When you need a plumber, do you want more from your search than just a listing? Google has you covered. It offers Google Screened and Google Guaranteed for service providers who can make the grade and who sign up with Local Service Ads (LSAs). Unlike Google My Business free listings, LSA's are not free to the service provider. The service provider pays per lead where a lead is usually a phone call made through the LSA. My first search sample was for "real estate agent."

The badge shows "Google Screened." This means that LSA has checked that these real estate agents have valid licenses to practice in their state. The screening process depends on the type of service. Only certain types of services are eligible for this badge, for example, lawyers and financial planners.

The next search was for "locksmith" and in this case, I found some locksmiths that were Google Guaranteed. This is more than a screening and means that not only were the businesses screened, but Google will back their services and will reimburse the customer if the customer is not satisfied with the quality of the work. The guarantee has a lifetime cap of $2,000 in the United States. To get the money back guarantee, you must have used the LSA to book the service and submit a claim where Google will decide on a fair resolution. This is generally for home services, such as electricians and plumbers.

Google's continuing expansion into screened and guaranteed services has got to be a challenge to Angi, formerly Angie's list, that offers its own badge called Angi Certified.