Local Services Ads Fraud: What Google Does and Does Not Refund

Local Services Ads fraud works differently from click fraud in Google Ads, and if you run both, confusing the two will cost you money. LSA charges you per lead rather than per click, and Google handles bad leads in two layers: it screens leads before charging you, then reassesses charged leads and credits the ones it later finds invalid or low quality. Your part is to review leads, give feedback on the bad ones, and know which kinds of leads Google no longer credits at all.

Plenty of firms run LSA alongside search campaigns and assume the same protections apply to both. They do not. This post covers what Google credits on the LSA side and what stays on your tab. It fits into the wider picture we lay out on click fraud in law firm advertising.

How the LSA billing model changes the exposure

In Google Ads you pay for a click. In LSA you pay when someone contacts you through the ad: a qualifying call, a message or a booking. That looks safer, because you pay for contact rather than curiosity. In practice it shifts the problem rather than removing it, because the unit price is much higher. A wasted click is annoying. A charged lead that turns out to be spam or a wrong number is a bigger single hit.

How Google credits bad Local Services Ads leads now

Screening before you are charged

Google says leads it determines to be invalid or low quality when the customer makes contact are not charged. Some of the junk never reaches your invoice.

Automatic credits after you are charged

Charged leads are reassessed later, and Google may issue credits automatically for leads it then judges low quality. In most cases those credits are applied to your account balance within 30 days. The original charge stays on the invoice and the credit shows as a balance adjustment, so read both. Google also notes that some poor leads can still be charged in the first 24 hours before the automatic credit catches up.

Your feedback on charged leads

If a charged lead still looks wrong, open it in the Leads section of your LSA account and use Rate this lead to give feedback. Google describes credits that can follow that feedback. Do it while the lead is fresh and your intake notes are clear, and keep your own record of what you flagged and what was credited.

What Google will not credit

This is the part that catches firms out, and it has changed.

Wrong job type and outside your area

Google's help page says automatic credits are no longer offered for "job type not serviced" and "geo not serviced" leads. A caller about a practice area you do not handle, or from a place you do not serve, is now largely your cost. The fix is upstream: tight service areas and precise job types in your profile.

Certain categories and regions

Google says lead credits are not available for health care verticals, tax specialists or advertisers in EMEA. If you are in one of those groups, screening still applies, but do not budget on credits.

The prospect who was real but did not hire you

Someone genuinely in your area with a genuine problem who then signed with another firm is a legitimate lead. You pay for it, correctly, even though it stings.

The tire kicker

People after free advice, people calling seven firms, people with a case you would never take. Real humans with a real question. Chargeable.

What Local Services Ads fraud actually looks like

Because the pricing is per lead, the bad behavior shows up as contacts rather than click volume.

• Calls that end just past the billing threshold. Long enough to charge, short enough to contain nothing.
• Repeat calls from different numbers with the same shape. Same script, same lack of detail, same abrupt ending.
• Callers who cannot describe their own situation. Someone with a real legal problem can tell you what happened. Someone generating a charge cannot.
• Clusters after your ranking improves. Movement in LSA sometimes attracts attention from firms below you.

Record and review calls where your jurisdiction allows it, with whatever notice requirements apply. Your intake team already knows which calls felt wrong. Give them a way to flag it at the time, so the feedback goes in while the details are clear.

Practical steps for firms running LSA

Review leads weekly

Put a recurring slot in someone's week. Check every charged lead from the past seven days, compare the invoice against credits that have posted, and rate the leads that look invalid.

Get your service area and job types right

Since out-of-area and wrong-job-type leads are no longer credited automatically, an overly broad profile now costs you directly. Tighten both to what you actually take on.

Keep a simple log

Record what you flagged and what Google credited. Over a few months you learn where the line really sits for your account, which is more useful than any general description of the policy, including this one.

Do not neglect the Google Ads side

Most firms running LSA also run search campaigns, and that side works differently. Google Ads does not charge for invalid clicks its filters catch before billing, credits some invalid activity it finds later, and lets you request an investigation of the past 60 days through the Click Quality Form. Our page on Google's invalid click refunds covers it, and that is also where click fraud protection does its work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Am I charged for spam calls through Local Services Ads?

Often not. Google screens leads when the contact is made and does not charge for the ones it judges invalid or low quality. Charged leads are also reassessed, and credits can be applied automatically, usually within 30 days.

Can I still flag a bad LSA lead myself?

Yes. Open the lead in the Leads section and use Rate this lead to give feedback. Google describes credits that can follow that feedback, but it decides each one.

Why was an out-of-area lead not credited?

Google no longer offers automatic credits for "geo not serviced" or "job type not serviced" leads. Narrow your service area and job types so those leads are less likely to reach you.

Are LSA credits available in every industry?

No. Google says lead credits are not available for health care verticals, tax specialists or advertisers in EMEA.

Do Google Ads invalid click credits cover Local Services Ads?

No. They are separate systems. Google Ads handles invalid clicks with its own filtering, credits and Click Quality Form, while LSA uses lead screening, lead credits and feedback.

Sources

• Google Local Services Help: troubleshooting invalid leads
• Google Ads Help: Local Services Ads lead credits
• Google Ads Help: managing invalid traffic