Paid Advertising
Google Verified
A Google verification badge for vetted local pros — Google screens your license, insurance, and background, then marks your Local Services Ads with a check. Formerly "Google Guaranteed."
Definition
Google Verified is the verification badge Google awards to local service businesses that pass its screening — license, insurance, and background checks. Verified businesses show a check-mark badge on their Local Services Ads. It was previously called "Google Guaranteed": in late 2025 Google merged the old "Google Guaranteed" and "Google Screened" programs into a single "Google Verified" badge and retired the money-back guarantee it used to offer homeowners. So today the badge signals vetting and trust — not a Google-backed refund.
In depth
For a homeowner choosing between contractors they've never heard of, the badge is instant third-party trust — Google has checked your license, insurance, and background and is vouching that you're a legitimate, screened business. That credibility lift is one of the reasons Local Services Ads convert as well as they do.
For a newer brand it's borrowed credibility you can earn quickly. The screening is paperwork, not a popularity contest, so a brand-new account can carry the badge from day one — which is exactly why we handle the verification as part of onboarding. One thing to know since the 2025 change: the badge no longer comes with Google's own money-back guarantee to the homeowner, so the risk reversal that closes the job is your own guarantee, not Google's.
Worked example
A homeowner searching for a remodeler sees the Google Verified check next to your name at the top of the results, and calls you over the unbadged contractor below.
Paid Advertising
Want this run for you, not just read about?
Make every ad dollar accountable to pipeline — lower cost per lead, sharper bidding, less waste.