Phone calls are still a really important way for businesses to connect with customers. This is especially true if you offer services or products that people like to ask questions about before buying. Google Ads lets you track phone calls as conversions, just like clicks and form submissions on your website. This helps you see how well your ads are working to get you those valuable phone calls.
Tracking phone calls shows you which ads and keywords lead to the most calls, so you can spend your advertising money better. It also lets you see where your callers are located and when they tend to call. This information helps you target your ads and improve your results overall.
Don’t worry if you don’t know much about code! Using Google Tag Manager makes setting up call tracking much easier. It gives you a simple way to manage tracking codes without making changes to your website directly.
Let’s break down how to set up phone call conversion tracking in Google Ads with Google Tag Manager. We’ll do it step-by-step so it’s easy to follow along!
Creating a Phone Call Conversion Action in Google Ads
Before we dive into Google Tag Manager, we need to lay the foundation within your Google Ads account. Here’s how to create a new conversion action specifically for phone calls:
Accessing the Conversions Section:
- Log in to your Google Ads account.
- Navigate to “Tools & Settings” (the wrench icon in the top right corner).
- Under the “Measurement” column, click on “Conversions.”
Initiating a New Conversion Action:
- Click the blue “+New Conversion Action” button to start the process.
- Select the “Phone calls” option as the type of conversion you want to track.
Choosing Your Tracking Method:
- We’ll focus on the most common method: “Calls to a phone number on your website.” This uses Google Tag Manager to dynamically swap your actual number with a trackable Google forwarding number.
- Click “Continue.”
Configuring Your Phone Call Conversion Action
The settings within this section allow you to customize how your phone call conversions are counted and valued. Here’s a breakdown of each option:
Conversion Name: Give your conversion action a clear and descriptive name. This will help you easily identify it when analyzing your conversion reports (e.g., “Phone Calls from Website – Main Phone Number”).
Value: How valuable is each phone call to your business?
- No Value: If you primarily want to track call volume, select “Don’t assign a value.” Assign a Value: If you have insights into the average value of a phone call lead, you can input a specific monetary amount here.
Count:
If you have insights into the average value of a phone call lead, you can input a specific monetary amount here. For each conversion, select either:
- Every: Count every phone call as a separate conversion.
- One: Count only the first phone call as a conversion.
Call Length:
To prevent short, accidental calls from being counted, set a minimum duration (in seconds) that a call must last to qualify as a conversion. Consider your average sales call length – 30 or 60 seconds is often a reasonable starting point.
Conversion Window:
This determines how long after someone clicks your ad a phone call can still be attributed as a conversion. The default (30 days) typically works well, but adjust if needed.
Attribution:
This impacts how credit is distributed across multiple ad clicks in the customer’s path. “Time decay” is often recommended, giving more credit to recent clicks while still acknowledging earlier interactions.
Important Note: These settings can be adjusted later if needed. It’s okay to make your best estimations now and refine them as you collect data.
Implementing Phone Call Conversion Tracking with Google Tag Manager
Now we’ll use Google Tag Manager to dynamically replace your phone number on your website with a Google forwarding number, enabling conversion tracking.
Create a New Tag in Google Tag Manager:
- Open your Google Tag Manager account and select your website’s container.
- Click on “Tags” and then “New”.
- Name your tag something clear like “Phone Call Conversion Tracking – Website”.
Choose the Tag Type:
- Under “Tag Configuration,” select “Google Ads Calls from Website Conversion”. Obtain and Input Conversion Details:
- Return to your Google Ads conversion action setup, where you’ll find your conversion ID and conversion label.
- Paste these values into the corresponding fields within Google Tag Manager.
Replace Your Phone Number:
- In Google Tag Manager, under “Display Phone Number to Replace,” carefully input your website’s actual phone number as it currently appears for visitors.
Trigger Configuration (Important!):
- Determine when this number swapping should happen. For now, select “All Pages” to ensure tracking works site-wide. You can refine this later if needed.
Remember: Google Tag Manager acts as a middleman. It won’t directly change your website’s code, but instead, overlays the trackable Google forwarding number when your page loads.
Testing, Publishing, and Troubleshooting
Implement the Google-Generated Code (If Required): Some users may see a code snippet within the Google Ads conversion setup. In older versions of Google Ads, this would have needed to be added to your website. Most of the time, Google Tag Manager handles this automatically, eliminating the need for direct code placement.
Thorough Testing:
Preview Mode: Use Google Tag Manager’s “Preview” mode to visit your website and verify that the tag fires when your phone number appears. Look for the Google Tag Manager debug console at the bottom of your browser window.
Test Call: Place a test call to your website’s displayed number. Google Ads may take some time to register the conversion, but it should appear in your reports eventually.
Publish Your Changes:
Once you’re confident the tag is firing correctly, click the “Submit” button in Google Tag Manager. This makes your changes live on your website. Choose to “Publish” and add a brief description of the changes (e.g., “Implemented phone call conversion tracking”).
Troubleshooting Tips:
Number Formatting: Ensure the phone number format on your website exactly matches the format you input in Google Tag Manager. Include all necessary dashes, spaces, and country codes.
Triggering: If your tag isn’t firing, experiment with your selected trigger in Google Tag Manager. You might need to refine it to more specific pages or elements.
Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up phone call conversion tracking in Google Ads using Google Tag Manager. Now you can start gathering valuable insights on how your ads lead directly to phone-based customer interactions!
