Google is testing a redesigned Local Services Ads format with larger images and a highlights box, while migrating LSA campaigns to Performance Max. Here is what service businesses need to do right now.
Ido Cohen · Published 2026-09-26 · Local SEO
Google quietly started testing a dramatically larger Local Services Ads format on September 25, 2026 — bigger images, a prominent highlights box — right in the middle of a platform migration that is already reshuffling how plumbers, HVAC companies, roofers, and other home-service businesses pay for leads. If you run Local Services Ads (LSAs), this week is not the week to be passive about your Google presence.
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The new format is real, it is being tested in live search results, and it is significantly larger than what you are used to seeing.
According to Search Engine Land's reporting from September 25, 2026, Google is testing a much larger Local Services Ads format that gives local advertisers considerably more visual real estate. The test was spotted by Adsquire founder Anthony Higman, who shared screenshots on X. The new format features two specific additions: larger photos pulled from your LSA profile and a prominent highlight box displayed beneath the main listing.
Search Engine Roundtable confirmed the same test, noting that the expanded ads "make the Local Service Ads way bigger" and that the highlight box appears beneath the main ad listing. This is not a cosmetic tweak — the listings are noticeably larger in proportion to everything around them on the page.
Here is why the timing matters: Google is simultaneously moving LSA campaigns into the Google Ads platform as a specialized Performance Max campaign type. These two developments are not unrelated. Google is investing heavily in making LSAs work harder — which means the businesses that are optimized when a wider rollout happens will have a major advantage over those that are not.
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More ad space at the top of local search results means less room for everything else below it.
Local Services Ads already occupy the most valuable position in local search — above traditional paid ads, above the Local Pack (the map with three business pins), and above organic results. As Search Engine Land noted, making those listings larger "could give participating businesses even greater prominence while potentially pushing organic results and other ad formats further down the page."
Think about what that means practically. If you are a plumber in a mid-size market, you might currently be showing up in position one of regular Google Ads, in the Local Pack, and maybe with a solid organic result. A larger LSA format — showing your photo prominently along with a highlights box featuring, say, "Licensed & Insured," "Same-Day Service," and "4.9 Stars (312 Reviews)" — would visually dominate the page in a way that small text ads simply cannot match.
Search Engine Roundtable pointed out that Google is "serving them in more places amid the LSA to Google Ads migration," calling it "definitely something to watch if you are a local advertiser." That is an understatement. For service businesses whose entire revenue depends on local search-driven calls and form fills, this format shift is the ballgame.
The categories most affected, according to Search Engine Land, are "plumbing, HVAC, roofing and other home services" — exactly the trades where margins are high, jobs are high-value, and one new customer can be worth thousands of dollars over a lifetime.
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This is not future tense. The migration started in August, and if you are in a home services trade, your account may already be affected or moving soon.
According to Google's own documentation, the Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max with pay-per-lead goals began in August 2026. The first wave covered select U.S. home and storefront service advertisers in nine specific trades: plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, and moving.
Here is the migration timeline, directly from Google:
The key things that stay the same after migration: your pay-per-lead billing model, your placements on Google Search and Google Maps, your keywordless targeting, and your Google Verified badge. You still pay per valid lead. You still show up above regular ads.
What changes — and this is the part most business owners are missing — is that Google will not carry your historical performance data into Google Ads. According to multiple reports, your past impressions, spend history, and ad-level reporting do not transfer. Your historical campaign reports stay in the old LSA dashboard until that dashboard closes. If you have not exported that data, you will lose the ability to compare your cost-per-lead before and after the migration.
You get 14 days' warning before Google migrates your account. The notification goes to the administrator email on file. If that email goes to a general inbox nobody monitors — or worse, an old employee's inbox — you may miss it entirely.
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The highlights box is not just a design element. It is a structured display of data Google is already pulling from your LSA profile — and most businesses have not filled it in properly.
The expanded format spotted in testing appears to display specific business attributes beneath the main listing. Think of these as trust signals rendered visually: review count, licensing status, specialty callouts, and possibly response time. Google's support documentation for Performance Max campaigns notes that advertisers can "upload up to 100 additional business photos to highlight your work and manage your business callouts (up to 6 per category)."
Those callouts — the short text snippets describing what makes your business stand out — become the highlights box content. If your callouts are generic ("Professional Service," "Quality Work"), the highlights box will be weak. If they are specific ("Licensed Master Plumber," "Emergency Service 24/7," "Serving [City] Since 2008"), the highlights box becomes a conversion tool that shows up before a customer even clicks.
This is a situation where the businesses that treat their LSA profile like a sales page — not a checkbox — will win the format.
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One more wrinkle: Google also rolled out its September 2026 spam update on September 24, 2026, at 9:15 a.m. Pacific Time. This is the fourth confirmed spam update of 2026.
