UrbanTechFlow · Ottawa and Gatineau · Published November 2, 2026 · Updated November 2, 2026 · Checked October 11, 2026

Lire cet article en français

Google Local Services Ads in Canada: is your trade on the list?

Search your own trade in Ottawa. Near the top of the page, a few businesses may show in their own box, with "Google Verified" next to their name. Those are Local Services Ads, and those businesses pay Google per lead, not per click.

The short answer: Google's Canada page for Local Services Ads lists 36 home services, as we counted them on October 11, 2026. Before you can advertise, Google's sign-up checks your category and whether the ads are available in your area.

Two things have changed. Since October 20, 2025, the only badge is Google Verified, and the money-back promise is gone. And Google's timeline moves non-U.S. accounts into Google Ads in 2027.

Is your trade on Google's Canada list?

Under "Eligible home services", Google's Canada page gives the "list of home services eligible for a Google Verified badge": 36 names on October 11, 2026. Here is where the trades we cover sit, in Google's own words.

The full list of 36, from appliance repair to window repair, is on Google's Canada page in the sources below.

For windows and doors, the name on the list is Window repair. Google's Canada screening page says those pros "may also service skylights, doors, and other types of glass". It names no separate category for entry or patio doors.

A name on the list is not a yes. The page sends you to Google's help center "To check eligibility". The Canada help page then says: "To check if Local Services Ads are available in your area, check your business eligibility."

That check is the final word, and a name close to yours is not a promise. Not sure which category is yours? Google's screening page says to read the category's description and see if your services match.

Ontario and Quebec: what Google says, and what it doesn't

Google's Canada pages name no province and no city. They tell you to check whether the ads are "available in your area".

Google's Canada help pages also open in French, where the badge is "Validé par Google". A page in French does not show that the ads run in Quebec.

An older Whitespark guide still says the ads run in "Canada (excluding Quebec)", and its category count is long out of date. The guide says it was first published December 19, 2019, and updated August 18, 2020, though its byline now shows October 28, 2024. None of the Google pages we read says that, or the opposite.

So run Google's eligibility check for your business, in Ottawa or in Gatineau.

Google Verified replaced Google Guaranteed: what changed for you

Google's help page on the badge says Google is "simplifying our advertiser badging" with "a single badge for all advertisers". Search Engine Roundtable reported Google's notice on August 21, 2025. From October 20, 2025, one Google Verified badge replaced Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified by Google.

Google's badge page also ends the money-back promise: Google "will be discontinuing the Money Back Guarantee associated with the Google Guarantee badge". Customers could ask for a reimbursement only for services booked through these ads before December 7, 2025, within 30 days of the job's completion.

Google adds: "Local Services Ads ranking won't be affected by this change." Advertisers who were already verified had nothing to do. New advertisers earn the badge by passing Google's screening and verification.

In plain words: the badge now says your business passed Google's screening, and profiles show it "along with the specific verification checks they have completed". It is no longer a money-back promise to your customer.

So a page that still promises a Google guarantee in Canada is out of date.

What Google checks before the badge: a garage door example

Lockstep Garage Doors is a made-up Ottawa company. It replaces broken springs, fixes openers and installs new doors. Its owner wants the Google Verified badge before winter.

Google's Canada screening page lists what a garage door company must pass:

• A business check and an owner check.
• A service professional check, because Google treats garage doors as an urgent category, for needs "such as a garage door that won't open or close".
• General liability and professional liability insurance.
• A business licence and an owner licence "on a province and/or country level", marked "Where applicable by local law".
• Google's Advanced Verification screening process, which Google also applies to locksmiths.
• A public and verified Google Business Profile, like every advertiser.

Google says the screening takes 3 to 4 weeks on average once the documents are submitted.

The catch: Google's pre-badge ads bring leads while the last checks finish, shown below fully verified providers. But Google's Canada help page says: "Pre-badge ads aren't available for garage door services, health care verticals, and locksmiths."

So Lockstep gets no lead from these ads until every check is done. Gather the documents before you sign up, not after.

Electricians, HVAC pros and plumbers get the same service professional check, since Google lists them as urgent too, but they are not in the pre-badge exclusion. Google names no provincial licensing body: it asks for the licences the law requires where you work.

When you pay: per lead, and a missed call can count

Google's "How leads work" page for Canada says you're charged for each valid lead you receive, such as a call or a message. Prices "may vary depending on your location, the job type, the type of lead, or your bidding mode". Message leads are "typically priced lower", though not always.

Here is the line many owners miss. A valid lead includes this: "You missed a phone call during your business hours and the customer stays on the line for more than 20 seconds."

Voicemail counts too. A call that reaches voicemail or a greeting during your business hours is charged if the caller stays on more than 20 seconds, message or not.

Phone menus work differently. If callers must press a key to reach the right line, Google starts the 20-second timer at the key press. If a caller hangs up without pressing a key, you aren't charged.

Your business hours are "the hours you set in your Google Business Profile". If your ad schedule differs, unanswered calls are charged only inside your active ad schedule and your business hours. And if a customer contacts you again within 15 days, from the same number or email, you aren't charged twice.

