Set Up and Verify Your Business for Google Local Services Ads

Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) - also known as Google Guaranteed or Google Home Service ads - are a "pay-per-lead" ad service that places your business listing at the top of search results. Instead of pay-per-click (PPC) ads, where you pay each time a user clicks on your ad, these ads only charge you when a user converts into a lead.

LSAs appear at the top of the search results, above the organic search results and the Google's PPC Ads. These ads often appear for search queries related to certain industry-specific categories, such as home service companies, financial planners, or other professional services.

In addition, the ads may say either "Google Guaranteed" or "Google Screened." These labels depend on the following criteria:

• Google Guaranteed: The business has passed the screening and qualification process and that Google will endorse the work of the business. If a customer that booked service via a Local Services Ad is not satisfied with the quality of the work, Google may reimburse the customer up to the amount they paid for the service (with a lifetime cap per customer of $2,000 in the U.S.). 
• Google Screened: The business has passed the necessary screening and qualification process but is not backed by the guarantee.

With Marketing 360® and Evident, you can get Google Guaranteed and start running Google Local Services Ads with Marketing 360, all from one place. 

In this guide: 

Submitting your business details

Business verification and payment

Checking your verification status

Adding field agents

Removing field agents

Selecting a budget

Local Service Ads setup and Google LSA Checklist

Troubleshooting failed verification

Start the verification process

To get started, visit the Google Local Service Ads page in the Ads App, and click the Get Started button. 

 

Step 1: Business Details

Click on Business Details on the left side menu. Select your Business Location from the dropdown menu and enter your Google Business Profile Name, your business details, and select a Category*. 

Once you have selected your category, click on the Services you would like to promote using Google Local Service Ads. When you have finished, click Save. 

*Note: Business verification is available for select business categories. If you do not see your business category, contact us to learn about our other advertising options. 

 

Step 2: Business Verification and Payment

Click Business Verification on the left-hand menu and select your Primary Business Owner from the dropdown.

Note: The Primary Business Owner must be added to your Marketing 360® Account in order to proceed with this step. If needed, you can invite the Business Owner to your account by clicking the Invite User button. This will add them as an Owner to your Marketing 360® Account. 

 

 

Once added, the Business Owner can proceed with the Background check by clicking the "Go To Evident" links next to each section. This will take them to our background check provider, Evident, where they can enter the required business information. 

Throughout this process, there will be status flag for each portion of the Business Verification. If a check has timed-out, the business owner can restart the process by clicking the "Restart" link. 




The Business Owner will also receive an email from Evident that asks for required information needed for the background check. These emails will come from either no-reply@evidentid.com or support@ecidentid.com. These emails contain the request to begin your background check; upon paying for your business verification, there is an option to view a "preview" of the emails you will receive, so that you can verify that they are legitimate.

Once all required information is submitted, it will take about 2-3 days for Evident to process your background check. 

Checking your business verification status

You can keep an eye on your verification status using the status flags. Statuses you may see include: 

In Progress - Information is being collected to create the request.
Pending - Any state of the submission process to Evident before results are available.
Timeout - This will appear when a verification check has timed out. 
Error - This appears when a verification check results in an error. If you see this error, you should submit a ticket support ticket to support@marketing360.com.
Incomplete - This will appear if the verification step has not been started and/or partial information was submitted.
Complete / Passed - The criteria has been completed or passed verification requirements.
Failed - Requirements not met further action may be needed or the person / entity cannot qualify for verification. If your business verification fails, you may follow these steps to troubleshoot why it failed.

 

Step 3: Field Agents

Once your business background check is passed, you will need to complete additional checks for your business's field agents. Field agents that perform services at your customer’s residences must also pass a background check in order for your business to become Google Guaranteed. 

If you do not serve customers at their residence, you can mark “No field agents”, and click Save. 

If you do have field agents, add them using the following instructions

1. Click on Field Agents in the left side menu.
2. Select a field agent from the dropdown. If needed, click Invite User to add a new field agent. Be sure to review our account permissions so that you can grant field agents the correct access to your Marketing 360® Account. Learn more about account permissions here.

Once invited, field agents will receive an email from Evident that asks them to submit required information needed for the background check.

Check the status of your field agent's background check at any time viewing the status tag next to their name. 

Remove a field agent

To remove a field agent click the trash icon to the right of their name, and verify you wish to remove them. 

Add a new field agent

You can add a new field worker at any time. Your ads will continue to run even when the new field worker’s background check is being processed. If the background check fails, your ads will pause until action is taken to remove the worker, or pass the background check. 

 

Step 4: Select A Budget

Next, you will select a monthly budget for your Google Local Services Ads program. Use the toggle to set your monthly budget, and click Continue. 

 

Review your payment details on the Payments page. Then, select or add the payment method you wish to use for your payment, acknowledge our terms and conditions by selecting the checkbox, and click the blue button to complete your transaction.

Step 5: Local Service Ads Setup

Once your background checks have passed, a member of our team will reach out to you for next steps to set up your Local Service Ads program. If you have reached this step, save time by filling out our Google LSA Checklist to give our ad specialists more information for your ads. 

 

Troubleshooting Failed Local Service Ads Verification

What does it mean if my verification failed? 

If Evident finds an issue with your business owner or your employees’ background checks, you will see a notification that tells you what part of your background check failed.

For example, if one of your employees failed the background check, you will see a notice like this: 

To pass verification after an employee’s background check has failed, you will need to either: 

• Appeal the background check with Evident. Click “Go To Evident” to see why the employee failed, and to appeal if necessary. 
• Remove the failed employee by clicking on the trash icon next to their name. 

To pass verification after an business owner’s background check has failed, you will need to either: 

• Appeal the background check with Evident. Click “Go To Evident” to see why the it failed, and to appeal if necessary. 
• Remove the failed business owner from your business’s background check by clicking on the trash icon next to their name. 

NOTE: There must always be an active, verified Business Owner for your business. If a sole business owner fails verification, the business will be ineligible to run LSA Ads with Marketing 360.

If the Business Owner verification fails at any point, or if the background check is pending, your ads cannot run. 

If you are already running LSA ads and a business owner verification fails, the ads will be automatically paused until the verification has passed, or a new verified Business Owner has been added. 

 

Things that will pause your LSA ads: 

• Failed business owner verification. 
• Failed employee verification. 
• Not having a business owner associated with your account. 
• Insufficient budget

If you have any questions during this process, please reach out to support@marketing360.com.