When your Local Services Ads account moves into Performance Max, Google replaces separate per-service targets with a single campaign-level Target CPA, and manual bidding ends. For some businesses that changes nothing. For others it shifts spend toward the wrong work. This lesson gives you a simple method to decide.
- Google: a unified campaign-level Target CPA "will be calculated and applied to all vertical categories" (Google).
- Manual bidding (a maximum cost per lead) is no longer supported.
- Google's way to keep separate targets: separate campaigns for each vertical.
- The deciding number is value per lead by service, not cost per lead.
The method
- List your services.Use the verticals or job types you advertise.
- Work out value per lead for each.Value per lead = average job value × booking rate. A $2,800 job that books 35% of the time is worth $980 per lead in revenue; a $300 job that books 50% of the time is worth $150.
- Compare the spread.If your highest value per lead is several times your lowest, one blended target is likely to under-bid your best work and over-bid your cheapest.
- Check volume.Each separate campaign needs enough leads to learn from. Splitting a service with very few leads can make it worse.
- Split only what clearly needs it.For most businesses, separating the one or two highest-value services and keeping the rest together is the practical starting point.
- Measure by service after the move.Track the share of leads from each service and cost per booked job by service. If low-value leads grow, the blend is pulling against you.
A worked example (illustrative numbers)
| Service | Job value | Booking rate | Value per lead | Old target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drain cleaning | $300 | 50% | $150 | $35 |
| Water-heater replacement | $2,800 | 35% | $980 | $120 |
If Google calculates one target near $60, water-heater leads are capped far below what they're worth, and drain leads can cost nearly twice what you used to accept. Here, splitting water heaters into their own campaign is worth considering.
- Deciding from cost per lead instead of value per lead.
- Splitting every service, leaving each campaign with too little data.
- Changing the structure in the first days after migration, before you have comparable data.
How CallRadius handles this
The CallRadius LSA AI management system tracks cost per charged lead, booked-job economics, the client's spend target and Google's budget setting as separate numbers, so a blended target can't hide a problem. An experienced CallRadius manager makes the structure decision. Read more in One Target CPA for Every Service.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep different targets for different services after migration?
Yes, by running a separate campaign for each vertical. That's Google's documented approach.
How do I know if one target will hurt me?
Compare value per lead (job value × booking rate) across your services. A wide spread means a blended target is likely to shift spend toward lower-value work.