Google Local Services Ads for Attorneys, Financial Planners, & Real Estate Agents

Google Local Services ads are showing in a couple metro areas now for estate planning attorneys, immigration attorneys, financial planners and real estate agents.

Google continues to test expanding Local Services ads beyond locksmiths and home service type businesses. Photographers, event planners, pet sitters & groomers have been running in a few markets for quite a while. And now attorneys, financial planners and real estate agents are in the mix.

Attorneys

Local Services ads are starting to appear in the results for immigration and real estate planning attorney related searches in San Diego and Houston (and now Austin and Atlanta). The “years in business” label is also new and is located where “Google Guaranteed” appears on Local Services ads for other business types. Here is an example of a mobile version of an initial search result for [estate planning attorney san diego]:

Google Local Services Ads - Attorneys

These ads are not showing a “Google Guaranteed” label but clicking through to a full profile (desktop version shown below) shows the business has passed Google’s estate lawyer screening and qualification process. It also indicates that the business and business owner have been background checked and that the business is insured. Additionally, it indicates the business is state licensed and their state bar license number is present on the profile.

Google Local Services Attorney Profile

Real Estate Agents

Similar style Local Services ads are showing for real estate agent searches in San Diego and Houston (and now Austin and Atlanta). Desktop version:

Google Local Services Ads - Real Estate Agents

A profile page shows a similar screening and background check process along with state licensing and additional information:

Google LSA Real Estate Agent profile

On the initial search result view for attorneys and real estate agents, the “Sponsored” label detail shows:

LSA Sponsored listings

If you click through to view more listings you can see the difference in paid listings versus free listings:

Sponsored real estate agent listings on Google Local Services

The top 3 are sponsored listings and any listings below that are the free listings. The ads for attorneys and real estate agents have the option to contact the business by filling out a contact form in addition to calling.

Individual Bio Info & Feedback Link on LSA Profile

There’s a new section that can be present on the profile page for attorneys and real estate agencies. It shows individual names of attorneys and real estate agents with bullet points containing info specific to that person.

LSA Feedback

The “Feedback” link looks like it’s specific to this section but it takes you to a page where inaccurate content for any part of the profile can be reported.

Financial Planners

Financial Planners - Google Local Services Ads

Results for financial planners have a similar look to the Local Services ads for attorneys and real estate agents.

Local Services Vertical Expansion

Attorney, financial planning and real estate Local Services ads are currently only in 2 markets (4 as of December 2019) but it’s another indication that Google is serious about expanding LSA to additional verticals outside the realm of home services. It also shows a shift away from paid listings being “Google Guaranteed”, at least for these verticals. While paid listings indicate that the businesses have passed Google’s screening and qualification process, they are not backed with any sort of guarantee from Google.