Google Ads Call Ads: Getting Calls Instead of Clicks

This guide uses Google Ads Help and Google's advertising policies only: About call ads, How to transition from call ads to call assets, How to achieve optimal performance from call assets, About call assets, About call campaigns and the policy page Call ad requirements, plus the pages linked in each section. Checked on 8 November 2026.

Call ads are being retired: Google's dates

Google's About call ads page now opens with two dates:

• February 2026: "All options to create new call ads will be removed."
• February 2027: "Existing call ads will stop receiving impressions."

Google's advice is to add your phone numbers "to responsive search ads as call assets", and it "strongly" recommends migrating now rather than waiting for the cut-off. Some older Help pages, such as Create call campaigns, still list the steps for creating a call ad. The dated notice is the newer statement, so plan on the basis that you cannot create new call ads now and that any you still run will stop showing in February 2027.

If you have never used call ads, the rest of this guide still applies: the goal of getting phone calls instead of website visits is now served by call assets attached to responsive search ads.

What a call ad is

A call ad (Google also calls them call-only ads) is a Search ad built around a phone number. Google's policy page describes call ads as "text ads that include a phone number and are designed to encourage calls rather than clicks", and says they "appear exclusively on mobile phones". Tapping the Call button opens the phone's dialer with your number, or a Google forwarding number if call reporting is on.

A call ad has its own fields, with these limits from Google's page (double-width languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean have half the space):

• Two optional headlines, 30 characters each
• Business name, 25 characters
• Phone number
• Description line 1, 90 characters, and an optional line 2, 90 characters
• Display path, 15 characters per part
• Final URL (optional) and a verification URL: a page that shows the same phone number, used only to verify the ad

The Final URL changes how the ad behaves. Google's call campaigns page explains that with no Final URL the ad only allows clicks to call, so your cost per click "should match the value you would place on a phone call from your ad", and calls appear in the Clicks column. With a Final URL, a tap on the headline or description opens your site and the Call button still places a call, and both kinds of click are counted together.

Call assets: what replaces them

A call asset adds your number to a normal Search ad instead of replacing the ad. On phones it shows a call button. On desktop it shows a "Call us" button that reveals the number and a QR code that opens a phone's dialer. Google charges a tap on the call button the same as a headline click. Assets can be set at account, campaign or ad group level, and Google says call assets run on Search and Smart campaigns. Our guide to sitelinks and other assets covers levels, eligible numbers and verification, so they are not repeated here.

The part that matters for call-focused advertisers is that a call asset can look like a call ad. Google says a call asset "may serve in a button format, similar to a call ad" when the campaign:

• uses responsive search ads,
• has a call asset eligible to serve,
• optimizes bids towards a call conversion, and
• uses Smart Bidding strategies like Target CPA or Maximize conversions.

If you do not want that format, Google says you can turn it off by changing any of those conditions. Like every asset, a call asset does not show with every impression; Google decides per auction.

Moving from call ads to call assets

Google's transition page gives these steps:

1. Add your business name to the account or campaign settings.
2. Add every phone number you need as a call asset, following the call asset policy.
3. Create or edit a responsive search ad in the same ad group and add the call asset through "More Asset Types".
4. Once the responsive search ad is approved and performing, remove the old call ad.

Two practical points follow. First, a call ad's keywords stay with the ad group, so the new responsive search ad inherits them; check the ad group's search terms before you switch. Second, a responsive search ad sends taps on the headline to a web page, so the page must make calling easy too: the number visible and tappable, matching the number in the asset.

Bidding and goals for calls

Google's checklist for call assets (How to achieve optimal performance from call assets) is short:

• Turn on call reporting for your campaigns.
• Mark the conversion action mapped to your call asset as primary. By default the "Calls from ads" action sits in the Phone call lead goal; change it from Secondary to Primary under Goals, Summary, Edit settings.
• If you only want phone call leads, remove all other goals from the campaign settings.
• If the campaign has several conversion goals, Google recommends "Maximize conversion value" and a conversion value that reflects what a good call is worth to you.
• Add at least 2 images to the responsive search ad, link your Google Business Profile if you have one, and add business hours to the call asset.

Counting calls changes automated bidding: Google notes on the call assets page that "Counting call conversions might affect your bids if you're using auto-bidding." Set a minimum call length that separates real enquiries from short or wrong-number calls. How each kind of call conversion works, and how to import calls that became sales, is in our call tracking guide; bid strategies in general are in budgets and bidding.

