If you’ve been looking for the green “Google Guaranteed” badge, here’s the update: in late 2025 Google retired it — along with “Google Screened” and “License Verified by Google” — and replaced all three with one blue Google Verified badge. The old $2,000 money-back guarantee was discontinued at the same time. What didn’t change is the thing that mattered most: the pay-per-lead Local Services Ads (LSAs) that the badge sits on. This guide explains how it all works now, who qualifies, what leads cost, and how contractors succeed with it in 2026.
Last Updated: August 5, 2026
What is Google Guarantee?
Being Google Guaranteed “helps you build a strong reputation online, giving potential customers peace of mind that you have been vetted and approved by Google.” Essentially, Google is referring you to potential customers looking for your services in your service area.
Businesses that have gone through the process appear at the top of Google search results. The business’s name, average rating, hours of operation, and phone number are usually shown on the ad, along with a white check mark in a green circle beside the words “Google Guaranteed.”
Costs
This asset is still fairly new, meaning cost-per-lead should be low and you shouldn’t have to spend a ton of money to get leads. You’re able to set your weekly budget based on how many leads you’re anticipating each month. However, it’s important to note that location and industry are huge determinants of how much your ad is going to cost you each month.
Google Guarantee has an extremely large maximum threshold ($35,000,000 to be exact) when it comes to a monthly budget. Typically the more budget you allocate to it, the more leads you’ll be able to drum up from month to month. Additionally, you can expect to only spend around 10-20% of your set budget each month – which is even better!
Going Through The Process
Getting Google Guaranteed is a fairly simple process. You’ll start by signing up for Google Local Service Ads and inputting all of your general business for an eligibility check. Once you’ve been deemed eligible, you’ll be able to determine your intended business category, budget, and service area.
Next, depending on your business location and industry, you’ll have to upload your business license, proof of insurance, billing information, and the business owner will have to do a background check. The background check is fast and easy to complete through Evident. The business owner will have to upload a picture of their license and submit their social security number.
After the background check was run and business license(s) were approved, there will need to be at least 1 customer review submitted in order for the ad to go live.
Then, that’s it! You’re ready to configure your profile and show up as a Google Guaranteed business.
Optimizing Your Profile
Now that your profile is live, you want to make sure it’s filled with essential information about your business. You can display project photos, your business logo, job types (garage concrete coatings, tub-to-shower conversions, shower replacements, etc.), and your business bio on your ad.
Your business bio can include the types of payments you accept, warranties and guarantees you offer, distinguishing features such as being women or family-owned, free estimates, and more!
Google Guarantee vs. Google Ads
The main difference between Google Guarantee and Google Ads is how you pay for leads. Google Guarantee is pay-per-lead advertising, which allows you to only pay leads that are applicable to your business. On the other hand, Google Ads is pay-per-click advertising, where you pay each time someone clicks on your ad.
Google Guarantee allows you to dispute leads that are duplicates, spam, wrong numbers, out of your service area, or for a service you don’t provide. This feature makes this platform ideal for those who don’t have a large budget for ads or don’t want to take advantage of pay-per-click advertising methods.
Tips for Maximizing Leads
To maximize the number of leads you’re generating through Google Guarantee each month, you’ll have to keep some good practices in place. Take a look at the ways you can ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck:
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- Keep bad lead calls under 30 seconds: Spam, telemarketers, or customers calling for a service you don’t offer are bound to happen. To avoid being charged for these calls, make sure you are keeping the calls less than 30 seconds long. Short phone calls will signal to Google that the lead isn’t a good one and they will be less likely to charge you. However, if they do charge you – don’t worry! You can always dispute it instead.
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- Pro tip: Say something along the lines of “I’m sorry, we don’t ______(ex. provide that service, service that location, etc.) and don’t know of anyone to refer you to,” to ensure you’re not charged for bad leads 一 you can do this for message leads as well.
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- Keep bad lead calls under 30 seconds: Spam, telemarketers, or customers calling for a service you don’t offer are bound to happen. To avoid being charged for these calls, make sure you are keeping the calls less than 30 seconds long. Short phone calls will signal to Google that the lead isn’t a good one and they will be less likely to charge you. However, if they do charge you – don’t worry! You can always dispute it instead.
