A Comprehensive Guide to Google Ads Call Tracking in 2026

Are you struggling to track which Google ad campaigns are driving phone calls for your business? You are not alone. Many advertisers face this challenge, and we get it. Phone calls often represent high-intent leads, especially for businesses that rely on direct conversations to close sales. That’s why knowing exactly which campaigns are generating these calls is so critical.

But don’t worry. Google Ads call tracking helps you solve this exact problem. With it, you can connect every incoming call back to your Google ad campaigns and gain detailed insights into campaign performance, impact, and the quality of leads being generated.

So, how does Google Ads call tracking work, and how can you set it up correctly to get the most accurate data? 

Well, if you don’t know the answer to these questions, fret not, as this blog will help you. Through it, we will be discussing Google Ads call tracking in detail. We will understand: 

1. What it is
2. The different types of call conversions you can track in Google Ads
3. The actual Google Ads call tracking setup process and much more. 

So, shall we begin?

Bonus: Also read our blog on Google Ads conversion tracking.

What is Google Ads Call Tracking?  

Google Ads call tracking is a conversion measurement solution specifically designed for phone calls. It enables you to track phone calls that are generated from ad clicks, website visits, or other channels and then accurately attribute them to specific campaigns, keywords, or ads. This ensures that you can effectively analyze the performance of your campaigns. 

In short, you can think of it like a call log for your ads. Each phone call leaves a clear trail, using which you can identify which ad brought that particular caller to your business. This makes it very easy to spot which ad campaigns are driving both real conversations and conversions for your business. 

How Does Google Ads Call Tracking Work? 

Let’s now understand how call tracking in Google Ads works (in general) from the moment a user sees your ad: 

1. Ad Impression and Click: First, obviously, a user sees your Google ad and clicks on it. You are charged for that click, like a standard CPC that Google would have charged you if the user clicked on your ad and landed on your website. 
2. Website Visit (Optional): Then, depending on the type of call conversion tracking, the user might visit your website. 
3. Google Forwarding Number: If you are tracking calls from ads or calls to a phone number on your website, Google Ads dynamically replaces your business phone number with a Google forwarding number (provided call reporting is enabled in your account). This allows Google to link the call back to the specific ad that triggered it.
4. Call Initiation: The user then calls the number either directly from your ad or calls the Google forwarding number displayed on your website. 
5. Conversion Tracking: Google Ads tracks the duration of the call. If it is longer than the minimum duration you have specified (while creating the conversion), it will get counted as a conversion. Additionally, this process allows you to filter out short, spammy, or low-quality calls. 
6. Data and Optimization: You can then analyze which ads, keywords, ad groups, and campaigns are driving valuable phone calls for your business. Using those insights, you can get an idea if your advertising efforts are paying off, or you should revisit and re-optimize your strategy. 

Types of Phone Call Conversions You Can Track 

Here are the five different ways in which Google allows you to track phone call conversions: 

1. Calls from ads: You can track calls that are made from call-only ads or the call and location assets that you use in your ads. All you need to do is define a minimum duration of your call, and every call that lasts that long will be counted as a conversion. 
2. Calls to a phone number on your website: This allows you to track calls that are made after someone clicks on your ad, visits your website, and calls the forwarding number Google displays on your site. Calls that last as long as your defined duration are counted as conversions. 
3. Clicks on a number on your mobile website: Track calls when someone clicks on your ad, and then clicks on a number, button, or link on mobile sites. However, please note that in this case, Google only tracks the clicks and not the phone calls. 
4. Clicks on call ads and assets: This tracks clicks on call ads or assets without utilizing a Google forwarding number. In this case, any click on a call ad or asset counts as a conversion depending on Google’s estimation of whether a valuable, meaningful call occurred after the user clicked your ad. 
5. Import call conversions: Google also allows you to import call conversions that you track in another external system (such as a CRM) into Google Ads. This method provides you with more flexibility in deciding which calls count as conversions.

Note:  1. Tracking call conversions from ads, websites, or imports requires Google forwarding numbers. 2. Google forwarding numbers are supported in selected countries. Check out this help article to know more about them.

How to Set Up Google Ads Call Tracking? 

As discussed in the previous section, you can track five different types of phone call conversions. 

For this blog’s reference purposes, we will learn how to set up conversion tracking to measure calls from ads. 

Before we dive into the step-by-step process of setting up conversion tracking for calls from ads, there are several prerequisites that you must meet. 

