Industries that rely on services profit greatly from receiving call inquiries from potential customers. Consumers searching for local services tend to have mobile devices, and if phone call campaigns are used wisely, a lot can be gained. Call-only campaigns on Google Ads are one widely overlooked method that may help.
This type of advertisement is ideal for businesses that wish to speak to their clients directly because it focuses on driving calls to the business. In this article, we will explore why Google Call Only ads are so effective and how you can use them to generate better leads.
What is a call-only ad?
As with most things, let’s start with the basics. Call-only ads are only shown on mobile devices. Unlike typical ads, which are not business-specific, these show the caller’s phone number with the possibility of calling them directly with a click. Prior to call-only ads, customers had to click on the ad, then navigate the website, look for a number, and then call.
It’s quite easy to see the many steps a customer had to go through in attempting to sort out the problem and how simple it is to disregard the problem completely. Call-only ads allow a customer to call with ease, which increases the chances of them actually calling the business and thus the rate of converting those customers increases rapidly.
Setting up call-only ads is really simple
Create a New Campaign Option: Log into Google Ads and select a lead or sale goal, and choose some of the suggested options like performing a search, then clicking on your ad and choosing the call option.
Set up location targeting: Ad placement refers to the regions you want your ads to show or post in. Change the setting to people in or regularly in your targeted locations to ensure that your ads are only shown to people who actually live in the region.
Create Ad Groups: Create ad groups segmented by specific areas or services if you operate in various locations. This enables better messaging and budget management.
Craft Your Ad Copy: Emphasize your services along with a clear call to action, such as “Call Now for a Free Quote.” It is also important to include relevant keywords in your headers that correspond to the user’s intent.
Set Up Conversion Tracking: Identify what counts as a successful call in terms of conversion actions. Avoid irrelevant metrics like page visits; focus instead on calls of a certain duration that are deemed leads.
How to Optimize Google Ads for Phone Call Interactions
With call-only ads being discontinued, having a dedicated Google Ads strategy for getting people to call leads is essential.
1. Set Up Conversion Tracking
Begin by setting up call tracking for your Google Ads account to track conversions, then optimize the campaigns based on call volume. To begin tracking phone call conversions, navigate to the call settings on your account and check the box for “Conversions from phone calls.”
Then, on the next page, click on “Phone call lead,” followed by “Calls from ads.” Be aware that this conversion action is limited to tracking clicks on the call assets only. For “Calls from website visits,” repeat the steps outlined previously.
This allows you to gather conversion metrics when a potential client sees your advertisement, goes to the landing page, and subsequently calls your company through the website. Don’t forget to apply the new conversion goal(s) to your ad campaign settings and select phone calls as the primary method to achieve your campaign goals.
2. Enable Call Reporting
Now, enable the call reporting function on Google Ads. By enabling this option, calls to your business will be made through a Google forwarding number.
From a customer’s perspective, they will be directly dialing your business. However, because that number is used, Google Ads is enabled to track metrics such as the recipient’s number and the duration of the call.
We’ll discuss what to do with the data below. Before that, turn on call reporting in your account settings. You have the option of saving call recordings to review later. You may also be able to sync call information with your preferred analytics software for additional analysis and insights.
3. Add Call Assets
After enabling call assets, you may add them to search and PMax campaigns. Access your account’s assets and add a new call asset. Enter your phone number and associate the call conversion action that you set up earlier. As a rule, Google Ads gives out call assets at the account level. But you can opt to assign them to a specific campaign or ad group instead.
Place frequently used assets, which you will use in different campaigns, at the account level. Place those with custom phone numbers or schedules (explained later) at the campaign or ad group level. After that, add the call assets to your search or PMax campaigns.
4. Schedule Call Assets During Business Hours
While optimizing ads for calls, it is crucial that the phone is answered when your team is available to pick up the call. If not, precious marketing spend will be wasted, and valuable potential customers may be lost.
Instead, you can limit ad visibility to only during business hours. However, that is not the best approach. Select your call asset, then navigate to “Advanced options.” There, specify the days and hours you wish for the asset to appear in ads.
This way, your ads will still run on the campaign schedule you set. However, when call assets are not eligible to be shown, ads will instead funnel prospects to your website.
5. Add More Call Bid Adjustments
If your intent is to increase the number of calls received at the expense of website visits originating from your search ads, you should revise the bidding strategy for these interactions. With call bid adjustments, you choose to bid more for phone call engagements, thereby increasing the chances of showing your call assets in mobile ads.
To make advanced bid changes, go to your account’s advanced bid adjustments. Navigate to the desired campaign and search for the “calls” interaction type. After performing the initial math, input the bid optimization and check the calculations before committing. For example, in the case of a $1 bid being increased by 50%, the revised bid would be $1.50.
6. Refine Your Location Targeting
When you want to draw customers from within or outside your city to your business, you need to get more precise about the area that you wish to target. In order to get location targeting, specify your service area.
This can be an entire city, a metropolitan region, a whole state, or even a couple of postal codes. The more you enhance your hyper-geographic targeting, the better you spend on your ads. Additionally, you can gather more detailed information and focus on the specific areas in which your marketing performs the best.
