Can Med Spas Use Google Local Services Ads?

Not as a med spa. Neither "med spa" nor "medical spa" appears on Google's list of business categories that can run Local Services Ads in the United States. Google does list nearby categories, including Facial Spa, Hair Removal Service, Weight loss service, Dermatologist and Plastic surgeon, and each one comes with its own screening. For most med spas, the Google options that work are Search campaigns, Performance Max and a free Google Business Profile. Curve Compliance tracks the bookings those campaigns bring in and sends them to Google server-side, without treatment details, under a BAA it signs on every plan.

Book a call. Curve Compliance sends med spa bookings, calls and consults from Google Ads back to Google server-side, with neutral event names and no treatment details, and signs a BAA on every plan. Book a call with Curve.

What Google's Local Services Ads list says about med spas

Local Services Ads are Google's pay-per-lead format. Google says leads "come in as phone calls and messages sent through your Local Services ad," and that advertisers "pay only for leads related to your business and the services you offer."

The format is not open to every business. In Google's words, "At this time, Local Services Ads are available only for certain service categories." The US list has no med spa or medical spa entry. These are the listed categories closest to med spa services, with the checks Google's screening and verification page gives for each.

Category	How Google describes it	Checks Google lists
Dermatologist	"A health care provider who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of conditions associated with the skin, hair, and nails"	Provider and practice checks, state practice and provider licenses, general liability and malpractice insurance, NPI verification
Plastic surgeon	"A health care professional who specializes in elective cosmetic surgery"	Business, owner and service professional checks, state licenses, general and professional liability insurance, NPI verification
Weight loss service	Providers who "help individuals looking to lose weight with guidance and meal plans"	Business and owner checks for select users, state business and owner licenses
Hair Removal Service	Listed under beauty as waxing or hair removal: "facial and body hair treatment, and eyebrow styling"	Business and owner checks for select users, state licenses, general and professional liability insurance

Google's screening page also marks beauty businesses, such as nail salons and waxing or hair removal, as "currently available in California and Florida only," so check eligibility for your own area before planning around them.

When one of those categories fits

A related category only works if it truly describes the business. Local Services Ads require "a public and verified Google Business profile," and Google's guidelines for representing your business ask you to choose categories that complete the statement "This business IS a" rather than "this business HAS a." A dermatology practice with an aesthetics service may fit Dermatologist. A med spa that is not a dermatology or plastic surgery practice does not match how Google describes those categories, and Google's screening checks the provider's license and NPI.

Google also lists limits that matter for a clinic:

• No booking through the ad. Google says "Booking leads aren't available for health care verticals," so patients reach you by call or message.
• No early ads. Google says pre-badge ads, which let other businesses get leads while screening finishes, aren't available for health care verticals.
• Screening takes time. Google says the process takes three to four weeks on average after you submit your documents.
• No badge for beauty. Google says "The Google Verified badge is currently unavailable for verticals in the auto, beauty, and dining categories."

Local Services Ads are moving into Google Ads

Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. Google says you "still only pay for valid leads (such as phone calls and messages) rather than ad clicks," that the ads keep showing on Google Search and Google Maps, and that these campaigns are "completely keywordless," using your Google Business Profile instead. The first phase began in August 2026 for select US home and storefront service advertisers. Google says the migration expands to broader advertiser groups in late 2026, and that all remaining business categories move in 2027. For now, new pay-per-lead campaigns still start at g.co/localservices. Google's transition page does not mention any new categories.

What med spas can run on Google instead

Option	Open to a med spa?	How you pay	Where it shows	What to watch
Local Services Ads	Only under a listed category the business truly is	Per valid lead	Local Services unit in Search and Maps	Health care screening, no booking leads
Search campaigns	Yes	Per click	Search results for your keywords	Prescription drug terms, health audience rules
Performance Max	Yes	Per click	YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail and Maps	Same health rules, plus clean conversion data
Google Business Profile	Yes	Free	Search and Maps listings	Categories must say what the business is

Search campaigns are where most med spas start. Keyword choice is its own topic: see med spa treatment keyword strategy for structuring campaigns by treatment, and Botox and filler keyword strategies for injectors for injectables.

Performance Max is, in Google's words, "a goal-based campaign type that allows you to access all Google Ads inventory, including YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail, and Maps, from a single campaign." It bids toward the conversions you report, so its results depend on the booking data behind it.

A Google Business Profile is free and is the base Local Services Ads build on. Google says "Do not use categories solely as keywords," so list the categories that describe the business, not every treatment on the menu.

Google's healthcare rules that apply to med spa ads

Google's Healthcare and medicines policy says some healthcare content "can only be advertised in certain locations by advertisers who have applied and been approved." Four points matter most for med spas.