Prerequisites for Setting up Conversion Measurement for Calls from Ads

You should have: 

• A Google Ads account. 
• At least one call asset, location asset with a call option, or call ad. 
• Call reporting enabled in your Google Ads account settings. 
• A business in one of the eligible countries (eg, the US, UK, etc.) where Google currently supports call reporting. Moreover, the country code of the phone number you add to a call asset, call ad, or location asset should also be in the list of eligible countries. 

Step-by-Step Process 

Step 1: Measure Conversions from Phone Calls 

1. Open your Google Ads account. 
2. From the left-side menu, click on ‘Goals,’ then ‘Conversions’ and finally ‘Summary.’
3. Scroll down and in front of the ‘All your goals’ section, you will see the ‘Create Conversion action’ option. Click on it. 

4. Then select ‘Conversions from phone calls.’

5. Then select ‘Continue.’ 

Step 2: Set up phone call conversions 

Part 1: Select the conversion category you want to measure 

Start by selecting the conversion category you are interested in measuring. Remember, this conversion category should be the most closely related to the user action you want to measure. 

In case you have difficulties finding a category that exactly matches what you are looking for, go with the next best one. 

Note: If you already have existing conversions grouped in that particular category, Google will display the number of existing conversions in that category.

Part 2: Define your conversion 

1. Select ‘+ Add a conversion action.’
2. Select any one of the following: ‘Calls from ads,’ ‘Calls from website visits,’ or ‘Calls via uploads.’

• For phone calls from website visits, you will have to define your event by selecting ‘Someone calls a number shown on my website’ and then adding your contact number. 
• Alternatively, you can select ‘Someone makes a call by clicking a number on my website.’ Google will provide you with the instructions when you reach the end of the workflow to enable this. 
• For calls via uploads, select ‘Settings’ and follow the instructions provided by Google to complete calls via uploads. 

3. After you do, you can also click on ‘Edit Settings’ to configure conversion settings such as: 

• Action optimization
• Setting conversion name
• Adding conversion value and count 
• Defining the minimum call length, a call needs to last so that Google counts it as a conversion 
• Setting the click-through conversion window 
• Selecting the attribution model 

4. Click on ‘Save and continue.’ That will save the conversion action. 

Step 3: Next steps 

We have successfully created the conversion. Now, we must ensure that our conversions can be measured properly. 

For that, follow these steps: 

1. Choose‘Set up call from ads.’ That will create a new conversion category. 
2. Select ‘Finish.’
3. After that, select ‘Set up calls from website’ (calling the contact number shown on the website). 
4. Then, you must configure your Google tag and event tag. 
5. Review your Google Click ID. 
6. Select ‘Agree and Finish.’

And with that, the process of setting up conversion measurement for calls from ads is complete! 

Note: Refer to this Google page to learn how to track calls from a Business profile that is connected to your Google Ads account.

Where to View Google Ads Call Tracking Data?  

You can view your Google Ads call tracking data from different places in your account, depending on the level of detail you need.

To see general call data in your campaign, ad group, ads, or search keyword statistics:

1. Open your Google Ads account. 
2. Click on the ‘Campaigns’ icon in the left-hand side menu.  
3. Then select any of the following: Campaigns, Ad groups, and Ads. 

Pro tip: As an alternate option, you can click on the ‘Audiences, keywords, and content’ drop-down in the menu, and then click on ‘Search keywords.’

4. Click on the ‘Columns’ icon above the table on the ‘Campaign,’ ‘Ad groups,’ ‘Ads,’ or ‘Search keyword’ tab.
5. Then select ‘Call Details.’
6. Select the checkbox against all the data points you are interested in viewing (eg, phone calls, phone call leads, etc.)  
7. Click on the ‘Apply’ button. 

That’s it. Google will generate a report where you can see phone call performance across your selected view.

To view the details of each individual phone call:

1. In your Google Ads account, click the ‘Campaigns’ icon.
2. Click the ‘Insights and reports’ drop-down in the section menu.
3. Click ‘Report editor.’
4. Under “Ads and assets”, click ‘Call details.’

Note: Keep in mind that “Call details” data will only show for activities that happened on or after October 11, 2018.

Benefits of Google Ads Call Tracking 

Below, we will be discussing the key benefits of setting up phone call conversion tracking in Google Ads: 

1. Better Attribution of Offline Conversions: With call tracking, you can link phone calls back to specific ads, keywords, ad groups, and campaigns that generated them. This improves attribution of offline conversions and bridges the gap between online ad spend and offline customer actions. 
2. Improved Campaign ROI and Optimization: By understanding which campaigns and ads lead to valuable calls for your business, you can allocate your ad budget more efficiently. You can start focusing on high-performing campaigns and reducing your investment in underperforming ones. 

