For many Australian small businesses—from plumbers in Chermside to law firms in the CBD—phone calls are the lifeblood of the company. If you’re spending money on Google Ads but only tracking form submissions, you’re likely missing 50% or more of your conversion data. Setting up call tracking ensures you know exactly which keyword, ad, and campaign triggered that high-value phone call.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the three main ways to track calls: from your ads, from your website, and from mobile clicks.
Prerequisites: What You’ll Need Before We Start
Before we dive into the Google Ads dashboard, make sure you have these ready:- Administrative access to your Google Ads account.
- Access to your website’s backend (or your developer on standby) to install a small snippet of code.
- Google Tag Manager (GTM) installed on your site (this is our preferred method—it makes life much easier).
- A valid Australian phone number displayed clearly on your website.
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Step 1: Understand the "Google Forwarding Number"
Before we click any buttons, you need to know how this works. Google uses "Dynamic Number Insertion" (DNI). When someone clicks your ad and lands on your site, Google replaces your actual Brisbane landline or mobile number with a unique 1300 or 1800 forwarding number.When a customer dials that 1300 number, it rings through to your office as normal, but Google records it as a conversion.
Pro Tip: Some business owners worry that using a 1300 number instead of a local (07) number will hurt trust. In our experience at Local Marketing Group, the data insights you gain far outweigh any minor dip in local feel. Plus, most users barely notice the change.Step 2: Create a Conversion Action for Calls from Ads
This is the easiest type of tracking. It tracks when someone clicks the "Call" button directly on your ad (Call Extensions) without even visiting your website.- Log into your Google Ads account.
- In the left-hand menu, click Goals > Conversions > Summary.
- Click the blue + New conversion action button.
- Select Phone calls from the four options provided.
- Choose Calls from ads using call extensions or call-only ads.
- Click Continue.
Step 3: Set Your Call Length Threshold
This is where most people get stuck. Google asks for a "Call length". This is the minimum duration a call must last to be counted as a "conversion". Our advice: Set this to 30 or 60 seconds. Why? You don't want to pay for a "conversion" if someone dials the wrong number or hangs up after 5 seconds. A 60-second call usually means a real conversation happened. If you’re a high-volume business, you might even set this to 120 seconds to filter for quality.Step 4: Setting Up Calls to a Phone Number on Your Website
This is the "Holy Grail" of tracking. It tracks people who click your ad, browse your site, and then dial the number they see on the screen.- Go back to New conversion action > Phone calls.
- Select Calls to a phone number on your website.
- Click Continue.
- Enter your details: Name it "Website Call Tracking". Set your call length (as discussed in Step 3).
- Tag Setup: You will be given three options. Choose Use Google Tag Manager.
- Copy the Conversion ID and Conversion Label. You’ll need these for the next step.
Step 5: Configure Google Tag Manager (The Technical Bit)
Don't let the word "technical" scare you. If you have GTM installed, this is just a game of copy-paste. (If you don't have GTM, contact us and we can help you get it sorted in minutes).- Open Google Tag Manager.
- Create a New Tag.
- Tag Type: Google Ads Calls from Website Conversion.
- Enter the Phone Number to Replace. This must match exactly how the number appears on your site (e.g., if your site says 07 3000 0000, type it exactly like that).
- Paste your Conversion ID and Conversion Label from Step 4.
- Set the trigger to All Pages.
- Hit Save and Submit your changes.
Step 6: Verify Your Tracking is Working
This is the most frustrating part because you can't always see it immediately. Google's forwarding numbers only appear when a user has arrived via a Google Ad. The "Cheat Code" to test it:- Go to your website.
- In the URL bar, add
?_gtm_debug=1to the end of your address and hit enter. - Alternatively, use the Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension.
- The most reliable way? Search for your own business on Google, click your ad (yes, it will cost you a couple of dollars), and see if the number on your site changes to a 1300 or 1800 number. If it changes, it’s working!
Step 7: Optimising Based on Call Data
Once the data starts rolling in (give it 2–4 weeks), go to your Campaigns tab in Google Ads. Add a segment for Conversions > Conversion Action.You’ll now see which campaigns are driving calls vs. form fills.
Pro Tip: You might find that "Emergency Plumber Brisbane" drives heaps of calls, while "Bathroom Renovation Ideas" drives mostly form fills. You can now shift your budget toward the keywords that actually make your phone ring.---
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Hardcoding the number into images: Google cannot replace a phone number if it is part of an image or a graphic. It must be plain text HTML.
- Wrong Phone Format: If your website shows the number as
(07) 3000 0000but you told Google Ads it was0730000000, the replacement will fail. They must be identical matches. - Forgetting the Conversion Linker: In Google Tag Manager, make sure you have a "Conversion Linker" tag set to fire on all pages. Without this, tracking on modern browsers (like Safari) will be highly inaccurate.
Troubleshooting
- The number isn't changing: Check if you have any other scripts (like CallRail or WildJar) conflicting with Google. Also, ensure your ABN and business verification are completed in Google Ads, as some tracking features are restricted for unverified accounts.
- Too many "Wrong Numbers": If you’re getting calls for a different business, someone might have had that Google forwarding number before you. It's rare, but it happens. If it persists, contact Google support to reset your forwarding pool.
- Low Call Volume in Reports: Check your "Call Length" threshold. If it's set to 120 seconds but most of your leads are quick 45-second bookings, Google won't count them.
Next Steps
Now that your calls are being tracked, you’re ahead of 80% of your competitors. The next step is to look into Call Recording or Lead Scoring to ensure those calls are actually turning into revenue.If this feels a bit too "fiddly" or you’d rather spend your time running your business, we do this every day for businesses across Queensland. You can reach out to the team at Local Marketing Group and we’ll handle the entire technical setup for you.