What to do: put the hours someone really answers in your Google Business Profile, and run the ads inside those hours. If nights and weekends go unanswered, turn on message leads.

Google's rankings page says message and booking leads give customers more ways to reach you, "especially during nights and weekends when you can't answer the phone".

Google changed the badge. It did not change who has to answer the phone.

What a missed call costs you is the subject of "Missed Calls in Ottawa Home Services: The Number Nobody Measures".

Bad leads: credits are automatic, and two reasons no longer count

Google's credits page says leads judged invalid or low quality at first contact are not charged. Charged leads are checked again over time, and the low-quality ones may be credited automatically.

Google adds: "In most cases, credits will be applied to your account balance within 30 days." The original charge still shows on your invoice.

Two reasons are gone. Google's page says: "Google no longer supports credits for 'job type not serviced' and 'geo not serviced' leads."

So the job types and service areas you set are your filter. Google's advice for unwanted leads is to revisit them, and your categories, though any change "could reduce the number of leads you receive". For one bad lead, use "Rate this lead".

What moves a listing up: answering, reviews and photos

Google's "About ad rankings" page says the order comes from an auction on your bid and your overall profile quality. That includes how likely your ad is to bring a lead, and Google adds: "Missed calls may negatively affect your responsiveness."

Profile quality, in Google's words, includes "Your rating, number of reviews, average response time, use of high-quality images, the verification checks you have completed". The order also aims for the health and diversity of the ads as a whole, so nobody can promise you a spot.

Google's reviews page for these ads says: "Star ratings and number of reviews affect how your business is ranked within Local Services Ads."

Those reviews live in your Google Business Profile, under the Google Maps content policies. Those policies don't allow a business to "selectively solicit positive reviews from customers". The rules for asking are in "What you can say when you ask for a Google review, and what gets reviews deleted".

Want to see where your Google reviews stand first? Our free check tests your website live. In its second step, give your business name, city and email. It then pulls your public Google listing and compares your review count with the median of others in your category.

2027: Local Services Ads move into Google Ads

A Google Ads Help page describes the move to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. Its timeline starts with select U.S. home and storefront service advertisers in August 2026. Broader advertiser groups follow in late 2026.

Then comes this line: "2027: Non-U.S. accounts, and all remaining business categories that were not migrated in 2026 will transition to Google Ads."

Canada is not named, so we read it this way: Google's timeline puts non-U.S. accounts, Canadian ones included, in 2027.

What stays: you still pay for valid leads, not clicks. The ads show on Google Search and Google Maps in the same spots as before, and the campaign stays keywordless.

What changes: you manage the ads in Google Ads. Manual bidding and industry-level Target CPA are going away. Your business name, address and hours sync one way, from your Google Business Profile to Google Ads. BBB callouts are no longer supported.

What carries over: your verified status and your Google Verified badge. Google says "Insurance and license reverification are no longer required". Your past leads move over too.

What doesn't: your old performance reports. Google plans a download on the redirection page and, until then, suggests screenshots before migrating. Save them before your migration date: Google emails the account administrator 14 days ahead.

The "How leads work" page adds that billing already runs through Google Ads, and a suspension there also suspends these ads.

If your trade isn't on the list, or the check says no

Masonry and chimneys, and interlock and paving, have no category by that name. And the check can also say no for your area. Two other ways onto Google stay open.

The first is your Google Business Profile, the free listing where your hours and reviews live. How to keep it current is in "Google Business Profile Management: A Routine, Not a Project".

The second is regular Google search ads. They run on keywords and are usually paid per click. Where that money tends to leak is in "Google Ads for Ottawa Contractors: Where the Money Actually Leaks".

At UrbanTechFlow, our Growth package covers both. It includes Google ads built and run by us, and you pay Google from your own account. These are regular search ads, not Local Services Ads. It also includes your Google profile, updated every month, with your regular and holiday hours and the towns you really serve.

What we will update, and when

We read every Google page listed below on October 11, 2026. We'll read them again every month, and again when migration emails reach Canadian accounts.

We'll add a dated line here when Google changes the list, names a province or sets a date for Canada's move.

Questions owners ask

Can a general contractor run Local Services Ads in Canada?

General contractor is on Google's Canada page. Google's eligibility check for your area decides.

Does the Google Guarantee still exist?

No. Google ended it when one Google Verified badge took over on October 20, 2025. Money-back requests covered only jobs booked before December 7, 2025.

Is a missed call charged?

It can be. It counts when it comes in during your profile's hours, inside your ad schedule if that differs, and the caller stays on more than 20 seconds. Voicemail counts the same way.

Do Local Services Ads run in Quebec?

Google names no province. Run Google's eligibility check for your Gatineau location.

What happens to my account in 2027?

Google's timeline moves non-U.S. accounts into Google Ads. The badge carries over; the performance reports don't, so save them first.

Is a Google Business Profile required?

Yes. Google requires a public and verified one.