Google Lets Advertisers Track Phone Calls Generated From Websites

In its latest move to prove the value of its AdWords advertising platform, Google has launched Website Call Conversions. The new conversion type tracks phone calls that happen after a user lands on a website from an AdWords ad.

By adding code to their sites, advertisers can track whether calls are made by users who click on a phone number or dial the number from their phones. When a user arrives at the site after clicking an ad, Google dynamically generates a unique phone number that can display for up to 90 days. Reporting shows which keyword and ad generated a call.

Google offers the ability to assign different values to calls generated from pages on a site that are geared toward different stages in the sales funnel.

However, as with Google’s click-to-call conversion tracking, AdWords can’t report actual sales or transactions from website calls — an advantage third-party call tracking solutions offer. Website call conversions can be used with third-party tools as well as with click-to-call conversion tracking.

The new feature is only offered where Google forwarding numbers are available: US, UK, France, Germany, Spain and Australia.

About The Author

Ginny Marvin

Ginny Marvin was formerly Third Door Media’s Editor-in-Chief, running the day-to-day editorial operations across all publications and overseeing paid media coverage. Ginny Marvin writes about paid digital advertising and analytics news and trends for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.