Call only Ad Examples: Your Go to Guide for Google Ads Call Tracking

There are different extensions available to use in your ads. Google Ads call extensions are available that facilitate people to call your business by showing a phone number with your existing ads.

If user feel he is interested in your ad and to get more inquiry, he will click on the number and make a call.

Same goes with the website or landing page, where you have provided business contact number, user can also click there to call. So do you think if conversion is made like this it goes untraceable? Of course not!

Call Only Ad Examples:

There are four types of phone calls that you can track using conversion tracking:

1. Calls from Ads

The first type is the calls made directly from call only ads or call and location extensions used in your PPC ads.

You can specify a minimum call duration and each phone call that lasts at least that long is considered a conversion.

2. Calls to a Phone Number on Your Site

The second type is the calls made when somebody clicks on your Google ad and calls the forwarding number displayed on your site.

You can specify a minimum call duration, and every call lasting at least that long is considered a conversion.

3. Clicks on a Phone Number on the Mobile Version of Your Site

The third type is the calls made when somebody clicks on your Google ad, then clicks on a phone number, button, or link on your mobile website. However, you can only track clicks, not the phone calls themselves.

4. Import Call Conversions

The last type is the calls that you track in another system and import the data into Google Ads.

Import call conversions provide you with more control over which calls you consider conversions. For instance, you can count calls as conversions only when they include sales, and also include the values of these sales. This provides you with more information on which ads are triggering the most valuable calls for your company.

However, you need to track call details in any other system (for instance, a customer relationship management (CRM) system) and import this information into Google Ads.

What is Call Tracking?

Google Ads provide you facility to track your calls if they are made from call enabled extensions.

Almost many companies consider phone calls their most valuable, top-notch lead generation source. Keeping in mind the significance of phone calls, companies and marketers need to trace those calls back to the ads that triggered them.

Why?

Because when you know where your calls are coming from, you can make intelligent decisions about your advertising budget as well as your sales strategy. Now, the question is:

How can you track such phone calls?

Google Ads call tracking is the answer. But before you learn how to track your calls, let’s first take a look at what exactly Google Ads call tracking is, and why it’s important for your business.

 

What is Google Ads Call Tracking and How it Tracks from Google Ad Call Extensions?

Google Ads call tracking is a kind of conversion tracking that lets you know the number of potential consumers who called you after looking or clicking at one of your pay-per-click (PPC) ads.

Google Ads call tracking works in the following two ways:

1. It tracks calls made to a Google forwarding number that is shown in a call extension ad.
2. It tracks calls through dynamic number insertion on your site, where a unique tracking number is exchanged for every website visitor.

 

Who Can Use Google Ads Call Tracking?

Any marketer who wishes to drive phone calls to their company and acquire a better understanding of how their advertising campaign is driving those calls can use Google Ads call tracking.

It helps you see which search keywords are triggering the most calls, as well as your PPC placement’s general positioning in the search engine results page (SERP) listing.

Plus, it also allows you to see the performance breakdown of your ad in terms of demographics and location.

All this information helps you make your Google Ads even more effective in attracting new phone calls, leads, and conversions.

Why Should You Use Google Ads Call Tracking?

Here are a few key benefits of using Google Ads call tracking for your business:

• It provides you with actionable insights and comprehensive reporting on the true ROI of your PPC campaigns.
• You can clearly measure the return on your sources on paid search investment.
• You can better manage phone calls triggered by your PPC placement.
• It allows you to trace calls back to particular campaigns and keywords that triggered them.
• You can use call conversion data to make improved optimization decisions.
• It helps you identify which keywords, ads, ad groups, and campaigns are performing well (i.e., attracting the most valuable calls to your company).
• You can use automated bid strategies (like target CPA) that automatically optimize your ad campaigns as per your business objectives.

 

 

Steps to Implement Google Ads Call Tracking

Before you set up call tracking on your PPC ads, here are a few requirements that you must fulfill:

1. You must have a Google Ads account.
2. You must have at least one active call extension or call-only ad. Make sure that you use a Google forwarding number with “count calls as phone call conversions” selected.
3. Your company must be located in one of the countries listed below as forwarding numbers are available in this countries.

 

Source: Google Support

Here’s what you should do enable call tracking:

Step 1

Sign in to your Google Ads Account.

Step 2

Click on the ‘Tools & Settings’ from the top navigation.

Under the measurements, click on the “conversion” button.

 

Step 3

Click on the plus icon to add conversion.

 

Step 4

Choose the ‘Phone calls’ option.

 

Step 5

Next, select the source of phone calls you want to track and click ‘Continue.’

You can select either you want to track call from ads using call extensions, call to a phone number on your website or clicks on your number on your website. Once you select that click on continue.

