How do Google Local Services Ads work for roofers?

This is general information, not advice. Google changes these programs often, so check its pages before you sign up.

Who can run the ads

Google's page on getting started lists "Roofers" as an eligible category. Eligibility depends on your category, so Google offers a check-eligibility tool on that page. You also need a public, verified Google Business Profile, a license (or proof you are not required to hold one), completed billing setup and a budget. Google says reviews are required, subject to category requirements, and does not give a number on that page.

Screening and verification

Google's screening page for U.S. home services says businesses must complete appropriate background checks and hold appropriate licenses and insurance, as applicable. For most home service categories this means:

• A business check, an owner check, or both. Many categories are marked "select users only," so the requirement can differ by account.
• Insurance. Most categories require general liability and professional liability insurance. A few require only general liability.
• Licenses. Most categories list a state-level business license and a state-level owner license, "where applicable by local law." Check what your own state requires for roofers.
• A verified Business Profile.

Google advises starting screening soon after you create your account, then submitting your documents. It says the process takes 3 to 4 weeks on average after you submit your documents. Plan for a month with no ad running.

Advertisers who pass receive the Google Verified badge, a single badge that replaces earlier ones. Google says the badge does not change ad ranking. Google is also ending the homeowner reimbursement program that went with the older badge for services booked after December 7, 2025.

How leads are charged

Google charges for each valid lead that comes from your ad. Google's lead page lists what counts:

• Phone calls. You answer, or you call back and speak with the customer. A missed call during business hours counts if the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds. A call that reaches voicemail or an automated greeting during business hours counts on the same rule, whether or not a message is left.
• Messages. A text or email from the customer.
• Booking requests. Available in the U.S. and Canada.

What Google says it does not charge for: invalid, spam or duplicate contacts, missed calls under 20 seconds, callers who hang up at an automated menu without pressing a key, and unanswered calls outside your business hours or ad schedule. A follow-up contact from the same number or email within 15 days of a charged lead is not a new lead. A new contact after 15 days of inactivity is.

One consequence matters for a roofing company: a call you return counts as a lead. If you call back the next morning and the homeowner has already booked someone else, you can still pay for the call.

What sets the price

Google does not publish a price for roofers. It says lead prices vary by location, job type, lead type and bidding mode. Message leads are typically priced lower than the matching phone lead, though not always. A message lead's price reflects the customer's estimated likelihood to book, which depends on the message type, the service asked for, whether the customer contacted other advertisers and the customer's earlier engagement with ads.

You set a bidding mode that caps what you will pay per lead, and you set an average weekly budget. Weekly spend can run over the budget, but total spend for the month stays under a monthly maximum, which is the weekly budget times the average number of weeks in a month. When you reach it, your ad stops for the rest of the month unless you raise the budget.

What roofing leads cost in the published figures

These figures disagree, and none comes from Google. We saw one source with a $25 to $100 range and could not tie it to a primary source, so we left it out. The same seller's earlier figure for the estimator, read on September 28, was an average of $143.28, so the numbers move month to month. How much roofing leads cost puts them next to search ads and exclusive leads.

How the ranking works

Google ranks Local Services Ads in an auction that weighs your bid and your overall profile quality. Its ranking page lists these inputs:

• Responsiveness. Missed calls can hurt your ranking. Google also says a consistently fast response time may improve it.
• Profile quality. Your star rating, number of reviews, average response time, images and completed verification checks. Google says higher-quality profiles may rank higher and may pay lower costs per lead.
• Search context. The service requested, the time and the location.
• Relevance. The services and bio you list.
• Contact options. Turning on message or booking leads gives customers more ways to reach you, which Google says can help, especially nights and weekends.

Google gives no thresholds for response time, review count or rating. That makes answering the phone the one lever you control directly. How to follow up on a new roofing lead covers speed and the rules for calling and texting back.

Credits for bad leads

Google assesses each lead at first contact and does not charge for those it judges invalid or low quality. It reassesses charged leads over time and may credit them without any action from you. Credits usually reach your balance within 30 days, and the original charge stays on your invoice. Some poor leads are charged and then credited within the first 24 hours of processing.

You can also tell Google a lead was poor. Sign in, open the menu, select Leads, choose "Rate this lead" and submit the survey. Google says it may credit some of these, and it does not promise that it will. Google says it no longer credits leads for "job type not serviced" or "geo not serviced." That is a real limit for a roofer who does only replacements or covers a set of ZIP codes. Set your job types and service areas carefully in the account, though narrower settings can also reduce lead volume.

Google's help pages have described this process differently over time, and one older page we found describes a manual dispute with a 30-day window. Check your own Leads page to see which options your account shows.

The move to Performance Max

Google says Local Services Ads campaigns are moving into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. The first phase began in August 2026 for select U.S. home and storefront advertisers, including roofing. Later phases follow in late 2026 and in 2027. You still pay only for valid leads. Google says manual bidding and vertical-level target cost per lead are being removed, weekly budgets become daily averages, and historical performance reports will not carry over, so download them first. Costs measured before the move may not hold after it.

How it compares as a source

Local Services Ads are different from a shared marketplace and from an exclusive lead. The homeowner sees several advertisers and chooses whom to contact, so a lead is yours but the search results are shared. It is not an exclusive lead in the sense that a seller sends it to you alone. You carry the setup work and the screening, but you keep the account. See exclusive vs. shared leads for the first-call race, and alternatives to Angi and HomeAdvisor for the other channels.

HomeAnvil sells exclusive pay-per-lead roofing leads from its own ads and quote form, a different model from Local Services Ads. Read how our roofing leads work.

Our terms, in brief

Exclusive leads

Each new lead goes to one contractor only during your exclusivity window; after it, a lead may be offered again, under the terms the homeowner saw.

No contract term

A prepaid balance your card tops up when it runs low. No cancellation fee. Pause or stop any time.

Credits for bad leads

Report a wrong number or out-of-area lead within 7 days, unless your agreement says otherwise. Accepted returns are credited back.

Your ZIPs, your cap

Choose the ZIP codes you serve and how many leads you want each week.

Our full pricing and terms

Frequently asked questions

Where this information comes from

We read each source below on October 13, 2026.

• Google, How leads work in Local Services Ads: charged lead types, the 20-second rule, what is not charged, price factors, budgets.
• Google, Business screening and verification requirements: checks, insurance, licenses, the 3 to 4 week timeline.
• Google, Getting started with Local Services Ads, United States: roofers as an eligible category and what you need.
• Google, About ad rankings: the ranking factors.
• Google, Troubleshooting invalid leads: lead credits, the feedback survey, what is not credited.
• Google, About the Google Verified badge: the badge and the end of the older reimbursement program.
• Google, Local Services Ads moving to Performance Max: dates and changes.
• 99 Calls, roofing contractor LSA cost estimator: vendor figures.
• ActiveProspect, How much do roofing leads cost?, March 2, 2026.
• Zuper, Best Way to Generate Roofing Leads in 2026, July 15, 2026.

We will update this page when these sources change, and the date above will say when.