Check your settings on your first login, which is Google's own advice, and allow up to two weeks for performance to ramp back to stable levels.
Facts on this page were checked against Google's pages on 2026-09-30.
Google's Help article says: "While many ads will start running right away, allow up to two weeks for the migration process to fully complete and for your campaign performance to ramp back to stable levels." So a slow first week isn't a verdict, and it isn't a reason to start changing things. It is a reason to write down what you see.
The measurement habit comes first, the same one we use in a Google Ads account audit: watch before you touch, and record a baseline before every change.
What should you check on the first login?
Here's the checklist, yours to copy. Every item comes from Google's own migration documentation.
FIRST LOGIN
[ ] Campaign status is Enabled
(Campaigns > Settings > your pay-per-lead campaign)
[ ] Daily average budget = your old weekly budget / 7
Monthly cap = daily budget x 30.4
[ ] Bidding target: note what it is. Manual bidding such as a
maximum cost per lead is no longer supported.
[ ] Categories: the ones you want are on. At least one service
type is on for each active category.
[ ] Service areas: the cities, counties or ZIP codes you serve
[ ] Ad schedule: all the time, custom, or synced to your
Business Profile hours. Is it what you chose before?
[ ] Phone number for call and message leads is correct
[ ] Callouts: the Better Business Bureau callout is gone;
add replacements under Assets
[ ] Account administrator email still reaches a person
[ ] Leads page opens: Goals > Conversions > Leads
WRITE DOWN (date it)
Conversions (leads charged) | Cost | Cost / conv.
Google says settings transfer automatically: locations, service types, categories, budget limits, ad schedule and business photos. "Automatically" isn't a guarantee that each one matches what you intended, which is why the list exists.
What do the numbers mean now?
Google names three columns in your campaign table. "Conversions" is the total number of leads you're charged for. "Cost" is your total spend. "Cost / conv." is your average cost per lead. Record all three with the date.
If you saved your old reports before migrating, compare your cost per charged lead to the figure from your trailing 90 days. If you didn't, today is your baseline. Google Ads starts your history at zero.
What about the budget?
Your weekly budget was divided by 7 to set a daily average. Monthly spend is capped at that daily figure times 30.4. Google says daily spend may run higher on high-demand days, but monthly billing won't exceed the cap. Check the arithmetic against the weekly number you wrote down. If you didn't write it down, multiply the daily figure by 7 to get back to your old weekly number.
Which settings are yours to change, and which sync?
Two rules from Google's page. Your business name, physical address and business hours sync one way, from your Google Business Profile to Google Ads. To change them, edit the profile. Service areas, ad schedules and categories operate independently of your profile after migration, so you can edit them in Google Ads without touching your organic listing.
Careful with the first group. Google says significant updates to your business name, storefront address or primary category trigger a verification review that typically takes 24 to 48 hours, during which your campaign may temporarily pause. Our advice, not Google's: hold those edits until you've confirmed the campaign is serving. More in our Business Profile guide.
What about photos and callouts?
Under Assets you can upload up to 100 more business photos and manage callouts. Google says Better Business Bureau callouts are no longer supported and recommends adding other structured callouts, such as business hours, specialties or accepted payment methods. Its pages disagree on the count: "at least 6" in one place and "up to 6 per category" in others. Add what's true about your business and don't chase a number. Headlines, videos and sitelinks don't apply to these campaigns.
What if leads drop?
We can't diagnose your account from here. Some advertisers on r/LocalServicesAds describe zero leads or impressions after migrating, with no cause established. Google hasn't called it a known issue on the pages we read. What we can offer is an order of checks from the list above: status, the two-week ramp, a recent name, address or category change, then settings and phone number. If they're all right, call Google's migration line, +1-844-205-0011, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM EST. Our support page has the detail.
Can you add a campaign now?
Google says you can't create new campaigns with pay-per-lead goals directly within Google Ads "at this time." For additional campaigns or local accounts it points to g.co/localservices and says creation will become available later. If you were planning to split categories into separate campaigns, check that route first.
Who should skip this?
If your account hasn't migrated, read what changes and save your reports first. This list works best with a baseline in hand.
If you're locked out of the new view entirely, start with where the login went.