If your business depends on phone leads, chances are you’ve had one of those debates—the kind that starts with a three-word question and spirals into a deep dive through best practices, guides, and YouTube rabbit holes.
First off, the answer to the first question is a big “yes.” As for the second? Stick around—we’re about to unpack it in this guide.
As a content writer for call tracking software, I’ve seen my fair share of Reddit threads that made me roll my eyes hard enough to worry they’d get stuck. But then I thought: What does Google actually say about call tracking? So, I decided to check it out. Long story short—I felt a little dizzy. Honestly, I get why so many questions pop up; there are definitely blind spots when it comes to tracking calls from Google Ads.
Which brings us to the big question: Calls from Ads vs. Calls from Call Extensions. Should you even choose between them? What are the pros and cons? And, most importantly, what should you expect from each?
Let’s break it all down.
Google Ads call tracking methods, explained
When it comes to call tracking in Google Ads, things can feel a bit technical—but don’t worry, we’ll break it down step by step.
First, what is Google Ads phone call conversion tracking?
At its core, Google Ads phone call conversion tracking is a conversion tracking method that helps businesses monitor and measure phone calls generated by their Google Ads campaigns. Whether a user calls directly from an ad (aka call extension) or clicks through to your site and makes the call later, this method gives you the data you need to understand how phone leads impact your overall ROI.
By tracking this engagement, businesses can:
- Pinpoint which ads or campaigns are driving phone calls.
- Fine-tune their marketing strategies to maximize returns.
- Gain insights into user behavior to improve customer interactions.
Where Can You Track Calls in Google Ads?
Google Ads provides two primary methods for tracking phone leads:
- Tracking calls from Call Extensions
- Tracking calls from website
Let’s dive into how each of these methods works and why they are essential for optimizing your phone-based leads.
Method #1 Track calls from Google Ads call extensions
Call extensions are a feature on Google Ads. These extensions are clickable buttons that are displayed, alongside the ad copy. A nice little convenience, that makes it easier for potential customers to call you directly. It’s simpler and especially valuable for businesses that rely heavily on phone leads. Service-based companies are a good example.
Here’s how it works:
- When a user searches for a relevant keyword, your ad appears, complete with a click-to-call button.
- The user initiates a call by clicking the button.
- Platforms like Google Ads can track this interaction, reporting metrics such as the number of calls, call duration, and even whether the call was answered.
If you own a roofing company, you can run ads targeting homeowners searching for “roof repair near me.” By using call extensions, they can encourage immediate action. Users connect with you in one tap, bypassing the need to visit a page or fill out a form.
While Google provides some basic call tracking capabilities, as mentioned above, using a third-party call tracking tool, provides far greater data, insights, and features like call recording, transcriptions, AI-generated summaries, call flows, and automations.
Method 2# Track calls from website
Tracking calls from your website is a whole different ballgame and works as a complementary strategy to call extensions. It’s designed to capture calls from users who visit your site after interacting with an ad. These users might not pick up the phone right away—they’re often in research mode, gathering more details before making a decision.
This method helps bridge the gap by tracking their entire journey. Think of it as connecting the dots between multiple touchpoints: repeat visits from paid channels, different campaigns, soft conversions like downloading a brochure or signing up for a newsletter, and eventually, the ultimate conversion—a phone call. By tracking these interactions, you gain a clearer picture of how your ads are driving real-world actions and fine-tune your strategy to meet your audience where they are.
Here’s how it works:
A user sees your ad, clicks it, and lands on your website. Even if they don’t call immediately, your Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI) script prepares for this possibility.
Dynamic Number Insertion is essentially a piece of JavaScript code that you place on your website. It assigns a unique, dynamic phone number to each visitor based on their source (e.g., Google Ads, organic search). When the user decides to call, the dynamic number connects the action directly to the ad that brought them there.
By using DNI, you can gather key data about the user, including:
- The specific ad that led them to your site.
- Their interaction history, such as pages visited and time spent on the site.
- Whether their session resulted in a call and how long the call lasted.
All this data allows you to tie each phone call to a specific ad campaign and gives you the full view of a customer’s journey. It’s valuable data for marketing optimization and website improvement.