Numbers, business name and answering the phone

The policy page for call ads sets rules that are easy to miss:

• The business name must be accurate and must not contain promotional language. Google's examples of what is not allowed: "Buy Acme Shoes" or "Sale at Acme Home Services". A domain can be used as the name with spaces ("Acme Solutions"), and resellers should say so ("Acme of San Antonio").
• When answering calls from the ad, "advertisers must begin the call by stating their business name, as it appears in their call ads." Brief whoever answers the phone, including an answering service.
• Numbers must be accurate, active and relevant to the business, and Google must verify them before they can be used in ads and assets.

In some countries you can use numbers that do not cost the same as a local call (Google lists the prefixes per country). Google adds a disclaimer that additional charges may apply when someone taps the button. In India, callers can also choose a "missed call" option, after which Google calls both the user and your business and connects them.

Showing your number only when someone can answer

Google's Set up your call ads for success page is blunt: "Don't waste your money and your users' time by generating a call you can't accept." There are two tools:

• The campaign's ad schedule, which limits when the whole ad shows. Our ad schedule guide covers time zones, bid adjustments and how to read the hour-of-day report.
• The call asset's own schedule, under Advanced options, which shows the number only on chosen days and hours while the ad itself keeps running. This is the better fit when the website can still take enquiries out of hours.

Google also reminds advertisers that the account's time zone may not match the customers', and suggests using call length and time data from call reporting to staff the phones for peak times.

Call data, call details forwarding and recording terms

Call reporting uses Google forwarding numbers to record calls from ads; our call tracking guide explains what it reports and in which countries it works. Two extra pieces apply mainly to businesses with a call centre or a call tracking provider:

• Call details forwarding. According to About call details forwarding, it sends the campaign, ad group and click ID with the call, in the call's SIP headers, so calls can be scored and routed in real time and sales reported back through offline conversion import. It needs account-level call reporting and one of the providers Google lists: CallRail, CallTrackingMetrics, Delacon, DialogTech, Infinity, Invoca, Jet Interactive or Walmeric. You turn it on under Admin, Account settings, Call reporting, "Send real-time information about my calls". Details are only shared for calls to numbers supplied by that provider.
• Call Ads Supplemental Terms. When you add a call asset, Google shows a notice that by continuing you agree to the Call Ads Supplemental Terms. Google states these "are currently applicable to advertisers in the United States." Under them Google "may monitor and record a sample of telephone calls" made through its ads, and you confirm that the people who answer have been told and have consented. Google says a HIPAA covered entity or business associate "should not accept these Supplemental Terms" and should ask Google to be excluded from monitoring and recording instead. If that may apply to you, ask your own adviser before adding call assets.

Call recording itself is a setting you control in the Google Ads account settings.

When calls drop or the wrong people call

Google's page About access restrictions for call ads and call assets explains that call ads and assets may get fewer impressions, or none, in sensitive areas (its example is remote technical support) or on keywords "determined to be at high risk for abuse" (its example: "Medicare Support Number"). Restrictions "may depend on your payment history with Google", and "Increasing bids won't improve the performance" of restricted ads.

Unwanted calls usually come from broad keywords. Google's About unwanted calls page gives the example of a home security provider bidding on "security" and getting calls from people searching "social security". The fix is a tighter keyword list and negative keywords; Google also notes you can disable the call ad or call asset.

A checklist for call-focused campaigns

The settings are Google's; the order is our suggestion:

1. List any call ads still running and plan their replacement well before February 2027.
2. Add the business name and verified call assets, then add them to responsive search ads in the same ad groups.
3. Turn on call reporting, set a minimum call length and make "Calls from ads" a primary conversion.
4. Schedule the call asset to the hours someone answers, in the customers' time zone.
5. Brief the people answering: business name first, as shown in the ad.
6. After a few weeks, read the search terms and remove the searches that produce wrong calls.
7. Remove the old call ads once the new ads are approved and getting calls.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still create a call ad in Google Ads?

No. Google's About call ads page says all options to create new call ads were removed in February 2026, and existing call ads will stop receiving impressions in February 2027.

What is the difference between a call ad and a call asset?

A call ad is a separate mobile-only ad built around a phone number. A call asset adds a phone number to a normal Search ad, with a call button on phones and a "Call us" button on desktop. Google recommends moving to call assets on responsive search ads.

Can a call asset look like a call ad?

Yes. Google says a call asset may serve in a button format similar to a call ad when the campaign uses responsive search ads, has an eligible call asset, optimizes bids towards a call conversion and uses Smart Bidding such as Target CPA or Maximize conversions.

Does a tap on the call button cost more than a click?

No. Google charges a tap on the call button the same as a headline click, at the normal cost per click.

Can I show my phone number only during business hours?

Yes. A call asset has its own schedule under Advanced options, and the campaign's ad schedule limits the whole ad. Google recommends showing the number only when someone can answer.

A call only turns into work if the ad, the page and the person answering all say the same thing. See our website development service and all our services, or email [email protected].