Editor's note: This article is cross-posted from from the AdWords blog.
How did you find us? There's a good reason so many business surveys include this question: understanding how people connect with your business is important. When people search for local businesses on Google, they may want to check out a website, but there's a good chance they'll want to just give you a call. That's why we initially launched call reporting for AdWords customers—to help businesses use search to connect with people over the phone. Now, we're expanding this feature to AdWords Express customers so local businesses can benefit as well. Call reporting allows you to quantify the offline value of your ads by seeing how many phone calls your ads generate.
How search ads can make your phones ring
When you sign up for call reporting, we will replace the phone number in your Google Search ads across desktop, mobile, and tablet with a toll-free Google forwarding number. When customers call this number, we’ll automatically forward the call to your business and report in your dashboard that the call was made. This allows you to keep track of how many calls your ad is generating for your business. You can see it all right in your AdWords Express dashboard.
Okay, I’m in! How can I do this?
To edit your call reporting preferences, go to your AdWords Express dashboard. Click the ‘Manage your ads’ tab and you’ll see a checkbox for call reporting. If this is selected, on your dashboard you will see calls in addition to clicks and views for your ad.
Currently, call reporting is available for US businesses using AdWords Express. For more information on how it works, set up, and pricing, please visit the AdWords Express Help Center.
