Published September 26, 2026 · by Luis Gomez · I run Local Services Ads for a trade that isn’t a category — drywall — and publish the numbers. That’s the part of this article nobody else can write.
Short answer: Google offers Local Services Ads for 36 home-service categories in 2026 — plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, painting, handyman, landscaping, lawn care, pest control, cleaning, junk removal, tree service, pressure washing and more — plus professional, health, auto and beauty categories. Drywall, tile and concrete are not categories; those trades run through a neighboring category’s job types (the side door) if they qualify for its screening.
How categories work
A Local Services Ads account runs in a category (Plumber, Electrician, Painter…). Inside the category are job types (for Plumber: water heater repair, drain cleaning, leak repair…). You pick the job types you want leads for; Google matches searches to them. Screening requirements — license, insurance, background check — are set per category, and you can run more than one category in an account if you qualify for each.
The category list differs by country and, inside the U.S., some categories are only available in certain metros. The list below is the U.S. home-service set as offered in 2026; confirm your own market in the sign-up flow (it takes two minutes and you don’t have to finish).
Home-service categories
Appliance repair · Carpentry · Carpet cleaning · Countertop services · Drain expert · Electrician · Fencing · Flooring · Foundations · Garage door · General contractor · Handyman · Home inspection · Home insulation · Home security · Home theater · House cleaning · HVAC · Junk removal · Landscaping · Lawn care · Locksmith · Movers · Painting · Pest control · Plumbing · Pool cleaning / pool contractor · Pressure washing (one combined vertical with window cleaning and gutter cleaning) · Roofing · Sewage system · Siding · Snow removal · Solar energy contractor · Tree services · Water damage restoration · Window cleaning · Window repair / installation — 36 home-service categories in 2026, and Google keeps adding (August 2026 added dozens of restaurant and automotive categories, none in the trades).
Professional and other categories
Lawyers (many practice areas), real estate agents, financial planners, tax services, accountants, insurance, plus health (dentists, chiropractors, physical therapy…), education (tutors, driving instructors…), pet care (groomers, trainers, boarding), auto (repair, glass, towing), events and beauty. Since October 20, 2025 every category carries the same Google Verified badge, which shows which checks a business passed; the old Google Guaranteed money-back guarantee ended on November 7, 2025. Details: Google Guaranteed is gone — the Google Verified badge, explained.
Trades that are NOT categories (as of this writing)
Drywall. Tile. Concrete and masonry. Most specialty finish trades. If you search your trade plus your city and no green-checkmark ads appear at the top, and the sign-up flow doesn’t list your trade, you’re in this group. (Insulation and pressure washing used to be here; both are categories now — check the list each quarter.)
The side door: running Local Services Ads when your trade isn’t listed
This is what I do for my father’s drywall company, and it produced 52 charged leads in July 2026 at $39.89 per lead. The rules:
- Find the category whose job types honestly include your work. Drywall repair appears as a job type under Handyman and under Painting; new drywall install sits under General contractor. Tile has a home under Flooring and Handyman. Concrete flatwork sits under General contractor and Landscaping in some markets.
- Qualify for that category for real. If it requires a license you don’t hold, that door is closed. Handyman categories in most states don’t require a trade license, which is why they’re the usual route for repair trades.
- Turn on only the job types you do. A drywall shop running “Handyman” turns on drywall repair, ceiling repair, texture — and turns off TV mounting, furniture assembly and everything else. Since Google cut the “job type not serviced” credit in 2024, job-type selection is the only filter you have.
- Set the profile description and photos to your actual trade so the homeowner who calls knows what they’re getting. Misrepresenting the business is the fast way to lose the badge.
- Rate every bad lead. Out-of-scope leads are part of the side door’s cost now that the dispute form is gone; Google’s automated review credits obvious junk within about 72 hours, and a “Very dissatisfied” rating prompts a second look.
- Watch the migration. Google’s move of Local Services Ads into Google Ads as a Performance Max campaign type (from August 2026) may widen category coverage over time; keep checking the list quarterly. What carries over and what to export: LSA migration guide.
The full drywall version, including which category I use and why, is in marketing for drywall contractors. Painters have it easier — Painting is a category — and the plan is here.
Picking the right category when you qualify for several
- Choose the category the homeowner would search, not the one that describes your license. A company that does HVAC and plumbing runs both categories, each with its own job types.
- Fewer job types, tighter leads. Every job type you switch on is a search you’re bidding for.
- The category sets the screening. Electrician and Plumber require license checks in most states; Handyman usually doesn’t; General contractor does.
Questions owners ask
Can I run Local Services Ads if my trade isn’t a category? Often, through a neighboring category whose job types cover your work — honestly, with the right screening, and with bad leads rated the day they land. Drywall has run this way at 52 charged leads a month.
Can I be in two categories? Yes, if you pass screening for both. Each category has its own job types and its own ranking.
Why don’t I see Local Services Ads for my trade in my city? Either the category isn’t offered in your market yet, or no local business has passed screening. The second case is an opening: the first verified pro in a category gets the top of the page to himself.
What happened to Google Guaranteed and Google Screened? Both were folded into one Google Verified badge on October 20, 2025, and the money-back guarantee ended on November 7, 2025. The screening — background check, license and insurance where the category requires them — still happens; the badge now shows which checks a business passed.
Not sure which door your trade fits through? Send your trade and your city and I’ll tell you which category to run, what it’ll take to qualify, and roughly what a lead will cost there — free. Free audit →