A “Request Competitive Quotes” button in Google Local Services ads raises uncertainty among advertisers about potential hidden costs.

How it works:

1. Users click on the “Request Competitive Quotes” button.
2. They select several companies for quotes.
3. Users enter a message and an email address.
4. Google sends the request to all selected businesses simultaneously.

Why we care. This feature could have a significant impact on advertisers’ cost per lead, potentially inflating spend without their knowledge. The lack of transparency around how these fees are applied makes it more difficult for advertisers to calculate their true ROI, which can skew campaign performance metrics.

What we don’t know:

• Indicates whether Google charges each company for these multiple quote requests.
• How this feature affects overall cost per lead calculations.

What they say: We were alerted to this test by Nick Smith, Senior Digital Strategist at Riester who pointed out that this information was not available online or in Google’s documentation.

Google has not yet commented on this test.

Why it’s important: If each company were billed for these multiple quote requests, they could:

• Artificially inflating lead costs.
• Reduce the effectiveness of advertising budgets.
• Impact ROI calculations for Local Services ad campaigns.

The bottom line: Advertisers using Google Local Services ads need to clarify how the “Request Competitive Quotes” feature affects their costs and lead attribution.