PxlPerfect Designs, a family-owned marketing company serving plumbing, electrical, and HVAC businesses, today issued guidance urging home service companies across the United States to export their Local Services Ads records as Google begins migrating those campaigns into the Google Ads platform. According to Google’s migration documentation, the first phase started in August 2026 with select home and storefront service advertisers, historical performance reports will not transfer to the new system, and account holders receive 14 days of notice before their transition date.
Local Services Ads campaigns are being converted into a specialized Performance Max campaign type built for pay-per-lead goals and managed inside Google Ads. The standalone Local Services Ads dashboard is retired once an account completes its move.
“Most owners treat that dashboard like a filing cabinet. Seasonal lead patterns, cost per lead by service, weekly spend history, it all lives in there,” said Brian Lowell, owner of PxlPerfect Designs. “Google has been clear that those reports do not come with you. Exporting takes minutes. Waiting on a 14-day notice while you are out running service calls is how years of records disappear.”
The published migration timeline
Google’s documentation outlines three phases:
- August 2026: Select home and storefront service advertisers in the United States begin migrating, with plumbing, HVAC, and electrical among the named categories.
- Late 2026: The migration expands to broader advertiser groups, including service area businesses without physical storefronts and accounts with custom bidding or booking configurations.
- 2027: Accounts outside the United States and all remaining business categories transition.
What stays the same and what changes
Google states the core model is unchanged. Advertisers continue paying for valid leads such as calls and messages rather than clicks, ads appear in the same positions on Google Search and
Google Maps, targeting remains based on service categories and coverage areas rather than keywords, and the Google Verified badge stays in place.
The management experience changes. Manual bidding is retired in favor of automated bidding, weekly budgets convert to average daily budgets, and a single campaign-level lead target replaces separate targets for each service category. Companies advertising multiple trades under one account, such as a business offering both plumbing and HVAC service, are encouraged to review lead cost targets after migration.
Recommended steps before a migration notice arrives
PxlPerfect Designs recommends home service businesses take four steps now:
- Export performance reports from the Local Services Ads dashboard, including impressions, clicks, weekly spend, and ad-level reporting.
- Save copies of lead records and billing history that may be needed for bookkeeping or dispute reference.
- Record current budgets, bids, and lead targets for each service category so settings can be verified after the move.
- Watch for Google’s migration notice and treat the 14-day window as a hard deadline.
“The part that matters most to the trades is not changing. Businesses still pay for real leads and still show up on Search and Maps,” Lowell said. “What changes is where campaigns are managed and what history remains visible afterward. The advice is simple: export first, then learn the new interface on your own schedule instead of Google’s.”
The company said it will continue publishing plain-language guidance for trade businesses as the remaining migration phases roll out through 2027.
About PxlPerfect Designs
PxlPerfect Designs is a family-owned marketing company based in Caddo Mills, Texas, serving plumbing, electrical, and HVAC companies across East DFW and Northeast Texas, throughout Texas, and nationwide. Founded in 2024, the company delivers web design, local SEO, meta ads, Google Business Profile, Local Service Ads management, and AI search optimization for owner-operated home service businesses, with 325+ websites built, GBP profiles optimized, and SEO programs delivered. More information is available at https://www.pxlperfectdesigns.com.