According to Search Engine Journal, Google confirmed the rollout applies globally to all languages, with a completion window of up to two weeks. Search Engine Roundtable noted that the rollout window — up to two weeks — is "dramatically longer than its predecessors": the March update finished in under 20 hours, June took a little over two days, August took a little over two days.
Google has not specified which spam tactics this update targets. What we know from Google's own framing is that spam updates target websites violating its core spam policies — manipulative link schemes, thin or duplicated content, pages built to game rankings rather than serve users.
For service businesses, the spam update is mostly a non-event if your website is legitimate. But it is a serious problem if your website was built by an agency that took shortcuts: keyword-stuffed city pages, auto-generated service-area content, or fake testimonials. If you see an organic traffic dip in Search Console over the next two weeks, the spam update is a likely cause.
The practical implication: if the spam update clips your organic rankings at the same time LSA listings are getting bigger and more visual, leaning harder into LSAs is the right short-term hedge. Paid lead flow does not get hit by spam updates.
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Act on this now, while the new LSA format is still in testing. When Google rolls it out broadly — and they will — the businesses with the best-optimized profiles will win the most visible spots on the page.
Before Friday:
1. Export your LSA performance data today. Log into your Local Services Ads dashboard and download all historical reports — impressions, leads, spend, lead-level detail — before your migration notice arrives. Once the old dashboard closes, this data is gone.
2. Confirm who gets the migration notification. Log into your LSA account and verify that the administrator email on file is an active inbox that someone checks daily. Migration notices go out 14 days before your account moves, with a 7-day follow-up. Missing the email is not an excuse Google will accept.
3. Audit and update your business photos. The new format makes images the visual centerpiece of your listing. Upload high-quality photos of your team, your vehicles, your work, and your license/certification documents if applicable. Google lets you upload up to 100 photos in Performance Max. Use them.
4. Write specific, conversion-focused callouts. Go to your profile and update your business callouts (up to 6 per category). Avoid vague language. "Licensed & Insured," "24/7 Emergency Response," "Google Verified Since 2019," and "Over 500 Five-Star Reviews" are the kinds of phrases that will appear in the highlight box and drive clicks.
5. Check your Search Console for organic traffic changes. The September 2026 spam update started September 24 and may take two weeks to complete. If your organic clicks drop noticeably in the next two weeks, note the pages affected and cross-reference with Google's spam policies.
6. Do not wait to migrate voluntarily. If Google gives you the option to self-migrate to Performance Max before the automatic date, take it. Self-migrations give you more control over the transition timing and let you verify settings before Google does it automatically.
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What are Local Services Ads, and how are they different from regular Google Ads?
Local Services Ads (LSAs) are a Google ad format that appear at the very top of local search results — above regular paid ads, the map pack, and organic listings. They are pay-per-lead rather than pay-per-click, meaning you pay only when a customer contacts you directly through the ad. They are also keywordless, so Google's system decides which searches your ad appears for based on your business category and location. The new format being tested makes these ads visually much larger, adding bigger photos and a highlights box.
What is the LSA-to-Performance Max migration, and do I have to do anything?
Google is transitioning Local Services Ads from a standalone platform into Google Ads as a specialized Performance Max campaign type. For most businesses, the migration is automatic — Google moves your account and you keep your pay-per-lead model, your Search and Maps placements, and your Google Verified badge. What you do need to do is export your historical performance data before your migration date, because Google will not transfer those reports into Google Ads. You get a 14-day advance notice via email to your account administrator.
Which trades are affected by the migration first?
The first wave (August 2026) covers nine categories of U.S. home and storefront service businesses: plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, and moving. A second wave covers broader service-area businesses and accounts with custom bidding later in 2026. International accounts and remaining U.S. categories transition in 2027.
What is the highlights box in the new LSA format, and how do I control what appears in it?
The highlights box is a structured section beneath the main listing in the new LSA format that displays key business attributes — things like your star rating, review count, licensing, and business callouts. You control much of this content through your LSA (and soon Performance Max) profile. Specifically, your business callouts — short descriptive phrases you add to your profile, up to 6 per category — are the content Google surfaces in this section. Writing specific, trust-building callouts now positions you well for when the new format rolls out broadly.
Should I be worried about the September 2026 spam update hurting my LSA rankings?
No. Spam updates affect organic rankings in Google Search, not paid placements like Local Services Ads. If your website gets hit by the spam update, your organic traffic from Google may drop, but your LSA leads will not be directly affected. That said, a combined hit to organic traffic and rising competition in LSAs makes it more important than ever to run optimized LSAs. If your organic rankings do drop, check Search Console for the specific pages affected and audit them against Google's spam policies — thin content, duplicated location pages, and manipulative links are the most common culprits.
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