But if you select “calls to a phone number on your website” and “clicks on your number on your website” you can end up having some different options which will discuss later in the blog. But for now consider that you choose “calls from ads using call extension or call-only-ads” option.

Step 6

The next step is to create a conversion action. Under ‘Category,’ select the action you want to track (such as Lead, Purchase, Sign-up, or Other).

By specifying the right category, you can segment your conversions in reports such that similar conversions appear together.

Think of Category as the goal of your ad campaign. For example, if you are an e-commerce business, you would consider a purchase as your conversion, otherwise you can simply consider it phone call lead.

But if your site is promoting a newsletter, then signup would be your conversion metric.

Step 7

Here you have to provide a name of your conversion. You can provide something readable name so that once you save it you can understand yourself when you see this tracking in the list. In this case let’s say “inquiry About Winter Product”

 

Step 8

In the next step, specify the ‘Value’ of conversion. It helps you measure the impact of your advertising.

You can use the same value for each conversion or not assign any value at all. However, the latter approach is not recommended.

 

Step 9

Now proceed to “Count,” which specifies how many conversions you want to count per click or interaction.

There are two options, Every and One:

• • Choose ‘Every’ if you are tracking sales as a conversion because every purchase is valuable.
  • Select ‘One’ if you are tracking leads, sign-ups, and other conversions because only the first interaction is valuable.

 

 

 

Step 10

Next, click Call length. Specify the minimum duration (in seconds) that a phone call needs to last to be counted as a conversion.

 

Step 11

Now, proceed to ‘Conversion window.’ A conversion window specifies how long after an ad click, you want to track conversions. This window can range from one to 60 days.

 

Step 12

Next, proceed to Include in “Conversions.” This option is selected by default and will include data for this conversion action in your “Conversions” reporting column.

However, unchecking this option will include your data in the “All conversions” column.

Are you wondering whether you should select this option?

Keep this in mind:

Automated bid strategies like Target return on advertising spend (ROAS), Enhanced cost-per-click (ECPC), or Target cost-per-acquisition (CPA) use data in the ‘Conversions’ column.

So, if you’re using an automated bid strategy to optimize for conversions, and you do not wish to include this specific conversion action in your bid strategy, you can uncheck this option. Otherwise, keep it at the default setting.

Step 13

Proceed to ‘Attribution model.’

This setting allows you to choose how to assign credit for every conversion. You can choose either the last click a customer made before conversion, the first click, or a combination of clicks.

Attribution models can help you better understand how your ads are performing. Plus, they can help you optimize the user’s conversion path.

However, it is only possible if you are running a search or a shopping network campaign.

Step 14

Last step is just Click “CREATE AND CONTINUE.”

Once you clicked you will see a next screen where you will find success message and final “done” button

 

What if you have selected “calls to a phone number on your website” option?

If you have selected “calls to a phone number on your website” as shown below, you can end up having some different options.

You have to follow the steps as you have done for option one, but when you click the save and continue button you have to select how you want to install your tag.

As you have seen from the above snapshot that you have 3 ways to install your tag. Each way requires some different steps so let’s look upon each way individually.

Install Tag Yourself

If you have to install tag yourself, you can avail this way. You have to consider the following steps while installing tag yourself:

Step 1

Global site tag adds visitor to your basic remarketing lists and sets new cookies on your domain, which will store information about the ad click that brought a user to your website. In this step you have to make sure that you have installed the tag on each page of your website.

If the global site tag isn’t installed on all of your HTML pages, you can select the first option from there as selected in the above snapshot and then you have to download the given snippet and place it between the head tags of your every page.

If your global site tag is already installed but comes from some other Google resources, for that you need to select the second option as shown below and you have to download the snippet and place it right above the </script> end tag.

And if the global site tag on all pages was installed already then you have to use the 3 option as shown below and for that you have to make sure that Google site tag is on every page of you website.

 

Step 2

You have to place phone snippet which replaces a phone number on your website with a Google forwarding number so you can see how effectively your ads leads to phone calls from your website. For this you have 2 options.

By selecting this you have to enter the phone number as it appears on the website and then you have to create the snippet against that phone number by clicking on “create snippet button”.

And then add the above shown snippet in between the <head> tag of the page where your phone number appears.

But if you select to edit your website code manually.

Then you have to manually replace the number into the code snippet and place it on each page where your phone number appears in between the <head> tag and right after the global site tag.

 

Step 3

Click “Next” button.

Step 4

Click “Done”.

 

Email the Tag:

If you want Google Ads to send the tag and instructions for installing the tag to your webmaster for your conversion calls conversion action, you can choose this option. For this you have to consider the following step

Step 1

Provide the phone number against which you have to track. If you want to just copy and paste the code you have to provide your phone number as it appears on the website.

