LSA Specialist

Lead Management

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SOP: LSA Lead Management & Reporting

Last Updated: 2026-03-31 Owner: LSA Specialist Status: Active

Overview

This SOP covers the ongoing management of live LSA accounts: daily lead monitoring, lead quality tracking, budget management, reporting, and client communication. The LSA Specialist’s core responsibility is ensuring leads flow to clients consistently, budgets are managed via ON/OFF toggling (not budget reduction), and clients are satisfied with lead quality.

Key Principle: Budget management happens via toggle (ON/OFF), never by lowering the max budget setting. Max budget is always set to the maximum approved amount.

Key Tools:

Google Local Services Ads dashboard
Google Ads account
Task Tracker (logging, communication)
Spreadsheet templates (lead tracking, budget monitoring)

Escalation Path: LSA Specialist → CSM → Ops Lead → Nick

All communication in Task Tracker (not Slack)

Daily Routine

Morning: Lead Monitoring (First 1-2 Hours)

TRIGGER: Start of workday OWNER: LSA Specialist TIMELINE: Complete by 10am

KPIs to Track (Anne’s SOP)

Track these key performance indicators daily:

Interactions
Top impression rate
Absolute Top impression rate (target: 85-100%)

Tasks

Log into LSA Dashboard
- Navigate to Google Local Services Ads dashboard
- Select each client account from dropdown
- Check Performance view for cost to monitor daily spend
Review New Leads
- Check Leads section for new leads since yesterday
- For each lead, note:
  - Customer name and contact info
  - Service requested
  - Location/area
  - Quote request (if applicable)
  - Timestamp received
- Immediately alert client of high-priority leads (rush service requests, large jobs)
Log Leads in Task Tracker
- Create daily log entry: “[Client Name] — [X] new leads received”
- Include: Lead count, time received, brief service description
- Flag any unusual or suspicious leads (ask CSM to verify with client)
- Lead Inbox Log fields (for monthly reporting):
  - Date received
  - Lead ID
  - Lead type
  - Service requested
  - Area
  - Charged vs not charged
  - Active vs no longer active
  - Dispute filed
  - Spam indicator
  - Action taken
  - Notes
  - Customer details (if available)
Check for Lead Disputes
- Review Disputes section in LSA dashboard
- Mostly automated by Google (light monitoring only)
- If dispute is flagged:
  - Review dispute reason from customer
  - Assess validity: Is the customer’s complaint legitimate?
  - Most disputes resolve automatically within Google SLA (24-48 hours)
  - If action needed: Log in Task Tracker and escalate to CSM
- Track dispute resolution status
Monitor Account Health
- Check for any account warnings or alerts (red banner notifications)
- Review quality score (if displayed) — should be Good or Excellent
- If warnings present: Address immediately, escalate to CSM if client action needed

QC Checklist:

All new leads reviewed and logged
High-priority leads flagged
Disputes monitored (if any)
Account warnings reviewed

KPI: 100% of new leads reviewed and logged by 10am

Weekly Schedule

Monday: Account Health & Budget Verification

TRIGGER: Start of week OWNER: LSA Specialist TIMELINE: 1-2 hours TIME ALLOCATION: Early morning (9-11am)

Key Settings from Anne’s SOP

Bidding: ALWAYS Manual (never automated)

Budget Spending Control (Anne’s SOP):

Check Performance view for cost inside MCC
If spend trending to exceed weekly cap: Go to Profile and budget → Pause ad until next week

Weekly Tracker (Anne’s SOP):

Log every change with fields:
- Active Services changed? (Yes/No)
- Service Areas changed? (Yes/No)
- Budget/Bidding changed? (Yes/No)
- If Yes: What changed, old setting, new setting, reason, next review date
On review date: Re-pull report, update tracker, compare against change log

