Google Ads keeps enhancing its advertising capabilities to assist companies in attracting new clients and preserving connections with current ones. Its latest developments in customer acquisition and retention controls give advertisers more ways to manage their campaigns and connect with people at different stages of the buying journey.

For businesses, attracting new customers is important, but encouraging previous customers to return is equally valuable. With better audience management and campaign controls, advertisers can work toward both goals more effectively.

What Is Changing in Google Ads?

Google Ads provides businesses with different ways to reach potential customers through search results, YouTube, display ads, and other advertising channels. Customer acquisition and retention controls help advertisers manage how they reach new audiences and engage people who have already interacted with their business.

These controls can help businesses create more focused advertising strategies instead of showing the same message to every user. Advertisers can use audience signals, customer data, and campaign settings to make their advertising more relevant to different groups of people.

1. Better Ways to Find New Customers

Customer acquisition focuses on reaching people who have not purchased from or engaged with a business before. Finding these potential customers is essential for companies that want to grow their sales and expand their audience.

Google Ads offers customer acquisition options that can help advertisers prioritize new customers. Depending on the campaign type and available features, businesses can use customer lists, audience signals, and conversion data to guide their advertising efforts.

For example, an online clothing store may want to reach people who have never purchased from its website. By using suitable acquisition settings and audience data, the business can focus its strategy on attracting new buyers rather than spending its entire budget on existing customers.

2. More Focus on Existing Customers

Getting a customer to make a second purchase can be just as important as making the first sale. Customer retention helps businesses build long-term relationships, increase repeat purchases, and encourage customer loyalty.

Google Ads supports strategies for reaching previous customers through features such as Customer Match and remarketing, subject to campaign eligibility and applicable policies.

For example, an ecommerce business can use eligible customer data to reconnect with previous buyers and promote new arrivals, relevant products, or special offers. This approach can help businesses stay connected with customers who are already familiar with their brand.

3. More Control Over Audience Targeting

Not every customer has the same needs. Someone visiting a website for the first time may need information about a product, while an existing customer may be interested in a new offer.

Audience management tools help advertisers organize their marketing approach around these differences. Businesses can use available audience segments and customer information to create campaigns that better match their goals.

However, advertisers should remember that audience targeting does not guarantee conversions. Results still depend on factors such as ad quality, pricing, competition, landing page experience, and the relevance of the offer.

4. Why These Updates Matter for Advertisers

Managing new customer acquisition and customer retention together can help businesses make better use of their advertising budgets. Instead of focusing only on clicks, advertisers can build campaigns around meaningful business outcomes, such as new customer purchases, repeat orders, and qualified leads.

For service-based businesses, acquisition campaigns can help attract new inquiries, while retention strategies can reconnect with previous customers or eligible audiences who have shown interest in their services.

Ecommerce businesses can use a similar approach to attract first-time buyers and encourage repeat purchases. The right strategy depends on the company’s goals, customer journey, and available conversion data.

5. How Businesses Can Prepare

Businesses should begin by reviewing their campaign objectives and deciding whether they want more new customers, more repeat purchases, or a balance of both.

Accurate conversion tracking is an important starting point. Advertisers need reliable data about purchases, leads, and other important actions to understand whether their campaigns are delivering results.

They should also keep their customer lists updated, follow Google’s customer data and advertising policies, and review campaign performance regularly. Testing different ad messages and offers can help identify which approaches work best for each audience.

Conclusion

Google Ads’ customer acquisition and retention capabilities highlight the importance of reaching new audiences while maintaining relationships with existing customers. By using suitable campaign settings, audience tools, and accurate conversion tracking, businesses can build a

Google is testing a new design for Local Services Ads (LSAs) that could give local businesses more space and visibility in search results. The test makes LSA listings appear larger than before, with bigger images and an additional highlighted information section

Local Services Ads are designed for businesses that provide services in specific areas, such as roofing, plumbing, HVAC, electrical work, cleaning, and other local services. Because these ads can appear prominently when people search for nearby services, even a small design change can affect how users interact with them

What Is Changing in Local Services Ads

The current test appears to make individual Local Services Ads more visually noticeable. Instead of showing a relatively compact listing, Google is experimenting with larger images and a more prominent highlight area below the main business information.

This gives potential customers more information before they decide whether to contact a business

The change was spotted by Adsquire founder Anthony Higman, who shared an example of the new format. Search Engine Land reported the test on September 25, 2026.

The larger format is still being tested, so it does not mean that every business will immediately see the new design.

Why the Bigger Format Matters

Local Services Ads already receive a prominent position for many local searches. Making them larger could make these listings even easier to notice.

For example, someone searching for a roofing company may see several businesses competing for attention. A listing with a larger business image and additional information can provide more details at a glance.

This can be particularly important for service businesses where customers often want to compare businesses quickly before making a call or sending an inquiry.

However, more space does not automatically mean more customers. The information shown in the listing still needs to be useful, accurate, and relevant to what the customer is searching for.

Images Could Become More Important

One noticeable part of the test is the increased use of images

For local businesses, photographs can help customers understand what type of company they are dealing with. A roofing company, for example, may use images that show completed roofing projects, while a home cleaning company could showcase its services.

With a larger advertisement format, these images may receive more attention from searchers.

This means businesses using Local Services Ads should pay attention to the quality and relevance of the images connected with their profiles.

More Information Before the Click

Another part of the test is a more noticeable highlighted section beneath the main listing.

The purpose of this area appears to be giving searchers additional information about the business without requiring them to visit another page first.

