How to Drive More Customer Calls with Google Ads

In today’s fast-paced world, businesses need to be easily accessible. One of the best ways to do this is by driving more calls directly from Google Ads. While clicks and website visits are great, phone calls provide a more immediate connection with potential customers. This article will walk you through some genius strategies to maximize the number of calls you can generate from your Google Ads campaigns.

Understanding Google Ads Call Campaigns

Google Ads call campaigns are designed specifically to encourage potential customers to call your business directly. These ads are particularly useful for service-based businesses, as they allow users to skip the browsing process and immediately speak to a representative.

Call campaigns are all about driving call conversions. The more calls your business receives, the more opportunities you have to close deals. Understanding this simple yet powerful concept is key to running successful Google Ads campaigns focused on generating phone leads.

Importance of Calls in Modern Marketing

Why are calls so important in today's marketing landscape? It’s simple: customers still value human interaction. Especially when it comes to making purchasing decisions, people often feel more comfortable speaking directly with a person rather than relying solely on online information. Calls allow businesses to provide personalized answers, build trust, and offer instant solutions.

Mobile searches, particularly, have made it easier for users to find what they need and call businesses directly from search results. This shift in consumer behavior makes phone calls a vital metric for modern businesses looking to convert leads into sales.

Optimizing Your Google Ads for Call Campaigns

If you want to drive more calls, optimizing your Google Ads for call campaigns is essential. Here are a few key steps to ensure your ads are set up for success:

Set up call extensions: Call extensions are one of the easiest ways to add a phone number to your ads. By displaying your number alongside the ad, users can call your business directly without visiting your website.
Enable call-only ads: Call-only ads are specifically designed to drive calls, making it impossible for users to click through to your website. This is especially effective for businesses looking to generate phone leads.

Using Call Extensions for Increased Visibility

Call extensions help your ads stand out by including your phone number directly in the ad copy. This not only makes it easier for customers to call you but also increases the likelihood of clicks from users who are ready to contact you. Here’s how to make the most of call extensions:

Ensure your phone number is easy to read and dial.
Use call tracking to measure the effectiveness of your call extensions.
Include a strong call-to-action (CTA) in your ad copy, like "Call Now for a Free Quote."

Crafting Compelling Call-Only Ads

Writing ads that encourage users to call your business requires a different approach. You want your ad copy to be clear, concise, and action-driven. Here are some tips for crafting compelling call-only ads:

Use attention-grabbing headlines.
Make your offer irresistible (e.g., "Call Now for 20% Off!").
Focus on urgency by including words like "today" or "now."

Targeting the Right Audience for Call Campaigns

Not everyone who sees your ad is likely to call, so it's important to focus your targeting on the right audience. Use demographic targeting to zero in on the types of people who are most likely to call your business.

Additionally, ad scheduling is crucial. If your business only answers calls during specific hours, make sure your ads only appear when someone is available to take those calls. This avoids wasting ad spend on calls that can't be answered.

Using Location-Based Targeting for Local Calls

Local businesses can benefit greatly from geo-targeting in Google Ads. By showing ads to users in specific locations, you increase the chances of receiving calls from nearby customers. To set up location-based ads:

Choose a radius around your business location.
Use local-specific ad copy (e.g., “Serving customers in [city name]”).

Adjusting Bids for Better Call Volume

Calls are typically more valuable than clicks, so it’s often worth adjusting your bids to prioritize calls. Here’s how you can optimize your bidding strategy:

Increase bids for mobile devices since mobile searchers are more likely to call.
Use bid adjustments to prioritize times of day when calls are most frequent.

Analyzing and Improving Call Performance

Tracking and analyzing your call performance is essential to improving your Google Ads strategy. Google Ads provides detailed reports on how your call ads are performing, but you need to know what to look for:

Review metrics like call duration and conversion rate.
Use these insights to tweak your ads, targeting, and bidding strategy for better results.

Integrating Google Analytics for Deeper Insights

To get an even clearer picture of your call performance, integrate Google Analytics with your Google Ads account. This allows you to track phone call conversions more accurately and understand which ads are driving the most valuable calls.

