"Is Google Local Services Ads (LSA) working for us?" is a harder question than it sounds. The platform gives you leads billed and cost-per-lead, and neither answers it. A profitable LSA account and a money-losing one can show nearly identical top-line numbers. To actually know, a home-service owner needs a small, honest scorecard measured the same way every month. This article lays out that scorecard — the metrics that matter, why, and how they fit together.
Start at the bottom, not the top
The temptation is to lead with lead count. Resist it. ROI is decided at the bottom of the funnel — booked jobs and the revenue they produce — so build your scorecard from there upward. Everything above booked revenue is a diagnostic for why the bottom line looks the way it does.
The core outcome metrics
Cost-per-booked-job
Total LSA spend (minus recovered credits) divided by booked jobs traceable to LSA. This is your true acquisition cost. Because roughly 45% of raw leads are estimated to be unbookable, it typically runs well above your cost-per-lead — and it is the number that tells you whether each job is coming in below what it is worth.
Return on ad spend (ROAS)
Revenue from LSA-sourced jobs divided by LSA spend. Cost-per-booked-job tells you what a job costs; ROAS tells you whether that cost is justified by the revenue. A high cost-per-booked-job can still be great if the jobs are large.
Effective spend
Your gross spend minus credits recovered for invalid leads. With recoverable spend commonly estimated around 6–7%, using effective spend (not gross) keeps your ROI math honest and rewards good credit-recovery discipline.
The diagnostic metrics
When the outcome numbers move, these tell you why:
Bookable rate
Bookable leads divided by total leads. A falling bookable rate is the earliest sign targeting has drifted or a new source of junk has appeared — usually before revenue reflects it.
Booking rate
Booked jobs divided by bookable leads. This isolates your intake and sales performance from lead quality. If bookable rate holds but booking rate falls, the problem is in how you handle good leads — often speed-to-lead.
Speed-to-lead / response time
Median time to first contact, ideally broken out by hour of day. Since responsiveness is both a conversion driver and a recognized LSA performance factor, this metric explains a lot of booking-rate movement.
Position and impression share
How often and how prominently you appear at the top of results. LSAs sit above the map pack and organic listings, so slipping here shrinks the top of your funnel regardless of how well you convert. Watch it for sudden drops.
Review velocity and rating
Fresh reviews over time and your average rating (managed through Google Business Profile since around July 2025). These feed both ranking and prospect choice, so a stall here shows up downstream weeks later.
Putting it on one page
| Metric | What it answers | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-per-booked-job | True acquisition cost | Rising vs. job value |
| ROAS | Is spend justified? | Trend below target |
| Effective spend | Spend after credits | Credits not being recovered |
| Bookable rate | Lead quality | Downward drift |
| Booking rate | Intake / sales | Falling while quality holds |
| Response time | Speed-to-lead | Gaps by hour |
| Position / impressions | Top-of-funnel visibility | Sudden drops |
| Review velocity | Trust & ranking input | Stalled fresh reviews |
How to read the scorecard together
The value is in the relationships, not any single number:
- Cost-per-booked-job rising, bookable rate falling? Lead quality is slipping — check service types and geography.
- Cost-per-booked-job rising, bookable rate steady, booking rate falling? The leak is intake — look at response time first.
- Everything steady but fewer leads? Look up-funnel: position, impressions, budget pacing, review velocity.
- Lead count up but ROAS flat or down? You may be spending past the sweet spot into weaker leads.
Measure monthly, decide on trends
A single month is noisy — one large job or one bad weather week can distort it. Record the same metrics every month and act on the trend, not the blip. Judge every change you make by whether cost-per-booked-job and ROAS improved, because those are the only numbers that speak for your bank account. Build this scorecard once, keep it honest, and the question "is LSA working?" stops being a guess.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if Local Services Ads is actually working?
Leads billed and cost-per-lead do not answer it, because a profitable and a money-losing account can show similar top-line numbers. Build a scorecard from the bottom of the funnel up, starting with cost-per-booked-job and return on ad spend.
What is cost-per-booked-job and why does it matter?
It is total LSA spend minus recovered credits, divided by booked jobs traceable to LSA. Because roughly 45 percent of raw leads are estimated to be unbookable, it typically runs well above cost-per-lead and is your true acquisition cost.
What is the difference between bookable rate and booking rate?
Bookable rate is bookable leads divided by total leads and reflects lead quality. Booking rate is booked jobs divided by bookable leads and reflects your intake and sales. If bookable rate holds but booking rate falls, the issue is how you handle good leads, often speed-to-lead.