Call Extensions
Call extensions is an ad extension to your Google Text Ads, where your core ad will still drive users to your website, however you add in your phone number to your search text ad. In this case, you can see the phone number appear right next to the display URL.
Pros of Call Extensions
- Your ad will continue to drive users to your website, and you will give the option to have users call your business – if that’s what they prefer
- Your ads will be more pronounced (more information to share)
- You can enable call reporting which Google will share how many calls you’ve received from your ads
Cons of Call Extensions
- They are not guaranteed to show every time. As with all ad extensions, they will show some (maybe most) of the time, but are not guaranteed to show all of the time.
- If you’re looking to only drive calls, this isn’t the ad format for you, as a small percent of users will click on the number – vs. the link to your website.
Call Only Ads
Call Only Ads is an ad format where the entire purpose is to get users to call your business. As you can see in the screenshot below, the phone number is the main call to action. Upon click, users will call the business, and not go to their website.
Pros of Call Only Ads
- Call Only ads work great if you’re just looking to drive phone calls and don’t care about site visitors.
- As with other search text ads, you only pay if someone clicks on the search ads
- As with call ad extensions, you can enable call reporting which Google will share how many calls you’ve received from your ads
Cons of Call Only Ads
- The only downside of call only ads is you won’t get visitors to your site. Some users still may prefer to visit a website vs. call, for these users you’ll miss out on their traffic.
To summarize, if your business is just looking for the phone to ring, use call only ads. This will be the most effective form of search advertising. However, if you want to drive users to your website, but want to give the option for users to call your business from the ad, use call extensions.
Advanced Tips
Google Call Reporting
Whenever you’re using call extensions or call only ads, I strongly recommend to use Google’s call reporting. This will be critical to see the effectiveness of your ads (i.e. how many calls you’re receiving from your advertising).
CallRail
For advertisers who are spending a decent amount of investment on search campaigns, I would strongly recommend to use a call reporting platform like CallRail for even more visibility of the effectiveness of your campaigns. For example, through CallRail you’ll be able to record the phone calls driven by your ads, so then you can listen to hear how qualified these calls were.
Day Parting
It’s important that you setup day parting to only schedule the call extensions (or call only campaigns) to serve when your team is available to take calls.
Helpful Google Ads Resources
For more helpful resources, check out the blog posts and articles below.
Google Ads Support
Google Ads Management
Google Ads How to Guides
Google Ads Optimization Tips
- Top 14 Google Ads Search Optimization Tips
- Auction Insights: What are they and how to make them actionable
- Google Search Partners
- AdWords Express vs. Google Ads
- Google Ads and SEO Synergies
- Google Ads – Questions and Answers
- Keyword Expansion Tip
- Google Search Ad Copy – Best Practices
- Top 5 Critical Search Settings to Check
- Google Customer Match
- In-Market Audiences
Google Ad Formats
