How Referral Practices May Be Costing Your Business on LSA

When it comes to managing Local Services Ads (LSA), businesses often strive to balance exceptional customer service with financial efficiency. But what happens when those two priorities conflict?

Each week, we review and rate LSA calls for multiple law firms.  Rating any calls that are from callers outside the service area or looking for outside services that are not provided by the lawyers as “very dissatisfied.” A large percentage of these calls will get reviewed by Google and they will often provide a credit to the law firm for these unsatisfactory calls. LSA no longer processes disputes, so they solely rely on our ratings of calls.

This past week, we reviewed and rated 35 calls for a new law firm. Of those calls, we rated 15 as, “very dissatisfied.” Unfortunately, all calls were charged with no credits issued.  What’s surprising is that other law firms typically see at least some credits for similar calls—but not in this case.

Curious about this discrepancy, we reached out to LSA. During the conversation, we learned something surprising: LSA won’t credit calls where the business refers the customer to another provider, such as another lawyer. They classify this as “lead selling,” and from their perspective, it undermines the platform’s intent to drive leads back to Google for other options.

This policy could have significant financial implications for businesses that prioritize customer care. For example, this new law firm was going above and beyond in their recent calls by referring callers to a lawyer referral service when their specific services didn’t align with the caller’s needs. While this gesture demonstrates great customer service, it inadvertently eliminates the possibility of receiving credits for those calls.

If your law firm follows a similar practice, it might be worth rethinking how to handle calls that fall outside your scope. By not offering referrals, you increase the likelihood of LSA crediting those calls, potentially saving thousands of dollars each month.

At the end of the day, it’s about finding a balance between delivering exceptional service and ensuring your marketing investments are working efficiently for your business. If you’re noticing unusual call charges or have questions about LSA policies, it might be time for a deeper conversation about your approach.