Tasks

Review Lead Volume & Budget Pacing
- Pull lead volume report for the past week (all clients)
- Document:
  - Total leads received
  - Leads per client
  - Budget spend vs. max budget
  - Spend utilization percentage (actual ÷ max budget)
- Compare to previous week:
  - Increasing leads or declining?
  - Budget utilization stable?
  - Any anomalies?
- Log findings in Task Tracker
Check Budget Settings (CRITICAL)
- For EVERY client LSA account:
  - Verify max weekly budget is set to the MAXIMUM approved amount
  - CRITICAL: Never lower the max budget setting
  - If budget is lower than approved: Correct it immediately
  - Document: “[Client] verified at $[amount]/week max budget”
- Log completion in Task Tracker
Why this matters: Google’s algorithm ranks higher budget advertisers higher. Lowering the budget signals weakness to Google.
Verify Account Warnings
- Check each account for warnings or alerts
- Common warnings:
  - Quality score declining
  - Policy violations
  - Verification issues
- If warnings present: Address immediately
  - Quality issues: May need to audit service categories or photos
  - Policy violations: Review account settings, escalate to CSM
  - Verification: Rare post-launch, but escalate if seen
- Log actions taken in Task Tracker
Check Lead Response Status
- Informal check: Are leads being responded to promptly?
- If client reports aren’t responding, flag for CSM escalation
- No formal response SLA, but immediate escalation if clients are ghosting leads

QC Checklist:

Lead volume reviewed for all clients
Budget spend tracked and documented
Budget settings verified (all at maximum)
Account warnings addressed
Findings logged in Task Tracker

KPI: 100% of clients reviewed by 12pm Monday

Tuesday - Thursday: Lead Ranking & Quality Management

TRIGGER: Core execution days OWNER: LSA Specialist TIMELINE: Daily monitoring, weekly forms

Daily (2-3 hours):

Morning lead review (same as daily routine)
Monitor disputes and account health (if any)
Track lead quality feedback (ongoing)

1-2 Times per Week: Send Lead Ranking Form

Lead Quality Feedback Process

Frequency: Every 1-2 weeks (bi-weekly is typical)

Purpose: Collect client feedback on lead quality so you can rank leads in the dashboard and adjust targeting if needed.

Method 1: Simple Form (Recommended)

Send via Task Tracker or email:

Hi [Client Name],

Can you tell us about the quality of leads you received this week from Google Local Services Ads?

For each lead, please rate:
- Good lead (worth following up, likely customer)
- Not great lead (wrong service, wrong area, spam)
- Great lead (excellent customer, want more like this)

Example:
- John Smith (emergency plumbing, Phoenix) — Good lead
- Jane Doe (water heater, Scottsdale) — Great lead
- Bob Johnson (fence repair, Phoenix) — Not great lead

Please reply with your feedback so we can optimize lead quality.

Thanks,
[LSA Specialist]

Method 2: Formal Feedback Form

Create spreadsheet with:

Lead date received
Customer name
Service requested
Location
Client rating (Good / Not Great / Great Lead)
Notes (if applicable)

Client Response:

Rate each lead received in the week
Estimate: How many became actual customers?
Any feedback on targeting or service areas?

Action Items:

Rank leads in LSA dashboard (based on client feedback)
- In LSA dashboard → Leads → Sort by quality
- Mark “great” leads so similar ones are prioritized
Adjust targeting if needed (if pattern emerges)
- If client says all leads from “Zip Code X” are bad: May need to exclude that area
- If client says all emergency plumbing leads are excellent: May want to expand that subcategory
- Document changes in Task Tracker
- Escalate to CSM if major changes needed

Track lead quality metrics:

Lead response rate (% of leads client responds to)
Lead-to-customer conversion rate (informal, if client shares)
Lead quality trend (improving? Declining?)