1. Prescription drug names. Google's list of monitored prescription drugs includes Botox, botulinum toxin, Dysport, Xeomin, semaglutide, tirzepatide, tretinoin and Latisse. Under the restricted drug terms policy, campaigns targeting the United States may use these terms in ads and landing pages in line with local law, but "you must be certified in order to keyword-target these terms."
2. Unapproved substances. Google doesn't allow "Products containing human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in relation to weight loss or weight control" or "Products that imply they're as effective as prescription drugs or controlled substances."
3. Experimental treatments. Google doesn't allow "Promotion of speculative and/or experimental medical treatments," or of cell and gene therapies, except FDA licensed or approved therapies promoted in the US by the license holder.
4. Health audiences. Google's Health in personalized advertising page counts "Invasive medical procedures, including cosmetic surgery, surgical procedures, or injections" as a sensitive interest category. Ads in that category can't use advertiser-curated audiences: Customer Match, your data segments, audience expansion and lookalike segments. Predefined Google audiences, such as in-market and affinity segments, are still allowed.

Google's personalized advertising policy also says you aren't allowed to "Share PII with Google through your data segments tags." If ads are already flagged, see why Google rejects healthcare ads and Google's health audience rules.

How to track bookings without sending health information to Google

A conversion tag in the browser reports from whatever page it fires on, and med spa pages usually name the treatment: a lip filler page, a weight loss consult form, a Botox booking confirmation. The safer setup sends conversions from a server, carrying only what Google needs to match the ad click. Curve Compliance does this for med spas.

1. Server-side conversions. Curve replaces the browser tags with one script and sends conversions to Google Ads from its servers. In the standard Google Ads upload, Google receives the conversion action, the time and its own click ID (gclid, gbraid or wbraid). It does not receive the page address, and never page titles, free text or form answers.
2. Neutral names and hashed identifiers. Conversion actions carry neutral names, such as a booked consultation, rather than the treatment. Contact identifiers are off by default and SHA-256 hashed when enabled, and PHI-like patterns, such as a condition name or an email in a URL, are flagged before anything is sent.
3. Bookings in your booking platform. Curve keeps the ad click when a client books through Boulevard, Vagaro, Mindbody, Square, Acuity, Setmore or Booker, so a booking made days later still counts for the Google ad that started it.
4. Calls and consults. Call outcomes come in from call tracking, and consult or purchase outcomes from your CRM or EHR through webhooks or an offline conversion upload, each credited to the original ad click. CallRail says it signs a BAA with each of its Healthcare clients; see CallRail in the BAA directory.
5. Proof of what Google accepted. Event Logs show what Curve sent to Google and what Google accepted, and Campaign Reporting puts spend next to bookings for every campaign.

Calls from ads need their own check. In its Call Ads Supplemental Terms, Google says it "does not intend use of the Communication Features to create obligations under" HIPAA, and that a covered entity or business associate that wants to use those features "should not accept these Supplemental Terms" and should ask Google to exclude it from call monitoring and recording. The Google Ads entry in Curve's BAA directory quotes these terms in full.

To see which tags your site fires today, run Curve's free compliance scanner. For the wider picture, see HIPAA-compliant conversion tracking for med spas and Curve Compliance for med spas.

Book a call. Curve's team will check what your site and booking platform send to Google today and set up conversion tracking for your Search and Performance Max campaigns. Setup takes about a week, and it varies case by case. Book a call with Curve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can med spas use Google Local Services Ads?

Not under a med spa category, because Google's US list of Local Services Ads categories has none. A business may qualify under a listed category it truly is, such as Dermatologist or Plastic surgeon, after Google's screening, which for those categories includes provider licenses and NPI verification.

What is the difference between Local Services Ads and Google Search ads?

With Local Services Ads, Google says you pay for valid leads such as phone calls and messages rather than clicks, and there are no keywords. Search campaigns charge per click, run on keywords you choose, and are open to med spas.

Can a med spa advertise Botox on Google Ads?

Google lists Botox among the prescription drug terms it monitors. For campaigns targeting the United States, its restricted drug terms policy allows these terms in ads and landing pages in line with local law, but requires certification to keyword-target them.

Can med spas use remarketing or Customer Match on Google Ads?

Not for ads in Google's Health category, which includes "cosmetic surgery, surgical procedures, or injections." Those ads can't use advertiser-curated audiences such as Customer Match, your data segments or lookalike segments. Predefined Google audiences are still allowed.

How do I track Google Ads bookings without sharing patient information?

Send conversions server-side with neutral names and hashed identifiers, and keep the ad click through your booking platform. Curve Compliance does this for med spas and shows what Google accepted in Event Logs.

Are Google Local Services Ads becoming Performance Max?

Yes. Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. The first phase began in August 2026 for select US home and storefront service advertisers, with broader groups in late 2026 and remaining categories in 2027.