Call tracking for Google Ads: Time to unlock smarter bidding

When marketers talk about Google Ads, most of the focus tends to go toward clicks and online form fills. But that’s only half the story. If your strategy ignores phone calls, you're likely missing your most valuable leads, but call tracking for Google Ads will change that.

Calls are often 10x more likely to convert than inbound web leads. They’re higher intent, more urgent, and callers are typically further along their decision-making journey. If you want to improve your performance on Google Ads, you need visibility into what happens after someone picks up the phone.

So, call tracking systems are no longer a “nice to have” if you’re a marketer in a call-centric business – it’s an essential tool that’ll help you improve your paid ads strategy! Read on to find out more ⏬

Google Ads call tracking vs. call tracking software

Google does offer native call tracking but it has its limits. If you’re handling low volumes of calls, Google’s solution might be enough. But once you scale, the cracks start to show:

• You can’t see why someone called (sales or support?)
• There’s no visibility into the outcome of the call
• It doesn’t provide insight into intent, tone, or lead quality

On the flipside, call tracking software gives you full visibility:

• Understand which campaigns drive high-value calls
• Distinguish between qualified leads vs. non-sales calls
• Feed call intent and outcome data into platforms like Google Ads for smarter bidding

As privacy changes limit visibility across the rest of the customer journey, the difference between the two tools will only be more and more noticeable.

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Why use call tracking for Google Ads

The marketing world is shifting. As we move into a “cookieless” future, marketers will need to rely more heavily on first-party data, and that includes phone calls. Calls are packed with insight: intent, objections, decision drivers, and conversion outcomes. When you track and analyze those calls, you can:

• Identify the keywords and campaigns driving valuable conversations
• Feed real-time conversion data into Google’s Smart Bidding algorithm
• Reduce wasted spend on keywords that drive support or spam calls

With Infinity’s Smart Outcomes feature, you can take this a step further. It automatically categorizes and scores calls, enabling you to push only the highest value lead data into your bidding strategy.

How to set up call tracking for Google Ads: A practical guide

Ready to get started? Here’s how to make it happen:

• Integrate Infinity with Google Ads

  Use Infinity’s Google Ads Integration to connect platforms and track call conversions automatically.

• Implement Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI)

  Display unique phone numbers based on the source or campaign using DNI. Learn more in this complete guide.

• Use ValueTrack Parameters

  Tag campaigns with custom parameters to pass granular data about the click source. Here’s how to implement tagging.

• Configure Smart Outcomes

  Define outcomes like sales-qualified leads, bookings, or policy renewals. Infinity will automatically score and feed these into Google Ads.

• Refine based on insights

  Use Infinity’s reporting suite to optimize targeting, bids, and messaging in real⁠-⁠time.

You can find additional setup support in the Google Ads FAQs and this Campaign Manager configuration guide.

Key benefits of Google Ads and call tracking combined

When you use call tracking for Google Ads effectively, you unlock:

• Higher-quality leads: Focus budget on campaigns driving actual conversions
• Lower cost-per-click (CPC): Improve Quality Score with relevant, high⁠-⁠intent targeting
• Higher ROAS: Funnel the right calls into bidding engines for better returns
• Smarter decision-making: Real-time, call-level data at your fingertips

Plus, with Google’s Smart Bidding and new AI Max features, the ability to feed call outcome data into campaigns will give you even more of an edge. You’re no longer limited to surface-level conversions — you're optimizing for actual business results.

Learn more about Smart Bidding with AI

Unlock smarter Google Ads with call tracking

If you’re serious about improving your Google Ads performance, it might be time to get call tracking on-side. As consumer journeys grow more complex and less trackable via cookies, first-party call data is your competitive advantage. Call tracking software helps you get your hands on this rich data and automatically feeds it back to your bidding platforms. Result? Track, analyse, and optimize every call so you never miss a high-intent lead again.