Call extension call tracking vs. website call tracking: Pros & cons
Here, we have a table with all the pros and cons of call extension call tracking and web page call tracking. It will help, as we reach a verdict further down.
| Call Extension Call Tracking | Website Call Tracking | |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking Method | Directly tracks calls made from the ad itself. | Tracks calls made from the website using dynamic number insertion (DNI). |
| Setup Complexity | Relatively easy to set up within Google Ads. | More complex setup requiring adding the DNI script or install it via WordPress plugin (if you’re using WordPress) |
| Call Timing | Tracks immediate calls directly from ads. | Tracks calls that may happen hours or days after the ad interaction. |
| Insights Provided | Provides data like call duration, location, and conversions. | Tracks the full customer journey, including multiple touchpoints. |
| Ideal Use Case | Best for campaigns targeting emergencies or situations where potential leads need your services immediately, such as plumbing or roadside assistance. | Perfect for broader, service-focused campaigns where potential leads have the time to research, compare options, and evaluate competitors before deciding. |
| Key Advantage | Simple and effective for tracking ad-driven calls. | Provides deeper insights into customer behavior and delayed actions. |
| Key Limitation | Limited to calls made directly from the ad. | Requires technical implementation and is less immediate. |
The final choice, calls from ads or calls from call extensions?
When deciding between call extensions and web page call tracking, it’s important to recognize that these methods serve different purposes while working toward the same goal: providing actionable insights about your phone leads.
Call Extensions: For Instant Gratification
Call extension tracking is ideal for capturing immediate, high-intent leads—those who are ready to take action right from the ad. It’s perfect for campaigns targeting urgent needs, such as emergency services or time-sensitive offers. You get real-time data on call volume, duration, and conversions, which helps you optimize your ads for immediate results.
Web Page Call Tracking: For the Bigger Picture
Web page call tracking goes a step further, connecting phone leads to their full user journey. By using dynamic number insertion, you can trace how users interact with your site, understand their touchpoints, and tie calls to specific campaigns or traffic sources. This method is invaluable for campaigns with longer consideration phases, such as high-ticket services or research-heavy industries.
So… what’s wrong with the calls from ads vs calls from call extensions debate?
The debate between “calls from ads” and “calls from call extensions” often stems from a misunderstanding of their purpose and functionality. While they seem like competing methods, the reality is that they serve distinct roles in a comprehensive call tracking strategy. Here’s why this debate misses the point:
Here’s why this debate misses the point:
1. It Creates a False Choice: The debate assumes you need to choose one method over the other, but in practice, they complement each other. Calls from ads (via call extensions) are excellent for capturing immediate, high-intent leads, while web page call tracking (calls from ads after users visit your website) provides insights into more complex user journeys. Using both allows businesses to cover all bases and maximize their data.
2. It Overlooks Different Buyer Behaviors: Not all leads behave the same way. Some prospects will call directly from an ad when urgency drives their decision, while others will need time to explore your website and research your offering. By pitting these two methods against each other, the debate fails to account for these differences in user behavior and risks leaving valuable leads untracked.
3. It Misses the Bigger Picture: Holistic Tracking: The ultimate goal of call tracking is to gather actionable insights that improve your marketing performance. Whether a call comes directly from an ad or after multiple touchpoints, both methods feed valuable data into your campaigns. Instead of debating, the focus should be on how to integrate these tools to gain a complete view of your leads’ behavior.
4. It Can Lead to Misaligned Campaign Strategies: Focusing on “either-or” thinking might lead marketers to overlook the nuances of their campaigns. For example:
- Emergency services benefit more from call extensions because timing is critical.
- High-consideration purchases benefit from web page call tracking, as users often require more research.
Ignoring these distinctions could lead to misaligned strategies and lost opportunities.
The real answer?
Calls from ads and calls from call extensions aren’t competitors—they’re allies in building a robust, data-driven marketing strategy.
Combining both provides the most comprehensive solution for tracking and optimizing phone leads. Here’s how to make them work together:
- Capture Immediate Leads with Call Extensions: Use call extensions to seize high-intent leads right from your ads. Track metrics like call duration, location, and outcomes to fine-tune your targeting and ad copy.
- Understand the Full Journey with Web Page Call Tracking: Implement dynamic number insertion to track calls originating from your website. This gives you deeper insights into multi-touchpoint journeys and delayed conversions.
- Optimize Continuously: Leverage the data from both methods to improve ad performance. Analyze call recordings, adjust keywords, and refine targeting based on what’s working.
- Improve Google ads algorithm performance: Google’s ad algorithms thrive on data. By feeding it with high-quality lead information from your combined tracking efforts, you enable it to deliver better results over time, boosting your ROI and ROAS.
Takeaway
Taking a glance at Google’s guides can make you think that Google Ads phone call conversion tracking is complex and difficult. Hopefully, this article has changed your mind and helped you in a meaningful way.
Adopting both call extension and web page call tracking, you’ll not only gain better insights into your phone leads but also supercharge your marketing performance. At the end of it, it’s all up to your business goals and marketing strategy. If you don’t need deep data or don’t want to bother with landing pages, then call extension call tracking is your to-go choice. Otherwise, web page call tracking, or preferably a combination of both, will give you the complete picture of your conversions’ source and journey.