KPI: Bi-weekly lead ranking form sent to all LSA clients (100%)

Friday: Weekly Reporting & Planning

TRIGGER: End of week OWNER: LSA Specialist TIMELINE: 1-2 hours

Tasks

Compile Weekly LSA Summary
- For all LSA clients, pull:
  - Total leads this week
  - Budget spent vs. max budget for the week
  - Lead response rate (% of leads responded to)
  - Lead quality summary (Great / Good / Not Great breakdown, if feedback received)
  - Any disputes or issues this week
- Create weekly summary in Task Tracker
- Note any trends or concerns
Flag Issues & Anomalies
- Low lead volume: May indicate:
  - Budget paused unexpectedly
  - Targeting too narrow
  - Competition increased
  - Seasonal fluctuation
  - → Escalate to CSM for discussion
- High dispute rate: May indicate:
  - Lead quality issues
  - Service area misconfigured
  - Targeting problems
  - → Escalate to CSM to discuss with client
- Budget not being spent: May indicate:
  - Too-high budget for available leads
  - Service area too small
  - Category too narrow
  - → Escalate to CSM to adjust expectations
Prep Next Week
- Review upcoming bi-weekly lead ranking forms due
- Confirm client contact info is current (phone for texts, email for forms)
- Check for any scheduled account updates or changes
- Document any follow-ups needed

QC Checklist:

Weekly summary completed
All issues documented and flagged
Next week’s tasks identified and tracked

KPI: Weekly summary completed by 3pm Friday

Monthly Tasks

Monthly Report Processing (Anne’s SOP)

Key Process:

Open client tab → copy monthly metrics
Go to Menu > Leads → click each lead
Copy-paste lead details into Lead Inbox Log
Listen to each call recording → classify: good lead, bad lead, spam, unqualified
Note charged/not charged for each lead
Fill in customer details if available
Compile into monthly report

By 15th of Month: Compile LSA Performance Report

TRIGGER: 15th of month OWNER: LSA Specialist TIMELINE: Complete by 11:59pm on 15th

Report Contents

Pull Comprehensive LSA Data
- LSA report metrics: Copy-paste from dashboard
- Google Ads performance metrics: Copy-paste from Google Ads
- Total leads for the month (all clients)
- Lead breakdown by client
- Budget spend vs. max budget (actual ÷ approved)
- Lead response rate (%)
- Lead quality summary (from bi-weekly feedback forms)
- Disputes and resolutions
- Account changes or updates

Compile into Standardized Report Format

Template:

# LSA Performance Report — [Month] [Year]

## Summary
- Total leads: [X]
- Average lead response time: [X] minutes
- Dispute rate: [X]%
- Budget utilization: [X]%
- KPI Tracking:
  - Interactions: [X]
  - Top impression rate: [X]%
  - Absolute Top impression rate: [X]% (target: 85-100%)

## Google Ads Performance Metrics
[Copy-paste from Google Ads]

## By Client

### [Client Name]
- Account status: Active / Pending / Paused
- Leads this month: [X]
- Budget spent: $[X] / $[Max] ([%])
- Lead quality feedback: [% Great / % Good / % Not Great]
- Notable issues: [None / List]
- Recommendation: [Keep budget / Increase budget / Pause temporarily / Troubleshoot]

### [Client Name 2]
- [Same as above]

## Key Metrics
| Client | Leads | Spend | Budget | Quality | Status |
|--------|-------|-------|--------|---------|--------|
| Client A | 45 | $425 | $500 | 85% Great | Good |
| Client B | 12 | $150 | $500 | 60% Good | Low Volume |

## Lead Inbox Log Summary
[Table with: Date, Lead ID, Lead Type, Service, Area, Charged, Active, Dispute, Spam, Action, Notes, Customer Details]

## Issues & Recommendations
- [Issue 1 and recommendation]
- [Issue 2 and recommendation]

## Next Steps
- [Action 1]
- [Action 2]

Save Report to Shared Location
- Create: reports/LSA-[Month]-[Year].md
- Keep accessible to CSM

QC Checklist:

All client data accurate
Budget metrics correct (spend ÷ max)
Lead quality data from forms included
Issues identified and recommendations provided
Report saved to shared location

