Google Guaranteed / Google Screened

Definition

Google Guaranteed and Google Screened are trust badge programmes associated with Local Services Ads (LSA) — Google\'s pay-per-lead advertising format for local service businesses. **Google Guaranteed**: for home service categories (plumbing, HVAC, cleaning, landscaping, general contracting, locksmithing, and others). Requires a background check for the business owner and employees, business license verification, and liability insurance. The green "Google Guaranteed" badge signals to searchers that Google has verified the business. If a customer is dissatisfied with work paid for through LSA, Google offers a satisfaction guarantee up to a limit. **Google Screened**: for licensed professional service categories including attorneys, financial advisors, real estate agents, tax specialists, and mortgage brokers. Requires professional license verification and background check. The "Google Screened" badge signals professional credential verification without the satisfaction guarantee. LSA appears: above the organic local pack results, above standard Google Ads text ads (for covered categories), with the trust badge and an "Ad" label. LSA ranking factors: proximity to searcher, bid amount, business rating (number and quality of reviews), response rate and time, business hours. LSA is not the same as standard Google Ads — it is a separate campaign type with different management interfaces, billing (pay-per-lead rather than pay-per-click), and eligibility requirements.

Why it matters for SEO

Google Guaranteed/Screened appears above both the organic local pack and standard Google Ads for covered categories — the most prominent SERP position available. For attorneys, real estate agents, and other licensed professionals in LSA-eligible categories, LSA can deliver high-intent leads at potentially lower cost-per-acquisition than standard Google Ads (pay-per-lead vs pay-per-click, and higher conversion rate from the trust badge). Organic local pack ranking and LSA are independent — a business can pursue both simultaneously, appearing in the paid LSA position above the local pack and in the organic local pack below it for the same query.

How DeepSEOAnalysis checks this

DeepSEOAnalysis does not audit LSA campaigns (managed in Google\'s LSA interface). However, the audit validates the technical SEO foundation that supports local pack ranking alongside LSA: GBP-linked structured data (`Attorney`, `LocalBusiness`), `aggregateRating` presence (reviews feed both LSA ranking and organic local pack), `areaServed` for geographic coverage, and website Core Web Vitals (a slow website that LSA links to creates post-click friction even if the ad gets clicks).

Useful tools and resources

• Free local SEO audit