Starting October 1, if someone calls your Local Services Ad and it rings more than 20 seconds during business hours with no answer, Google charges you for the lead.
What happened
On August 25, 2026, Google announced a billing change for Local Services Ads (LSA) that starts October 1. If a call rings more than 20 seconds during your business hours and nobody answers, Google counts it as a lead and charges you for it.
If you call that person back within 15 days, you are charged once, not for every call. If your phone uses a menu (“press 1 for…”), the 20 seconds start after the caller presses a key.
Google did not describe a way to dispute these charges.
“The advertiser will only be charged 1x for any follow-up calls they make to the user within 15 days of the initial interaction.”
Google Ads Liaison, August 25, 2026
What it means for your med spa
Until now, a missed call cost you a possible patient. From October 1 it costs you the patient and the lead fee. Most missed calls happen at lunch, at the end of the day, and when the front desk is busy checking someone out.
Google also added more beauty categories to LSA in August, so more med spas are affected than before.
What to do
Before October 1, call your LSA number at lunch and after 4 p.m. If it rings past 20 seconds, put one person in charge of answering during those hours, or forward calls to someone who will pick up.
Sources
- Search Engine Land, August 25, 2026
- Search Engine Roundtable, August 25, 2026