KPI: 100% of LSA performance reports compiled by 11:59pm on 15th

By 20th of Month: Deliver Reports to CSM

TRIGGER: Reports compiled OWNER: LSA Specialist TIMELINE: Complete by 11:59pm on 20th

Process

Send reports to CSM(s)
- Message in Task Tracker: “LSA Reports for [Month] ready for client delivery”
- Attach or link to: LSA-[Month]-[Year].md
Include cover note with:
- Key metrics from this month (total leads, avg spend per client, quality summary)
- Any significant changes or concerns (spike in disputes, low lead volume, etc.)
- Recommendations for next month (e.g., “Phoenix Plumbing may benefit from expanding service area”)
CSM owns client delivery
- CSM sends reports to clients
- CSM fields client questions
- LSA Specialist available for technical questions
Log Delivery
- Task Tracker: “LSA reports delivered to CSM on [date]”
- Mark as complete

KPI: 100% of reports sent to CSM by 11:59pm on 20th

Budget Management Workflow

Maximum Budget Strategy (ONGOING)

KEY PRINCIPLE: Never lower the max budget setting.

Max budget is set once during setup and should NEVER be lowered. Instead, manage volume by toggling ads ON/OFF.

Why This Matters

Google’s algorithm shows LSA ads with higher budgets in higher positions
Higher position = fewer competitors visible = lower cost-per-lead
Lowering max budget signals weakness → Google lowers your ranking → cost-per-lead increases
You manage VOLUME (keep leads affordable) by toggling, not by reducing budget

Toggle Management Process

Monitor budget utilization daily
- Check LSA dashboard: Has client hit weekly budget limit?
- Track spend: [Actual spend] ÷ [Max budget] = [% spent]
When client hits budget limit
- Example: Max budget is $500/week, spend has hit $500
- Action: Toggle ads OFF
- Document in Task Tracker: “[Client] — Ads paused at $[amount] on [date]”
- Notify CSM: “Leads paused for [Client] — hit weekly budget”
When new week/month starts
- Example: New week begins, previous week’s budget resets
- Action: Toggle ads ON
- Document in Task Tracker: “[Client] — Ads resumed on [date]”
- Notify CSM: “Leads resumed for [Client]”
If client wants to increase volume
- Client says: “We want more leads, we can handle 20/week instead of 10”
- Action: Calculate new budget needed
- Example: 20 leads/week at avg $45 CPL = $900/week needed
- Update max budget to $900/week in LSA settings
- Document change and reason in Task Tracker
If client wants to pause temporarily
- Example: Client has backlog of jobs, can’t handle new leads for 2 weeks
- Action: Toggle ads OFF
- Notify CSM: Schedule toggle back ON for [specific date]
- Document dates and reason

QC Checklist:

Budget toggles executed on exact dates (no delays)
All toggles logged in Task Tracker with times and reasons
CSM notified of all toggles
Zero missed toggle dates

KPI: Budget toggles 100% accurate, zero missed deadlines

Lead Dispute Management

Trigger

Client disputes a lead charge (says the lead was fake, spam, or not qualified)

Owner

LSA Specialist (with escalation to CSM)

Process

Monitor for disputes
- Check LSA dashboard Disputes section daily
- Most disputes are auto-handled by Google (24-48 hour SLA)
Assess dispute validity
- Review Google’s dispute note (Why is customer disputing?)
- Contact client if unclear: “Can you explain why you disputed this lead?”
- Examples:
  - Legitimate: “Lead was robot/bot trying to scam me”
  - Legitimate: “Lead was completely wrong service area”
  - NOT legitimate: “Customer didn’t hire me” (that’s normal)
  - NOT legitimate: “Lead came too early/late” (that’s timing, not quality)
Google’s automated resolution
- Google typically investigates and resolves within 24-48 hours
- Most legitimate disputes → refund issued automatically
- Frivolous disputes → no refund, LSA Specialist gets no action needed
When to escalate to CSM
- Multiple disputes from same client (may indicate targeting issue)
- Dispute rate above 10% (suggests quality problem)
- Customer disputes your legitimacy or credentials
- Escalate with: Date, client, dispute summary, Google case number