But if you want to manually replace the phone number in your code snippet then you have to select the second option.

 

Step 2

Enter the email address where you would like Google ads to send the tag and instructions.

 

Step 3

Click “Send and Continue”.

Step 4

Click “Done”

 

Use Google Tag Manager:

If you want to use Google Tag Manager to install your tag you have to provide following information about your conversion:

• Conversion ID.
• Conversion Label.

 

Then click “next” and after that click “Done”.

If you have selected “calls to a phone number on your website” as shown below, you can end up having same options that you have faced while selecting “calls to a phone number on your website”.

You have to adapt all the 14 steps as above mentioned. When it comes to select the way of including global site tag you come up with the same options as in “calls to a phone number on your website” but if you select “install tag yourself” in that case you have to select separate snippets for AMP and HTML as shown below:

 

How to Track and Import Phone Call Conversions

If a major part of your business runs over the phone, you’re perhaps looking for a way to ascertain when ads bring in phone calls and when those calls result in sales and other valuable consumer actions.

This is where importing phone call conversions into Google Ads can help you. It facilitates you in keeping track of how your PPC ads result in your most important calls.

But before you begin importing phone call conversions, consider doing the following things:

• Get calls in any eligible country listed above.
• Enable call extensions or call-only ads.
• Set up a system to track call information.

Here’s how you can import phone call conversions:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.

2. Click the tools icon in the upper right corner of your account.

 

 

3. Under the “Measurement” tab, click Conversions.

 

 

4. Click on the ‘+’ button.

 

 

5. Click Import.

 

 

6. Under “Select what you want to import” option, choose “Other data sources or CRMs,” and then “Track conversions from calls.”

 

 

7. Click Continue.

8. The next step is to create a conversion action. Under ‘Category,’ select the action you want to track (such as Lead, Purchase, Sign-up, or Other).

 

 

9. Here you have to provide a name of your conversion. You can provide something readable name so that once you save it you can understand yourself when you see this tracking in the list.

 

 

10. In the next step, specify the ‘Value’ of conversion. It helps you measure the impact of your advertising. You can use the same value for each conversion or not assign any value at all. However, the latter approach is not recommended.

 

 

11. Now proceed to “Count,” which specifies how many conversions you want to count per click or interaction.

 

 

Now, proceed to ‘Conversion window.’ A conversion window specifies how long after an ad click, you want to track conversions. This window can range from one to 90 days or you can also add custom conversion window. Or change the selection as 30 days.

 

12. Next, proceed to include in “Conversions.” This option is selected by default and will include data for this conversion action in your “Conversions” reporting column.

 

 

13. Proceed to ‘Attribution model.’ This setting allows you to choose how to assign credit for every conversion. You can choose either the last click a customer made before conversion, the first click, or a combination of clicks.

 

 

14. Click “create and continue”.

 

 

15. Click on any of the option according to your need.

 

 

16. Click “Done”.

 

 

 

Is That All Google Ads Call Tracking Has to Offer?

Of course, not! Google Ads also offers plenty of extra features that work along with your call analytics.

Some of these features include:

Click to Call (CTC)

Although many paid advertisements drive traffic to sites, Google Ads has a feature called Click to Call (CTC) that calls on a company’s phone number once the user clicks on an ad which can only appear on mobile devices from where call can be done.

The Google Ads integrates with Analytics to keep track of CTC similar to typical PPC campaigns. Therefore, you can monitor which of your ads are attracting the most phone calls in real-time.

The mobile-friendly CTC feature also allows you to track conversions depending on the phone call duration. This makes your reporting a lot more flexible.

 

Mobile and Desktop Insights

Google Ads also offers analytics that shows whether the ad was viewed on a mobile platform or desktop. This allows you to better optimize your ad campaigns for particular devices and audiences.

When looking at your call campaign data in Google Ads, click on the ‘Segment‘ button to see important data such as click through rates (CTRs), conversion rates, and impressions for different devices.

Limitations of Google Ads Call Tracking

One of the most significant limitations of Google Ads call tracking is that every phone number generated by Google is the property of Google. This means you cannot use it anywhere else.

At present, Google does not offer its Click to Call (CTC) feature for Display Network ads. This means you cannot drive calls directly from image-based ads.

Wrap Up

There you have it: a detailed guide on how to set up Google Ads call tracking.

It helps you gauge the number of phone calls you receive from prospective customers who land on your website as a result of an advertisement from one of your Google Ads campaigns.

Now that you know how to use it, it’s time to put this powerful tool to work so you can get better at optimizing your PPC campaigns.