Profile (GMB) as well as the paid channels of Google Local Services and Google Ads.

Results in Google Local Services will vary from one business to another but the ability to listen to calls, dispute invalid leads, and easily pause the ad when needed should make it easy enough for a business to determine if the platform is providing an adequate return on their investment.

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Last Updated: 05/16/2022 Colleen M.