Monitor dispute rate: Track % of leads disputed (should be <5%)

Ongoing Monitoring (Monthly)

Monthly KPIs to Track

Metric	Target	Action if Off
Lead volume	Per client agreement	Escalate to CSM
Budget utilization	80-100%	Adjust budget if too high, toggle if at limit
Lead response rate	>90% of leads responded to	Escalate to CSM (client issue)
Lead quality	Tracked via feedback forms	Adjust targeting if needed
Dispute rate	<5%	Investigate if exceeds
Account health	Good or Excellent	Address warnings immediately

Monthly Optimization Adjustments

Targeting adjustments (based on lead quality feedback)
- If certain zip codes getting bad leads: Exclude or adjust
- If certain service categories getting great leads: Expand or increase priority
Budget adjustments (based on lead volume and client feedback)
- If client hitting budget every week and wants more: Increase max budget
- If client can’t handle volume: Reduce budget via toggle or temporary pause
Service area adjustments
- If client getting leads outside service area: Tighten geographic targeting
- If client in new area: Expand service area

Document all changes in Task Tracker with reason and date.

Escalation Scenarios

Scenario	Action	Escalate To
Low lead volume (client wants more)	Investigate: Budget? Competition? Season?	CSM (may increase budget)
High dispute rate (>10%)	Review disputes, check quality	CSM (may adjust targeting)
Account warnings	Address immediately, document	CSM if needs client action
Client not responding to leads	Log issue, flag non-responsive leads	CSM (client service issue)
Budget disputes (client disputes charge)	Document, let Google resolve, escalate if unresolved	CSM (billing question)
Verification issues (rare post-launch)	Check dashboard, escalate if unresolved	CSM + Ops Lead

QC Checklist

Daily:

✅ All new leads reviewed and logged
✅ Disputes monitored (if any)
✅ Account warnings checked

Weekly:

✅ Lead volume and budget pacing reviewed
✅ Budget settings verified (all at maximum)
✅ Account warnings addressed
✅ Weekly summary completed

Bi-Weekly:

✅ Lead ranking form sent to clients
✅ Client feedback compiled

Monthly:

✅ LSA performance report compiled
✅ Report delivered to CSM by 20th
✅ Budget toggles executed accurately
✅ All activity logged in Task Tracker
✅ Optimization adjustments made (if needed)

Tools & Access Required

Google Local Services Ads dashboard
Google Ads account (for client accounts)
Task Tracker (logging and communication)
Spreadsheet templates (lead tracking, budget monitoring, reporting)
Client contact list (phone, email)
Master LSA client list (account IDs, service categories)

README.md (LSA Specialist role overview)
lsa-setup.md (account setup and verification)
../00-client-lifecycle-playbook.md (P3 LSA phase)
../10-client-deliverables-reporting.md (report format and delivery)

Lead Management

SOP: LSA Lead Management & Reporting

Overview

Daily Routine

Morning: Lead Monitoring (First 1-2 Hours)

KPIs to Track (Anne’s SOP)

Tasks

Weekly Schedule

Monday: Account Health & Budget Verification

Key Settings from Anne’s SOP

Tasks

Tuesday - Thursday: Lead Ranking & Quality Management

Lead Quality Feedback Process

Friday: Weekly Reporting & Planning

Tasks

Monthly Tasks

Monthly Report Processing (Anne’s SOP)

By 15th of Month: Compile LSA Performance Report

Report Contents

By 20th of Month: Deliver Reports to CSM

Process

Budget Management Workflow

Maximum Budget Strategy (ONGOING)

Why This Matters

Toggle Management Process

Lead Dispute Management

Trigger

Owner

Process

Ongoing Monitoring (Monthly)

Monthly KPIs to Track

Monthly Optimization Adjustments

Escalation Scenarios

QC Checklist

Tools & Access Required

Related SOPs