Before you begin
Call ads can use the same phone numbers that you may already be using in your call assets. To learn more about showing phone numbers in your ads, skip to About call assets.
How it works
Call reporting, which is available only on the Search Network, uses Google forwarding numbers (GFNs) to measure the performance of your call asset or call ad. When you turn on call reporting, we’ll assign a Google forwarding phone number to your ad. That way, you’ll be able to see the details of your calls, and count them as conversions.
How a call ad works
- Your ad wins an auction and is shown on the Search Network.
- Someone taps the ad.
- That person’s mobile phone dialer opens with the number set (either your own number or a GFN, depending on your settings).
- The person taps the call button to place the call.
Calls using a GFN should be counted as a phone call in your reporting. Calls where the duration meets the minimum requirement set in your account for a conversion will be reported as a conversion on the date the ad was shown. For example, someone is shown your ad on August 5 and writes down the GFN, but doesn’t call until August 10 and has a 2-minute call with your business. On August 10, you would have one phone call reported and a call conversion reported on August 5 because the call met your 30-second requirement.
When you create your ads, you'll be asked to enter the following information:
- Two headlines (optional, but recommended)
- Your business name
- Your phone number
- Two lines of description text
- A display path (optional)
- A Final URL (optional, but recommended. If provided, will show a user-facing link to the webpage)
- A verification URL, which is the URL of a webpage that includes your business phone number.
These fields are eligible to show when your ad appears on mobile devices, but some may be omitted in order to make the most of the smaller screen space on these devices.
Select assets, including location assets, structured snippet assets, and callout assets, are also eligible to show with your ad. Assets expand your ad with more information and can give your ad greater visibility and prominence on the search results page. Clicks on location assets will send people to your location page. There's no cost to add them, and it is recommended that you add all assets that are relevant to your business. Clicks on your ad (including your asset) will be charged as usual. To learn more about assets, skip to About assets.
Headline clicks on call ads initiate calls directly to your business and don't send customers to your website landing page. When you enter your verification URL, which can be the landing page URL for your business, that's only to verify your ad and phone number. It will not be directly displayed on your ad. To create ads that allow both clicks to call and clicks to your website, you can provide a Final URL which will add a secondary link on your Call Ad that will take users to the landing page you specify.
About the Final URL
While Call ads focus on initiating calls directly to your business, you also have the option of providing a Final URL, which will add a secondary user-facing link to your webpage.
When the “Visit website” link will show
Adding a Final URL won’t guarantee that it will show with your ad all the time. The “Visit website” link will show with your ad when:
- The “Visit website” link is predicted to improve your performance.
- Your ad’s position and Ad Rank is high enough for assets to show. To show the “Visit website” link, Google Ads requires a minimum Ad Rank.
Call ads are available only for campaigns on the Search Network.
| Information | Example ad | Limit for most languages | Limit for double-width* languages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline 1 (optional) | Headline 1 | 30 characters | 15 characters |
| Headline 2 (optional) | Headline 2 | 30 characters | 15 characters |
| Business name | Business name | 25 characters | 12 characters |
| Phone number | Call: (555) 555-5555 | none | none |
| Description line 1 | Description line 1 | 90 characters | 45 characters |
| Description line 2 (optional) | Description line 2 | 90 characters | 45 characters |
| Display path (2) |
www.example.com Note: The display path will populate with the domain used in either the Final URL or the Verification URL depending what is provided in the creative. |
15 characters | 7 characters |
| Verification URL | www.example.com/contact | None | None |
* Double-width languages are languages that use double-width characters like Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
