November 06, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –
Search Strategy Marketing, a digital marketing agency in Gilroy, California, offers guidance on Google Ads for landscapers as the Local Services Ads migration changes how companies manage their landscaping ad budget. Advertisers will use daily budgets and a shared campaign target. The migration also affects campaign information: existing campaign photos, including before-and-after photos, transfer automatically, while historical performance reports must be saved separately.
Within Google Ads, migrated Local Services Ads will operate as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. Advertisers will manage campaigns and leads there, and the standalone dashboard will redirect once an account migrates. Google says settings such as locations and budgets transfer automatically.
The first phase began in August 2026 and covers select home and storefront service advertisers in the United States, with lawn care among the named categories. A later phase in late 2026 expands to broader groups, including service-area businesses without physical storefronts. Remaining U.S. business categories are scheduled to move in 2027.
Search Engine Journal reported that advertisers will manage average daily budgets after migration, rather than weekly ones. The report also said manual bidding will no longer be supported. Billing stays tied to valid leads rather than clicks, as it is under the current Local Services Ads model.
Vertical-level target cost-per-acquisition settings are also being replaced by a single campaign-level target that applies across service categories. For advertisers who previously used different targets, the question is whether a single shared target suits categories with different lead costs. Google says advertisers can create separate campaigns when categories need different targets.
Performance reports from the Local Services Ads dashboard will not transfer to Google Ads, according to Google. Google advises advertisers to save historical performance data before migration, using screenshots if downloadable reports are unavailable. Account administrators managing Google Ads for landscapers receive notice 14 days before migration, followed by a reminder seven days later.
Google also advises allowing up to two weeks after migration for performance to stabilize. Search Engine Journal advises verifying the daily budget and campaign-level target after the transfer. For companies setting 2027 spending plans, that stabilization period belongs on the planning calendar.
Broader search advertising benchmarks provide a reference for comparing lead costs. LocaliQ’s 2026 search advertising benchmarks, covering more than 13,000 U.S. campaigns from April 2025 through March 2026, show a median cost per lead for home and home improvement of $90.92. The same report lists an all-industry median cost per lead of $66.69.
Lead costs vary by trade within the broad home and home improvement category, so a company’s own cost per lead is a more useful reference for its landscaping ad budget and campaign targets. Search Strategy Marketing’s published guidance emphasizes measuring advertising performance to guide spending decisions. Its off-season guidance also encourages maintaining marketing activity rather than stopping for winter.
Company names and addresses will sync from Google Business Profile after migration, according to Search Engine Journal. Significant name or address changes may trigger a verification review lasting 24 to 48 hours that can temporarily pause a campaign. Search Strategy Marketing recommends keeping profile details consistent before an account moves to reduce the risk of a verification-related pause.
Search Strategy Marketing is a digital marketing agency based in Gilroy, California, that has worked with outdoor service businesses since 2009. Founder and co-owner Christine Penchuk serves as chief strategist for the company, which works with landscaping and related outdoor service companies nationwide. The company offers website design, local search optimization, Google Business Profile management, and paid ad management, including Google Ads for landscapers.
###
For more information about Search Strategy Marketing, contact the company here:
Search Strategy Marketing
Christine Penchuk & Matt Penchuk
(408) 617-9267
info@searchstrategymarketing.com