7. Work with High-Intent Keywords
Not all search campaigns work with call conversions. For instance, top-of-the-funnel (ToFu) ads geared toward the beginning of the customer journey are likely to generate very few calls.
Conversely, advertisements targeting individuals seeking immediate resolution or purchase have a significantly higher likelihood of eliciting calls. To increase the number of calls, create ad groups for phrases that are highly specific to actions.
You can download high-value intent keywords directly from Google Ads. Look at the reports on keywords and check keywords that have the highest value returns in terms of phone calls and other important conversions.
8. Identify Calls That Convert
Use your call tracking data and figure out which calls bring in the most value. In your call details report, look at the calls that resulted in closed sales or detailed discussions with the sales representatives.
You can cross the number in the report with the CRM (customer relationship management) system. Additionally, you can filter the report by the duration of the call.
9. Create Remarketing Lists
Call assets are useful for capturing the interest of people at the beginning stages of the buyer’s journey, as they can be used to remind people who have already interacted with the business. To capture these people, create a new segment using GA4.
Access one of the premade segments to address active users or audience non-purchasers and build a custom audience through GA4 templates or even predictive data.
10. Include a Phone Number on the Landing Page
Realizing the functionality of getting calls from search ads is one of the techniques under phone call conversion targeting methods.
After you configure call tracking, Google Ads is able to report conversions for customers who click your ad and call from the landing page.
Why you need to run call-only adverts
Direct Human-to-Human Connection
Customers enjoy talking to sales agents before making a purchase. Even the younger, phone-averse generations would choose to talk with someone instead of waiting for an email reply if given the option. Older people cannot get enough of the phone. Thank goodness for call-only ads. They encourage customers to place a call, which means that a couple of obstructions towards faster sales are collapsed.
Enhance Mobile Experience
Mobile devices have completely taken over web searches. But do you know the one thing that people dread doing on phones? Reading long paragraphs. Call-only ads pretty much give customers the pleasure of summoning you instead of spending several minutes scrolling through your website, which they don’t want to do. And in the current fast-paced society, those few minutes really make a difference. If you want people to take your services, you need to make them as easily contactable as possible to attendees for addressing all their queries.
Precise Targeting
Out of everything Google does right, their analysis of people and serving of ads is the most accurate. This is true for call-only ads as well, which can be tailored to your preferred demographics, location, and time of day. Spend your ad money wisely as opposed to shotgun blasting into the wilderness, where there is no guarantee of a return.
Cost-Effective
In the case of regular Google ads, you have to pay for every click made to your ad. Sadly, for most businesses, this number hovers around a miserable 2.35%. That means for every 100 clicks, sales will stand at a measly 2-3. Now, compare that to the 25-40% we mentioned above and you can clearly see the difference. With call-only ads, payment is only required when a customer calls. This means that out of 100 calls, on average, a business will make 10 to 15 times more sales.
Conversion Tracking
As with other types of Google ads, call-only ads also come equipped with sophisticated conversion monitoring. It allows you to track the effectiveness of your campaign and make the necessary changes to achieve even greater success.
Call-Only Campaigns Advantages
Businesses that wish to get in touch with their clients directly would benefit greatly from call-only ad campaigns. Here are the key advantages offered by call-only ads:
Direct Connection to Customers
Users no longer have to go through various steps to contact the business of their preference. They only need to click on the button and through call-only ads, they can contact the desired business immediately. This is a very important aspect for those in the service industry, where a talk greatly raises the chances of a sale or booking.
Higher Conversion Rates
If a user is searching for a certain service using a mobile phone, chances are that they already have the intent of utilizing the service. Thus, call-only ads, which are meant for users searching for services, tend to outperform traditional search ads. People who dial the number are usually at an advanced stage in their buying decision, which guarantees better leads.
Improved Return on Investment (ROI)
Unlike ads that try to balance between generating traffic on the web and receiving calls, call-only ads have been proven to work best with inquiries. Businesses stand to benefit greatly from the budget that is allocated towards phone call leads, which makes their ad spend more effective.
Localized Targeting Capabilities
With Google Ads, you can specify precise location targeting for your call-only campaigns. That means ads will only be shown to people within certain locations, which is very helpful at converting interested leads into buyers or people who would like to schedule a service.
Final Thoughts
As a summary, Google Call Only Campaigns are highly beneficial to businesses looking to drive more interactions and higher conversions. By focusing on phone calls only, it becomes easier to reach service-based leads who are very likely to convert into customers. It is evident that Call Only Campaigns are beneficial in terms of returning business value and customer spending and driving direct mobile engagement.
Without needing to click through a website, businesses can ensure they capture the most leads possible when speed is crucial. To perform well in Call Only Campaigns, having good ad copy and tracking calls, along with ad targeting, bidding, and keyword optimization, will pay off great dividends.
Komal is a dynamic and results-driven digital marketing professional with a passion for leveraging innovative strategies to drive business growth. Her expertise spans across social media marketing, content creation, SEO optimization, and data analytics, making her a valuable asset in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