Moreover, call tracking data also provides you with insights into which keywords lead to longer calls (which signals high intent) or which campaigns lead to more conversions. Using these data points, you can optimize your campaign and bid strategies more effectively. That will further improve your RoAS since you are investing in what truly drives results for your business. 

3. Identify Peak Call Times and Locations: Google’s call reporting allows you to view when a call occurs and the caller’s area code. Through this data, you can identify peak call times (days or specific hours when call volume is the highest) and also geographic trends in who’s calling. 

Using these insights, you can create ad schedules to run your ads only during those particular peak call times and reduce wasted ad spend. 

4. Improved Customer Experiences and Conversion Rates: By using call assets and call ads, you make it very convenient for mobile users to reach you. This streamlined user experience can boost conversion rates from your ads, as many users prefer to have the option of immediately calling the business. 

Also, having a phone number visible in your ad helps to build credibility and trust with users, showing that there are real people on your side to talk to. 

Best Practices For Maximizing Google Ads Call Tracking Effectiveness

Setting up Google Ads call tracking is the first step. To maximize its value, advertisers should manage and optimize their campaigns with the call data in mind. 

Below, we are sharing some best practices that will enable you to maximize the effectiveness of Google Ads call tracking. 

1. Align Ad Schedule with Business Hours and Peak Times: Ensure that your call ads or call assets are running when someone in your team can respond to phone calls. This is a valuable strategy for boosting your conversion rates. 
2. Set Meaningful Conversion Criteria: Define what a valuable conversion means to your business and set up conversion tracking accordingly. 

So, if you have noticed that calls longer than 50-55 seconds are meaningful, then you can set the minimum call length to 60 seconds for it to count as a conversion. 

That will help you filter out short, accidental calls and focus on high-intent conversations. This keeps your conversion data clean and improves the quality of optimization decisions. 

3. Optimize Bids and Budgets for Call Conversions: Include call conversions in your Google Ads bidding strategy, i.e., your phone call conversions should be checked as conversion actions you want to optimize for. This will ensure that your ad budget is focused on what works best and maximizes results for your business. 
4. Enable Call Recording: Google allows you to set up call recording, and recorded conversations are available for the next 30 days. We recommend enabling this feature, as that will provide you with insights into real conversations and help you understand call quality and customer intent. This makes optimization decisions more accurate and effective.

Conclusion and Key Takeaways 

Google Ads call tracking helps advertisers connect ad clicks with real phone conversations. It brings clarity to performance measurement when calls play a key role in conversions.

The key takeaways from this blog include:

• Call tracking works using Google forwarding numbers and call reporting. Google measures call duration and only counts calls as conversions once they meet your defined minimum length.
• Google supports multiple phone call conversion types. These include calls from ads, calls from website numbers, imported call conversions from external systems, etc. 
• Setting up call tracking requires call reporting to be enabled and at least one call asset or call ad. You then create a phone call conversion action and complete the guided setup steps.
• Call tracking data can be viewed by adding ‘Call Details’ columns to campaign, ad group, ad, or even search keyword reports. 
• Google Ads call tracking improves attribution and optimization by showing which campaigns drive quality conversations. This helps allocate budgets better and improve overall return on ad spend.
• Following best practices like aligning ad schedules, setting meaningful call durations, optimizing bids, and enabling call recording helps keep call data accurate and actionable.

FAQs

1. How does Google Ads ensure security and privacy for call tracking

Google Ads protects call tracking data through strict security standards and controlled data collection practices. It tracks calls only on numbers you intentionally set up in your account. Google also requires businesses to explain call tracking on their sites and apps clearly. This transparency helps users understand what data is collected and how it is used. 

In many regions, businesses must also request user consent before tracking calls. These requirements align with Google policies, including the EU User Consent Policy.

2. What are call assets? 

Call assets let you show a phone number directly with your Google Ads. They allow users to call your business or visit your website. 

3. What are call ads, and what do advertisers need to know about upcoming changes concerning these ads?

Call ads are built to drive direct phone calls from search results. They appear only on devices that support calling. When users tap the call button, the ad places a call to your business instantly. 

However, Google is phasing out call ads in the coming years. 

From February 2026, advertisers will no longer create new call ads. By February 2027, existing call ads will stop receiving impressions. To keep generating call leads, advertisers should add phone numbers as call assets within responsive search ads. This approach ensures continued visibility, call tracking, and sales opportunities.