Do Local Services Ads charge for missed calls?
Yes, if the call comes in during your business hours and the caller stays on the line more than 20 seconds. Google's own wording:
"You missed a phone call during your business hours and the customer stays on the line for more than 20 seconds." (Local Services Help: How leads work)
Google's email to advertisers set the start date: "On October 01, 2026, we are updating how and when you are charged for call leads originating from Local Services Ads," as reported by Search Engine Roundtable on August 25, 2026. Google's help pages state the rule but give no start date. It's the same for accounts already moved into Google Ads (Google Ads Help: How leads work), and neither page limits it to one country.
Pay per lead: what counts as a paid lead now
| What happened | Charged? |
|---|---|
| You answer, or call back and talk | Yes, if the call is a valid lead |
| Missed call in business hours, caller stays over 20 seconds | Yes |
| Call goes to voicemail or a greeting in business hours, caller stays over 20 seconds | Yes, message left or not |
| Phone menu: caller hangs up before pressing a key | No, however long the menu played |
| Phone menu: caller presses a key, then waits over 20 seconds | Yes; the timer starts at the first key press |
| Missed call outside your business hours | No |
| Missed call inside business hours but outside your ad schedule | No |
| Same caller again within 15 days, same number or email | No, charged once |
| Same caller after 15 quiet days | Yes, a new lead |
| Text, email, or booking request | Yes |
Source for every row: Local Services Help: How leads work. "Business hours" means the hours on your Google Business Profile (same page).
Can I still dispute a bad lead?
No, not by hand. Google says it plainly:
"While manual lead disputes are no longer supported, invalid leads are automatically detected and credited by backend systems." (Google Ads Help: Lead quality and budgets)
What you can still do:
- Wait for the automatic credit. Google keeps checking charged leads for 30 days. Spam, robocalls, solicitation, wrong numbers and duplicates are credited to your balance (How leads work, lead quality and budgets). The original charge still shows on your invoice (lead credits).
- Rate the lead. On the Leads page, open the lead and fill in "Rate this lead". In Google Ads this "initiates an automated evaluation" that can end in a credit, shown in the Charge Status column (Google Ads Help).
- Read the Charge Status. Each lead shows Charged, Not charged, In review or Credited (How leads work).
Which bad leads won't be credited?
"Google no longer supports credits for 'job type not serviced' and 'geo not serviced' leads." (Local Services Help: lead credits)
So a caller wanting a job you don't do, or living outside your area, is usually your cost: there's no credit to claim. In Google Ads, Google says out-of-area activity its systems catch is adjusted automatically (lead quality and budgets). Prevent them in settings instead: trim service types, categories and service areas (How leads work). Fewer leads, but fewer wasted ones.
Lead credits aren't offered at all for healthcare businesses or tax specialists, or in Europe (lead credits).
How to stop paying for missed calls
- Answer inside business hours. Once you answer, the ring time doesn't matter; the call is judged on the conversation (How leads work).
- Make your Business Profile hours true. If nobody answers after 4 pm, don't list 6 pm.
- Set the ad schedule to when someone can pick up. Missed calls outside the schedule aren't charged (same page).
- Forward to a person or answering service, not voicemail. Voicemail past 20 seconds is a paid lead either way, so a human gets more from the same money.
- Call back fast. You've already paid; repeat calls within 15 days are free (same page).
- Turn on message leads. Google says they are usually cheaper than calls (How leads work) and help on nights and weekends when you can't answer (Improve performance).
Example
A roofer on the roof
Three calls ring out at 2 pm while the crew is working; two callers wait 25 seconds. That's 2 paid leads with no conversation. At $60 (USD) a lead, $120 gone. Forwarding to an answering service turns the same $120 into two conversations that can book estimates.
A plumber's phone menu
The menu says "press 1 for emergencies." A caller hangs up after 30 seconds without pressing: not charged. Another presses 1 and holds 40 seconds before giving up: charged.
The wrong-town caller
A caller 60 miles outside the area calls twice in a week. First call charged, second free (same number, under 15 days). No credit, because "geo not serviced" isn't credited. Tightening the service area stops the next one.
Different for you?
- Your account is moving into Google Ads: Local Services Ads moving to Google Ads.
- Few leads at all: Local Services Ads not showing.
- What unanswered calls cost beyond the lead fee: missed calls cost.
- Texting missed callers back: missed-call text back and consent.
- Want every call answered, day or night: Conversion.