The Role of Keywords in Driving Calls

The keywords you target play a critical role in driving calls. Focus on keywords that signal high intent, such as "plumber near me" or "emergency locksmith." These types of keywords indicate that the user is ready to take immediate action—like making a call.

Optimizing Landing Pages for Call Conversions

If your ads lead to a landing page, ensure that the page is optimized for calls. This includes having a prominent, clickable phone number, a strong CTA, and a mobile-friendly design. Make it as easy as possible for users to call you.

Enhancing User Experience to Increase Call Rates

Mobile optimization is key. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, users may struggle to find your contact details or experience slow load times, which can drive potential callers away. Ensure your website is fast, user-friendly, and designed for mobile users.

How to track call conversions in Google Ads

1. Enable Call Reporting in Google Ads

First, make sure call reporting is turned on in your account. This allows you to measure and track the performance of phone calls generated by your ads.

Go to your Google Ads dashboard.
Click on Settings in the top-right corner.
Navigate to Account Settings.
Under "Call Reporting," toggle the switch to enable it.

2. Set Up Call Conversions

Next, you'll want to create a new conversion action specifically for phone calls.

Go to the Tools & Settings menu, then click on Conversions under "Measurement."
Click the + New Conversion Action button.
Choose Phone Calls from the options.
You can choose to track calls from ads using call extensions or call-only ads, or track calls made from your website.

3. Customize Call Conversion Settings

When setting up call conversions, customize the following options to suit your business:

Name the conversion action: For example, "Call Leads" or "Call Inquiries."
Set a call duration: Choose how long a call needs to last to be considered a conversion (e.g., 30 seconds or more).
Value of conversions: You can assign a value to each call if you want to track revenue from phone leads.
Include in conversions: Check this box to include the data in your overall conversion tracking.

4. Apply Call Extensions or Call-Only Ads

If you haven’t already, you need to implement call extensions or create call-only ads to encourage users to call your business directly from the ad.

For Call Extensions: Go to the Ads & Extensions tab, click Extensions, and then click the "+" button to create a new call extension.
For Call-Only Ads: Click on Ads & Extensions, then the "+" button, and select Call-only ad.

5. Review Call Conversion Data

Once your ads start running, you can view your call conversion data in your Google Ads dashboard. Here’s how to monitor it:

Click on Campaigns or Ad Groups.
Add the Phone Calls column to your reporting by clicking on the "Columns" icon and choosing Call Details. This will show how many calls your ads generated, the duration of calls, and how many were conversions based on your set criteria.

6. Use Google Analytics for More Insights (Optional)

For deeper tracking, you can integrate Google Ads with Google Analytics. This gives you a clearer picture of how users are interacting with your ads and website before they make a call.

In Google Analytics, go to Admin, then Goals, and create a new goal to track call activity.
Link your Google Ads account to Google Analytics to sync data between the two platforms.

By following these steps, you'll be able to accurately track and measure the effectiveness of phone calls generated by your Google Ads campaigns. This data will help you optimize your campaigns and improve your call conversion rate over time.

Conclusion

Driving more calls from Google Ads is an art, but with the right strategies, it's one you can master. From optimizing call-only ads and extensions to targeting the right audience and analyzing your performance, there are numerous ways to increase call volume and grow your business. The key is to continually monitor and adjust your campaigns to meet your goals.

FAQs

How can I track calls from Google Ads?
You can use call tracking features within Google Ads, such as call conversion tracking, to measure how many users are calling your business directly from your ads.
What’s the difference between call-only ads and call extensions?
Call-only ads focus solely on driving phone calls, while call extensions add a phone number to your regular search ads.
How do I know if my call ads are working?
Analyze metrics like call volume, duration, and conversions to determine how well your call campaigns are performing.
Is there a budget recommendation for call campaigns?
The budget depends on your business goals, but it’s a good idea to allocate more budget toward call campaigns if phone leads are valuable to your business.
What’s the best way to optimize my bids for calls?
Focus on mobile bids and use bid adjustments to prioritize times when you’re most likely to receive calls.