Local Services Ads

How Reviews Impact Your Number of Leads and Cost Per Lead

In June, 2025, we analyzed the last 6 months of Local Services Ads (LSA) data from our tree service clients across the USA to see how the number of Google reviews impacted their LSA performance. What we found clearly shows that reviews play a critical role in both the number of leads you can generate through LSAs and the amount you'll pay for each LSA lead.

If you want Local Services Ads to work for you, you need to focus on:

  • getting more reviews,
  • keeping those reviews flowing on a regular basis, and
  • responding to every single review in a timely manner.

Google reviews are not a "nice to have" or something to do "when I have more time." Those reviews can make or break your LSA campaigns. Not focusing on reviews means you'll get fewer leads and pay more for each lead - it directly affects your revenue and takes a bite out of your bottom line.

So, get your crews out there asking for reviews, follow up with customers by text and/or email with a review link, showcase Google reviews on your website, answer every review you get - and watch your LSA campaign performance improve!

➡️ To see how reviews affect your LSA campaigns, try our LSA Leads & Budget Calculator!

LSA Review Impact Analysis

LSA Review Impact Analysis

Data-Driven Insights from TCMS Clients • Dec 2024 - May 2025

0.547
Reviews ↔ Leads Correlation
Moderate-Strong Positive
-0.239
Reviews ↔ CPL Correlation
Lower Cost per Lead
398%
More Leads
300+ vs Less than 100 Reviews
2.8x
Budget Efficiency
High vs Low Reviews
Lead Generation by Review Count
Budget Efficiency: Campaign Spend per Lead

🎯 Key Insight for Clients

Reviews aren't just vanity metrics—they're performance drivers. Even when controlling for budget, businesses with 300+ reviews generate 107% more leads than those with fewer reviews. The data proves that investing in review generation delivers measurable ROI in LSA campaigns.

Performance Comparison by Review Tier

Review Tier Avg Reviews Avg Monthly Leads Avg CPL Campaign Budget per Lead Performance
<100 Reviews ~65 14.5 $54.59 $480 Underperforming
100-299 Reviews ~175 49.3 $57.67 $178 Good
300+ Reviews ~420 72.3 $49.17 $172 Excellent

See What to Expect From Your LSA Campaign