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If your practice runs Local Services Ads (those Google Screened listings with the green checkmark that sit at the very top of search results), Google just announced a change you need to know about.
On July 20, Google confirmed they're retiring the standalone Local Services Ads dashboard entirely. Every LSA campaign is being folded into the main Google Ads platform as a new specialized campaign type built for pay-per-lead goals.
Here's what's NOT changing, because that's the first question everyone asks. You'll still pay per lead, not per click. Your ads will still show only on Google Search and Google Maps. The targeting still runs off your business profile instead of keywords. The product itself works the same. What's changing is where and how you manage it.
Now here's the part that matters for you specifically.
Dental practices are not in the first wave. The migration starts in August with home service businesses. Plumbers, HVAC companies, roofers, electricians. It expands to more categories in late 2026 and continues through 2027. Healthcare hasn't been given a date yet.
Some dentists will read that and think "Great, not my problem yet." Wrong takeaway.
This is the rare situation where you get to watch someone else go through the change before it hits you. The plumbers and roofers are the test group. Every mistake they make, every lesson they learn the hard way, you get for free. That's a gift. Use it.
Here's what I'd do now to get ahead of it.
First, export your historical LSA data. Don't wait.
This is the biggest landmine in the announcement. Your historical Local Services Ads performance reports will NOT migrate to the new platform. Once your account moves, the old dashboard becomes inaccessible and any report you didn't export is gone forever. Google says they'll give advertisers about 14 days of warning before their migration date.
14 days is nothing. It's a vacation and a busy week. Export your data now, while it's not urgent. Your cost per lead by month, your seasonal patterns, your year-over-year comparisons. That's your baseline. If you lose it, you'll never be able to tell "normal slow February" from "something broke in the migration."
Second, get your Google Business Profile airtight.
In the new system, your business information syncs automatically from your Google Business Profile. Your GBP becomes the source of truth for your ads. Hours wrong on your profile? Wrong on your ads. Outdated info? Outdated ads.
If you've been reading this newsletter, your GBP should already be dialed in for AI search reasons. Now there's one more reason on the pile. Everything Google is building routes through that profile.
Third, make sure you actually know your numbers.
When your migration eventually comes, performance will wobble for a few weeks while the new system calibrates. That's normal for any platform change. But you can only tell "temporary wobble" from "real problem" if you know exactly what your cost per lead and lead volume looked like before. Which brings us back to point one. Export the data.
The bigger picture here is a pattern I keep pointing out. Google is consolidating everything (LSAs, ads, business profiles, AI search) into one connected system with your Google Business Profile at the center of it. Every announcement over the past six months points the same direction.
The practices that keep their data clean, their profiles complete and their numbers tracked will glide through every one of these changes. The ones running on autopilot will get surprised every time.
You've been given advance notice. Act like it.
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Talk next week.
— Kyle / Founder, Search-To-Seat™
