Google Local Services Ads for healthcare practices

Local Services Ads are the pay-per-lead listings that can appear above the regular search ads when someone searches for a local service on Google. They started with home services, and Google now offers them in a number of US healthcare categories. Practice owners hear about them from Google sales calls, from agencies and from other owners, usually with the pitch that you pay for leads, not clicks.

This guide covers which healthcare categories Google lists today, what screening and verification ask of a practice and its clinicians, how leads are charged and which features are not available to healthcare advertisers, the policies that apply, and the move of Local Services Ads into Google Ads that Google is rolling out now. It is not a guide to running regular search campaigns; for those, see our specialty guides such as Google Ads for dentists and Google Ads for chiropractors.

This is general information, not legal advice. Google pages cited were checked on October 29, 2026 (they do not show a last updated date): Local Services Help, Getting started with Local Services Ads (United States); Business screening and verification requirements (United States); Understand the screening and verification process; How leads work; About Automated Local Services Ads lead credits; Google Ads Help, Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals; and the Local Services Ads requirements policy. We also cite 45 CFR 162.410 on keeping NPI data current. Google changes these programs often, so check the current pages before you sign up.

How Local Services Ads differ from regular Google Ads

Google’s getting started page describes the basics. Local Services ads show in a separate unit in Google Search results when people search for the services you offer in the areas you choose. A potential patient can call you or send you a message from the ad, and you pay for leads related to your business and the services you offer, not for clicks. Google’s transition page adds that the campaigns are keywordless: targeting is based on the service categories and areas you select.

That makes the format simpler to set up than a search campaign, and it also means less control. You do not choose keywords, write ad text in the usual way or send people to a landing page you built. What you control is the category, the services, the area, the hours, the budget and the profile details.

Which healthcare categories are listed

Google’s US getting started page lists the categories where Local Services Ads are available. The US screening and verification page groups the following under Health care, each with its own requirements:

Allergist, audiologist, chiropractor, dentist, dermatologist and dietitian
Occupational therapist, ophthalmologist, optometrist, orthodontist and orthopedic surgeon
Physical therapist, plastic surgeon, podiatrist and primary care physician

The same page lists acupuncturist, massage therapist and weight loss service under Wellness, not Health care, with different requirements. Availability also depends on location: Google’s page says Local Services Ads are available only for certain service categories and asks businesses to check eligibility for their area. If your specialty is not on the list, the format is not open to you yet, whatever a sales pitch suggests.

What screening and verification ask of a practice

Every Local Services advertiser needs a public, verified Google Business Profile, according to Google’s screening page. Our guide to Google Business Profile for doctors covers getting that right first. Beyond the profile, the US requirements listed under Health care include:

Background checks: a provider check and a practice check for each healthcare category.
Licenses: for most healthcare categories, a practice license and a provider license on state level; for some, such as audiologist, occupational therapist, orthopedic surgeon and plastic surgeon, the page lists a business license and an owner license instead. Google marks these as required where applicable by local law.
Business registration: a business check and, for most categories, a business representative check, marked for select users only.
Insurance: general liability insurance and professional liability insurance (described as medical malpractice insurance for many healthcare categories), marked for select users only.
NPI verification: listed under other requirements, marked for select users only.

Google’s page on the screening process is firmer on the last point. It says that for health care verticals in the US, National Provider Identifier verification is a prerequisite to serve ads, that NPIs are verified through an integration with the NPPES NPI Registry API, and that if no NPI or multiple NPIs are found, the provider must call Local Services Ads support. It also notes that businesses can have multiple NPIs but individuals can have only one.

That makes your NPPES record part of your advertising setup. Separately from Google, HIPAA’s administrative rules at 45 CFR 162.410(a)(4) require a covered health care provider to communicate any changes in its required data elements to the National Provider System within 30 days of the change. A practice that moved, changed its name or added a location without updating NPPES may find verification stalls on a mismatch. For more on keeping directory data consistent, see our guide to insurance accepted pages and provider directories.

Google’s screening page says the process takes 3 to 4 weeks on average after documents are submitted, and recommends starting soon after the account is created. Its getting started page also says pre-badge ads, which let some businesses receive leads before all checks are complete, are not available for health care verticals. A practice should expect to finish verification before any lead arrives.

How leads are charged, and what healthcare advertisers do not get

Google’s page on how leads work says you are charged for each valid lead, that lead prices may vary by location, job type, lead type and bidding mode, and that leads judged invalid or low quality when the person first makes contact are not charged. For most advertisers, Google may also reassess charged leads later and credit low quality ones automatically.

Several of those features carry exceptions for healthcare, which matter when you compare Local Services Ads with a search campaign:

No lead credits. Google’s lead credit page says lead credits are not available for health care verticals.
No call recordings in the US. The how leads work page says call recordings and lead credits are not available for health care verticals located in the United States.
No booking leads. The getting started page says booking leads are not available for health care verticals.
No pre-badge ads. As noted above, healthcare advertisers go live only after verification.

Without credits or call recordings, the practice’s own records carry more weight. Track which calls came from the ads, whether each one was a real patient inquiry for a service you offer, and whether it became an appointment. Our guide to patient acquisition cost explains how to turn that into a number you can compare across channels.