This could make information such as services, business details, or other useful highlights easier to notice.

For local businesses, keeping their Google business information accurate becomes increasingly important when more details are displayed directly in search results.

What This Could Mean for Local Businesses

The larger LSA design could change how businesses compete for attention in local search.

Companies that already depend on Local Services Ads may want to review how their profiles appear to potential customers. Business information, service categories, photos, reviews, and other profile details can all influence what a customer sees when interacting with a local listing.

At the same time, businesses should remember that this is currently a Google test. There is no confirmation that the larger format will become the permanent design for all Local Services Ads. Search Engine Land also noted that the test does not indicate a change to the Search and Maps positions where migrated LSAs are eligible to appear.

Local Search Is Becoming More Visual

Google has continued to experiment with how businesses and advertisements appear in search. The LSA test is another example of Google giving users more information directly within the search experience.

For local service providers, this makes maintaining a complete and professional online presence increasingly important.

A business should make sure its service information is up to date, its images represent its actual work, and its customer-facing information is accurate. These details can help people understand the business before they make contact.

Final Thoughts

Google’s larger Local Services Ads test could give local businesses more visual space in search results. Bigger images and additional highlighted information may help customers learn more about a business before contacting it.

For now, the change remains a test, so businesses should not assume that the new design will become permanent. Still, it is worth watching because Local Services Ads are an important part of Google’s local advertising experience.

As Google continues testing new search layouts, local businesses should keep their profiles, services, images, and other customer-facing information updated so they are prepared for changes in how their ads are displayed.

For local businesses, getting an online click is only one part of the customer journey. The real goal is often to get people to visit a store, call the business, ask for directions, or make a purchase offline.

Google Ads is making this process more focused with a new feature called **Local Customer Optimization**. The feature is designed for eligible Performance Max campaigns with store goals and helps advertisers focus on customers who are close to a business location or showing strong local intent.

What Is Local Customer Optimization?

Local Customer Optimization is a new setting available in **Performance Max campaigns for store goals**.

Instead of simply trying to reach a broad audience, the feature helps Google prioritize people who appear ready to take an offline action. For example, someone may be searching for a nearby service, checking a location on Google Maps, planning a route, or looking for a business in a particular area.

Google says the feature can use local signals across platforms such as **Google Maps, Waze and local formats on Google Search**.

This makes the feature particularly relevant for businesses where physical visits or local enquiries matter.

Why Is This Update Important?

Local advertising can be challenging because not every person searching for a business is actually ready to visit or contact it.

For example, imagine a customer searching for:

**“HVAC repair near me”**

One person may only be researching prices, while another may have a broken air conditioner and need a technician immediately.

Local Customer Optimization is designed to help Performance Max focus more on users showing stronger signals of immediate local intent.

This can be useful for retailers, restaurants, clinics, local service providers and other businesses that depend on customers taking action at a physical location.

How Does It Work?

Advertisers can enable Local Customer Optimization while creating an eligible Performance Max campaign focused on offline goals.

It can also be enabled in an existing eligible Performance Max campaign through the campaign’s **Budget and bidding optimization** settings. Businesses need appropriate store-related conversion goals and connected business locations.

The important point is that this is not simply another audience targeting option. It is a campaign-level optimization setting that tells Google to place more emphasis on customers who are likely to take local action.

What Actions Can Businesses Focus On?

Depending on the campaign and available conversion setup, businesses can measure actions connected with physical locations.

These can include:

* Store visits

* Directions

* Calls or contacts

* Store sales

The idea is to connect advertising activity with what happens beyond the website.

For example, a customer might see an ad, search for the business location later, request directions and then visit the store. Local optimization is intended to help advertisers reach users who are showing these types of local-intent signals.

There Are Some Important Limitations

Local Customer Optimization is not designed for every Performance Max campaign.

According to Google’s documentation, it is currently not compatible with campaigns using **online campaign goals**. It is also not compatible with Performance Max campaigns using products from a linked **Merchant Center** account.

This means an ecommerce advertiser running a product-based Performance Max campaign cannot simply switch on the feature in that campaign.

Businesses should therefore check their campaign structure and conversion goals before making changes.

Google Is Also Improving Store Sales Measurement

Alongside Local Customer Optimization, Google is also introducing **Store Sales in Data Manager**.

The purpose is to make it easier for eligible advertisers to bring offline sales information into Google Ads. Businesses can connect sales information from sources such as a CRM or Google Sheets, allowing offline purchases to be connected with advertising activity.

This is important because online conversions do not always show the complete customer journey for a local business.

A customer might click an ad online but complete the purchase inside a physical store. Better offline data can give advertisers a clearer picture of the campaign’s actual business impact.

What Does This Mean for Local Advertisers?

The latest update shows that Google Ads is putting more focus on the connection between **online searches and offline actions**.

For businesses with physical locations, the opportunity is not only to generate website traffic. It is also to reach people who are nearby, understand their local intent and encourage actions such as visits, calls and directions.

However, advertisers should not enable new features without checking their conversion tracking first. Accurate location information and reliable conversion data are important because automated bidding depends heavily on the signals provided to Google Ads.

Final Thoughts

Google Ads Local Customer Optimization gives Performance Max advertisers another way to focus on customers with strong local intent.

For businesses that depend on physical visits, local enquiries or offline purchases, this update could become an important part of their advertising setup. At the same time, advertisers should understand the campaign requirements and limitations before using it.

As Google continues connecting online advertising with offline customer activity, **accurate tracking and meaningful conversion data will become increasingly important for local businesses.**