Google Ads LSA Restriction — 2026-03-17

Overview

Overhead Door's Google Ads account is restricted from serving on high-intent local service terms (e.g., garage door repair, installation) pending completion of Google's Local Service Ads (LSA) verification process. Despite the restriction, significant optimization work was completed across tracking, bidding, targeting, and campaign structure. The account is otherwise in good shape and ready to scale once the verification blocker is resolved.

Discussed during ^[1].

The Restriction

Google is limiting the account to branded and generic terms only. High-intent local service keywords — the ones most likely to drive leads — are blocked under Google's LSA regulatory framework. The account cannot fully perform until it passes LSA verification.

Root cause: LSA verification was never completed. Manual review requests have been submitted and escalated but have not resolved the issue. Google support has indicated that a direct phone call is the most reliable path to getting specific guidance on what document or step is missing.

Status as of 2026-03-17: Restricted. Sebastian to call Google Ads support directly.

Optimization Work Completed (Mark)

Despite the restriction, a full audit and optimization pass was completed. The account was in poor shape prior to this work.

Tracking

• Fixed a broken destination URL (404 error) on the primary landing page — the campaign had been paused long enough that the page was removed
• Removed "Join Our Team" as a primary conversion action

Bidding

• Set conversion value to $150 (derived from: average job value ~$1,500 × estimated 10% close rate)
• Switched bidding strategy to Maximize for Conversions (previously set to optimize for conversions with a $1 value, which effectively prevented spend)

Targeting

• Added 44 negative keywords
• Applied a -25% mobile bid adjustment based on observed lower conversion rates on mobile vs. desktop

Campaign Structure

• Expanded search campaigns from 1 to 4 ad groups: Repair, Branded, Commercial, Installation
• Replaced average-strength RSA with improved ad copy (more headlines and descriptions)
• Removed keyword targeting from the commercial display campaign
• Removed 7 duplicate or weak sitelinks; added 7 conversion-focused sitelinks
• Upgraded callout extensions at the account level
• Added a structured snippet

SEO (Adjacent Work)

• Ahrefs site audit score brought to 100%
• Additional tracked keywords added
• $200 domain rating (DR) improvement project approved — to be initiated alongside ^[2]

Action Items

• [ ] Sebastian — Call Google Ads support to get specific instructions on resolving the LSA verification; manual reviews have not worked
• [ ] Mark — Re-submit advertiser verification; resolve document name mismatch (document name does not match organizational details on file)
• [ ] Sebastian — Email Reynolds and Overhead Door clients summarizing recent optimizations to demonstrate active work
• [ ] Mark — Initiate $200 domain rating project for Overhead Door and Reynolds

Key Decisions

• Conversion value set at $150 as a proxy for lead value in a lead-gen context; this enables the Maximize for Conversions strategy to function correctly
• Mobile bids reduced 25% based on performance data showing lower mobile conversion rates
• Campaign structure expanded to four ad groups to improve relevance and quality scores

Context & Risk

Even with the restriction in place, some ad volume is possible on non-restricted terms (e.g., smart garage door openers). The account is not completely dark, but performance is materially limited until LSA verification clears. Optimization scores are near 100 — the account is structurally ready; the blocker is purely the verification status.

Related

• ^[3]
• ^[1]
• ^[4]
• ^[5]
• ^[6]