What changed in October 2025
For years, home service companies running Local Services Ads earned a green "Google Guaranteed" check mark. If a customer booked through the ad and was unhappy with the work, Google could refund them up to a limit. That promise was the selling point of the badge.
In August 2025 Google emailed advertisers that, as of October 20, 2025, it would be "simplifying badging by launching a single, more cohesive Google Verified badge for all advertisers." The same email said: "The Money Back Guarantee associated with the Google Guarantee badge will also be discontinued."
One badge for every Local Services advertiser. Same checks, no refund promise.
| Before Oct 20, 2025 | Now | |
|---|---|---|
| Badge name | Google Guaranteed (most home services), Google Screened (professional services), License Verified by Google | Google Verified, for every Local Services advertiser |
| What it promises the customer | The business passed checks, plus a money-back guarantee on jobs booked through the ad | The business passed Google's checks. No money-back guarantee. |
| How you get it | Pass Local Services screening | Same: pass Local Services screening |
| How you pay | Per lead | Per lead |
If you were already verified, Google moved you to the new badge on its own. Nothing to reapply for, as long as your license and insurance documents stay current.
Still saying "Google Guaranteed" on your truck or website? The badge and the refund promise are gone, so take the claim down. Saying a customer is covered by a guarantee that no longer exists is the kind of thing that turns into an angry review.
What the Google Verified badge means
The badge tells a homeowner that Google checked your business before showing your ad. Depending on your trade and location, those checks can include:
- License check. Google confirms you hold the state or local license your trade needs.
- Insurance check. In trades that need coverage, you upload a certificate of insurance.
- Background checks. In certain categories and areas, Google runs checks on the business, the owner and the field workers who go into homes.
It is not a quality rating and it does not move you up on its own. It is the entry ticket. You need it for your Local Services ad to run at all.
How to get Google Verified
- Sign upServices and towns
- DocumentsLicense, insurance
- Background checksFree
- VerifiedYour ad can run
- Sign up for Local Services Ads with your business name, service area and the jobs you do. Pick only services you actually take.
- Submit your documents. License numbers and a certificate of insurance where your trade needs them.
- Complete the background checks for whoever Google asks for: the business, the owner, and in some trades every technician who goes into homes. Google does not charge for these.
- Link your Google Business Profile so your reviews and hours show on the ad.
- Set a weekly budget and turn the ad on once Google approves you.
How long it takes: Google says screening takes 3 to 4 weeks on average after you submit your documents. Some new advertisers get accelerated verification and can start sooner, but then have 14 days to finish the remaining steps or the ad stops.
If you fail: after a failed background check you wait 30 days to reapply. A second denial means a 180-day wait. Get the paperwork right the first time.
What Local Services Ads cost
There is no fee for the badge and no monthly subscription. You pay for leads. Older articles that quote a flat monthly price for Google Guaranteed are out of date.
Here is what Google counts as a lead you pay for, and what it does not:
One more rule worth knowing. If Google later decides a charged lead was invalid, low quality or a duplicate, it credits your account automatically. You can also flag a bad lead yourself in the lead's feedback survey.
The price per lead depends on your trade, your town and how hard competitors bid. You set an average weekly budget, and Google stops showing the ad once you hit the monthly maximum. Google recommends its "Maximize leads" bid setting, where it sets your bid for you. Your bid is a ceiling, so you often pay less.
Notice the missed-call rule. You pay for a missed call during business hours even though you never spoke to the customer. Every unanswered ring is money spent on a job you did not get.
What one booked job really costs you
Price per lead is the wrong number to watch. What matters is what you pay per job that actually lands on your calendar. Put in your own numbers:
The starting numbers are only an example. Your lead price and booking rate are in your Local Services dashboard and your own job list.
Look at what moves the last number. Raising your booking rate from 40% to 60% cuts the cost of each job by a third, with the same ad spend. That comes from answering more calls, replying to messages within minutes and following up with people who did not book on the first call.
Find out how many of your calls go unanswered. The free Lost Job Report checks your missed calls, response time and reviews against other businesses in your town.
Get the free reportHow Google decides who shows first
Google says three things decide your position:
The most you will pay for a lead. You often pay less.
How often you answer, how well your services match, and whether messages and bookings are on.
Rating, review count, photos and how fast you respond.
The two dark ones are where owners win without spending more:
- Responsiveness. Google says plainly that missed calls may hurt you. Answering fast is a ranking factor, not just good manners.
- Reviews. Your rating and review count show on the ad and feed profile quality. See how contractors get more Google reviews.
- Contact options. Turning on messages and bookings gives customers more ways to reach you.
- Photos and details. Google says profiles with good images may rank higher and can pay less per lead.
- Relevance. List the services you really do and the towns you really cover.
Is Google Verified worth it?
Worth it if
- You can answer the phone during business hours, or have someone who can.
- Your trade gets urgent calls: plumbing, HVAC, garage doors, locksmiths, pest control.
- You already have reviews to show on the ad.
- You know your booking rate and average job, so you can check the math above.
Skip it for now if
- You are on a roof all day and calls go to voicemail. You will pay for those missed calls.
- You have no reviews yet. Start there first.
- You are already booked out for weeks.
- Your license or insurance is not in order for every service you list.
Local Services Ads also work well next to regular Google Ads, not instead of them. We compare the two in Local Services Ads vs Google Ads.
Google Verified vs Google Screened vs License Verified
These used to be three different badges. Google Screened went mostly to professional services like lawyers, financial planners and real estate agents. License Verified by Google showed a license check without the full screening. Since October 20, 2025, all of them show as Google Verified. People still search for the old names, so expect customers to ask about "Google Guaranteed" for a while. The honest answer is that you are Google Verified, which means Google checked your license, insurance and background where your trade requires it.
Get more out of every lead
The ad gets the phone to ring. What you do next decides whether you paid for a job or for nothing.
- Answer during the hours you set. Your business hours in your Google profile are the hours Google charges missed calls. Set them to hours you can actually cover.
- Text back every missed call right away. A quick text keeps the caller from dialing the next ad down. Here is how missed-call text back works.
- Follow up on quotes. Most jobs that go quiet are not lost, just forgotten. See how to follow up on quotes that go quiet.
- Ask every happy customer for a review. More reviews, better profile quality, better position.
Sources: Google: Business screening and verification requirements; Google: Understand the screening and verification process; Google: How charges work for Local Services Ads; Google: About ad rankings; Search Engine Roundtable: Google to replace Local Service Ads badges with one verified badge (Aug 21, 2025)