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- Respond quickly: Speed is the name of the game on Google Guarantee! Google tends to favor those businesses that respond quickly and don’t miss a lot of phone calls. If you are consistently missing calls and not responding to messages, your ad may not be served as much.
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- Pro tip: Have a designated person responsible for Google Guarantee leads. With one person in charge, you’ll be less likely to miss calls or leave messages without responses.
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- Respond quickly: Speed is the name of the game on Google Guarantee! Google tends to favor those businesses that respond quickly and don’t miss a lot of phone calls. If you are consistently missing calls and not responding to messages, your ad may not be served as much.
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- Dispute leads as soon as you realize they’re not good: Don’t leave bad leads sitting too long! When you realize a lead is bad, you want to ensure that you dispute it within 24-48 hours of receiving it. If you wait longer than that, you may have a hard time getting the dispute approved and end up paying for the lead anyway.
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- How to dispute leads: Most bad leads won’t be charged without any action from you. However, if one slips through the cracks, disputing leads is easy. Simply go to the “Leads” or “Reports” section of Google Guarantee, click the lead you’d like to dispute, click the three vertical dots at the top of the lead summary, click dispute, select the reason, and submit the dispute.
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- Dispute leads as soon as you realize they’re not good: Don’t leave bad leads sitting too long! When you realize a lead is bad, you want to ensure that you dispute it within 24-48 hours of receiving it. If you wait longer than that, you may have a hard time getting the dispute approved and end up paying for the lead anyway.
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- Keep your average rating close to 5 stars: Just like on your Google Business profile, reviews are important. Getting as many 5-star reviews as possible makes it more likely your ad will be shown first on Google. Remember, you’re competing with other businesses that are Google Guaranteed. Therefore, to stay competitive, you’ll need to have a good budget and an appealing average rating.
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- Note: Google favors businesses with either the most reviews or an average rating of 5 stars (i.e. Business A with 200 reviews and a rating of 4.8 would appear more prominently in the search results than Business B with 10 reviews and a rating of 5).
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- Keep your average rating close to 5 stars: Just like on your Google Business profile, reviews are important. Getting as many 5-star reviews as possible makes it more likely your ad will be shown first on Google. Remember, you’re competing with other businesses that are Google Guaranteed. Therefore, to stay competitive, you’ll need to have a good budget and an appealing average rating.
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- Download the Google Local Services app: Having the Google Local Services app installed on your phone makes it quick and easy to review leads and respond to messages. If you’re going to have a designated person for Google Guarantee, you can have them install the app on their phone!
Ready to get started with Google Guarantee? Reach out to your Built-Right account manager and we’ll have you set up in no time!
How Local Services Ads work in 2026
LSAs sit at the very top of Google search results — above regular Google Ads and the map pack — and carry the blue Google Verified badge that signals Google has checked your license and insurance. Two things make them different from standard ads: you pay per lead (a real call or message), not per click, and there are no keywords or ad copy to write. Google matches your profile to nearby searches, and your rank is driven by your reviews, how fast you respond, your proximity to the searcher, and your verification status. You set a weekly budget based on how many leads you can handle, and you can dispute leads that aren’t legitimate.
Who qualifies, what it costs, and how to get verified
Eligibility is by service category and location. Home-service trades — plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, cleaning and more — qualify for the Google Verified badge by passing license and insurance checks. Availability depends on your country and metro, so check Google’s Local Services eligibility list before you apply.
Cost: you pay per lead, and there’s no fixed price — it’s set in real time by your industry, location, and competition. Home-service leads run roughly $25–$80 each in 2026, with a blended benchmark around $53; big-ticket and restoration trades run higher. You control spend with a weekly budget: decide your maximum acceptable cost per lead, multiply by how many jobs you can service in a week, and start there.
How to qualify: apply through Google, then complete verification — business registration, license, and insurance documents, plus background checks in some categories. Verification typically takes about three to four weeks, so start early. Once you’re live, the real work is ongoing: earn reviews consistently and answer every lead fast, because those two factors decide most of the ranking gap between competing contractors.
Sources: 2026 Google Local Services Ads guides (PushLeads, DMA Agency, South Arc Digital) and Google’s Local Services Ads help documentation. Confirm current cost and eligibility in your account before quoting specifics.
