Google details eligibility for Local Customer Optimization

What changed

The guide describes reaching nearby or locally interested consumers across Maps, Waze and local Search. It also specifies important exclusions: online campaign goals and Performance Max campaigns using Merchant Center products are incompatible. A visible toggle in a product-feed campaign does not establish that the feature can be used there.

That distinction matters for retailers pursuing both ecommerce sales and store visits. Before planning a test, identify the job of the campaign under consideration. Removing productive online goals purely to gain access to a setting could change the campaign's purpose. The decision should start with the intended offline outcome and the appropriate campaign structure, not with whether a new control is visible.

An illustrative local business might use store-related interactions as early indicators while reviewing actual visits or sales through other records. Those measures answer different questions. Agree what would count as a useful result, and note concurrent local promotions, changes in opening hours or stock availability. Otherwise an apparent improvement could be difficult to interpret after the fact.

Why it matters for advertisers

The practical value of the documentation is an eligibility decision the advertiser can make before testing. Ginny's announcement role is distinct from authorship of the Google help page and from any earlier account observation. Anu Adegbola's subsequent report is retained as reporting credit. No claim is made here that the September announcement was the first public mention or that every eligible account has been tested.