Google’s getting started page also says that if you regularly fail to answer calls or respond to messages, your ad ranking may be affected. For a practice, that is a staffing question as much as a marketing one: the ads should run only during hours someone can answer.

The policies that apply

Local Services Ads have their own policy page, separate from the general Google Ads policies. The parts most relevant to practices:

Legal requirements. Advertisers must comply with all relevant licensing, insurance, privacy and other regulatory requirements in the places they use the ads.
Misrepresentation. The policy says not to give inaccurate information about qualifications, licenses, insurance, service areas or other aspects of the business, to accept only work you are licensed, insured and able to complete, and not to use the license of a person who does not work for the business.
Lead selling. Advertisers cannot sell or pass leads to other businesses, and advertising on behalf of call centers that route requests to businesses not listed in the ads is not allowed. Our guide to buying patient leads covers the federal rules on the other side of that trade.
Photos and headshots. Ad photos are reviewed against quality guidelines, and the policy says no personally identifying photos should be uploaded.

Calls and messages that come through the ads can include health details a patient volunteers. Decide in advance what staff ask on a first call, and keep clinical details for your own scheduling and records systems. We confirm in writing what a BAA covers before any patient information flows through a tool; if it is not covered, we do not route patient information through it.

Local Services Ads are moving into Google Ads

Google Ads Help describes a transition now under way. Existing Local Services Ads campaigns are being migrated automatically to a Performance Max campaign type with pay-per-lead goals, managed inside Google Ads instead of the separate Local Services dashboard. Google says the pay-per-lead model, the keywordless targeting and the ad positions on Search and Maps stay the same.

The timeline Google gives:

August 2026: the first phase began for select US home and storefront service advertisers, such as plumbing, HVAC and house cleaning.
Late 2026: broader advertiser groups, including service-area businesses without storefronts and accounts with custom bidding or booking setups.
2027: non-US accounts and all remaining business categories not migrated in 2026.

Healthcare is not named in the first phase. Points from the same page that a practice already running Local Services Ads should prepare for:

Save your reports. Google says Local Services Ads performance reports will not transfer to Google Ads, and suggests downloading or screenshotting them before migration.
Watch for the emails. The account administrator gets a notice 14 days before the migration date and a reminder 7 days later. Make sure that email address belongs to someone who still works at the practice.
Bidding changes. Manual bidding and industry-level target cost per acquisition are being deprecated.
Business details come from your Business Profile. Name, address and hours sync one way from Google Business Profile, and significant changes to the name, address or primary category trigger a review that typically takes 24 to 48 hours, during which the campaign may pause.
Verification carries over. Google says verified status and the Google Verified badge transfer automatically.

Is it a fit for your practice?

Illustration: a two-dentist general practice in a suburb is offered Local Services Ads by phone. Before saying yes, the owner works through a few questions with the office manager.

Is the category listed for your area? Check eligibility on Google’s page for your exact specialty and location.
Is your paperwork ready? NPPES data current for the practice and each dentist, state licenses, insurance certificates and a verified Business Profile with matching name and address.
Can you answer the phone? Set ad hours to match staffed hours, since unanswered calls may affect ranking.
Can you measure it without lead credits? Decide how the front desk will log ad calls and outcomes before the first lead.
How does it fit with what you already run? Compare cost per booked patient from Local Services Ads with your search campaigns and organic results over the same period, using your own numbers.

Local Services Ads can sit alongside a search campaign; they are not a replacement for a website and a Business Profile that patients trust. No format, including this one, guarantees a number of leads or a position on the page.

How we handle this

Our work focuses on Google Search campaigns built around your services, with call tracking and landing pages on your own site. When a practice asks about Local Services Ads, we check eligibility for its category and area, review what verification will need, and help set up tracking so both formats can be compared on real results. See our Google Ads for practices service.

Can any medical practice use Google Local Services Ads?

Only practices in categories Google lists for their area. The US screening page lists 15 categories under Health care, from allergist to primary care physician. Check eligibility on Google’s page for your specialty and location.

Do we need an NPI to run Local Services Ads?

Google’s screening process page says NPI verification through the NPPES registry is a prerequisite for US health care verticals. Make sure the practice and provider records in NPPES are current before you apply.

Can we get refunds for bad leads?

Google’s lead credit page says lead credits are not available for health care verticals. Leads judged invalid when the person first makes contact are not charged, but later automatic credits do not apply to healthcare.

How long does verification take?

Google’s screening page says 3 to 4 weeks on average after documents are submitted. Pre-badge ads, which let some businesses get leads earlier, are not available for health care.

Are Local Services Ads going away?

Google says the campaigns are moving into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, with the same pay-per-lead model and ad positions. Remaining categories are scheduled to move in 2027 if not migrated in 2026.

Can an agency run Local Services Ads and pass leads to us?

Google’s Local Services Ads policy does not allow selling or passing leads to other businesses, or advertising for call centers that route requests to businesses not shown in the ads. The ads should be in your practice’s name, for your own clinicians.

Google Local Services Ads for healthcare practices: categories, verification and what is changing