Phone call conversion tracking helps you track when your ads lead to different kinds of phone calls. By importing call conversion information into Google Ads, you can track when phone calls lead to sales or other valuable customer actions. To learn how to import phone call conversions, refer to Import phone call conversions.
How we handle your data
The data files that you import will only be used to measure conversions in compliance with our data security policies. We'll keep your data confidential and secure using industry-leading standards.
More specifically, here is how we treat the data files that you upload:
- Limited data retention. We won’t retain your data files for any longer than necessary and ensure compliance with our policies.
- Limited data use. We won’t use your data files for any purpose other than to measure conversions and ensure compliance with our policies.
- Limited data access. Debugging data, including phone numbers, are made available only to users of the Google Ads account through which the file has been uploaded, as well as a group of authorised Google employees. Data is available for 90 days following the upload for the sole purpose of identifying and resolving any errors encountered during the upload and matching process. We use employee access controls to protect your data files from unauthorised access.
- Limited data sharing. We won’t share your data files with any third party, including other advertisers. We may share this data to meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request.
We're also committed to ensuring that the systems that we use to store your data files remain secure and reliable. We have dedicated security engineering teams to protect against external threats to our systems, and we store all your data files in an encrypted format to protect against unauthorised access.
Before you begin
Call conversion import requires Google forwarding numbers, which are currently available only in certain countries. Call conversion tracking measures calls that are initiated from:
- Call-only ad with the call reporting enabled on mobile
- Call extension with the call reporting enabled on mobile
- Website call with the website call conversion tracking enabled
- Call extension with the call reporting enabled on desktop
Benefits
- Track specific information about your calls, such as each call’s type and value for your business, and tie this to the specific ad and keyword that led to the call.
- Distinguish between sales calls and support calls, and learn the value each kind of call brings to your business. For example, when a support call also provides an opportunity to upsell or cross-sell.
- Determine which ads and keywords perform best and use this information to optimise your campaigns to deliver the calls that you value most and that deliver the best return on investment (ROI).
How it works
To learn which of your ads and keywords result in the most sales calls for your business:
- Set up a conversion action in Google Ads that tracks when a customer calls come from your ads, or from a customer who clicked your ad and then called from a number on your website.
- Separately, keep track of your sales calls, recording details like the caller’s phone number, and when those calls lead to a sale (or whatever conversion action you want to track). You may already be tracking this information through a customer relationship management system (CRM).
- Upload a file containing this information about your conversion calls into Google Ads.
- Google Ads then matches the call info in your file with the calls tracked through your Google Ads conversion action. You can now see which of your campaigns, ad groups, ads and keywords lead to calls that include sales or other conversions.
Once you know which ads and keywords lead to your most valuable calls, you can adjust your account to try to get more of these calls. For example, you can increase your bids on keywords that lead to the most sales calls, or use an automated bid strategy like Target CPA to optimise for more of these conversions. Note that automated bid strategies will work best if you regularly import your most up-to-date conversion data.
Types of calls that you can track
With call conversion import, you can track calls that come from your ads in two different ways:
- Calls that come directly from your ads: Track when someone calls the number in your call asset or call-only ad. You’ll need at least one call asset or call-only ad that uses Google forwarding numbers. Note that these calls can only be tracked when they come from mobile, not desktop or tablet.
- Calls that come from a number on your website: Someone may click your ad and go to your website, then call from a number that's listed there. To track these calls, you’ll need to install a conversion tracking tag on your website, as well as a second code snippet to show a Google forwarding number instead of your regular phone number.
You can include both types of calls in your import, and then track them to understand how your ads lead to call conversions. Each type of call has a different set-up process, so make sure that you complete the correct steps for each. Learn how to import phone call conversions
