Google Ads conversion tracking for phone calls and lead forms, start to finish. In episode 31 I build all four conversion actions on a WordPress site using Google Tag Manager: a lead form, calls from ads, calls from your website, and mobile click to call. This is the technical one, so pause where you need to.
Start with Google Tag Manager. Create the account and container, then put the two snippets in the header and footer of your site. On WordPress I use the WP Code plugin under Code Snippets, Header and Footer. Confirm it with Tag Assistant before you go further.
In Google Ads your conversion actions live under Goals. Categories matter because you pick which ones a campaign optimizes for. Before building anything, go to edit data sources and make sure your Google tag is the source, not just Google Analytics 4.
For the lead form, create the conversion manually with code so you can build it in Tag Manager. Primary means it is used for bidding, secondary means it is not. On values I set $1 for leads unless a client says one type is worth more. Your conversion ID is your AW tag without the AW part. Trigger it on a page view where the URL contains your thank you page.
Then add the conversion linker tag on all pages. It is step two in Google's own instructions and people skip it constantly.
Phone calls take three conversion actions. Calls from ads is the easy one. Calls from website visits needs your display number exactly as it appears on your site plus the destination number people reach, and it only fires on calls of 60 seconds or longer. Mobile click to call fires on a button click, which is why it overcounts, badly in Performance Max, so use it in search campaigns only. A linked Google Business Profile brings those calls in automatically as a fourth source.
Google removed the easy Tag Manager setup for the call conversions, so I show how to pull your conversion ID and label out of the event snippet instead. You also need the built in click variables turned on, and the trigger is link clicks where the click URL contains tel.
Publish the container, run preview mode, and check each tag fires. Then set your default calls from ads action and pick your conversion goals at the campaign level so the campaign optimizes for what you built.
If you get stuck, reach out. We do Google Ads management and consulting at Surfside PPC.
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WHAT WE GO OVER IN THIS EPISODE:
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- Installing Google Tag Manager with the WP Code plugin
- Building a lead form conversion with a thank you page trigger
- Why the conversion linker tag is not optional
- The three phone call conversions you need
- Display number vs destination number
- Why mobile click to call overcounts in Performance Max
- Pulling your ID and label out of the event snippet
- Testing every tag in preview mode before you trust it
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RELEVANT URLS
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▸ Google Ads Phone Call Tracking With GTM → https://surfsideppc.com/blogs/google-ads/google-ads-phone-call-tracking-with-google-tag-manager
▸ Google Ads Lead Form Tracking With GTM → https://surfsideppc.com/blogs/google-ads/google-ads-lead-form-tracking-with-google-tag-manager
▸ Google Ads Conversion Tracking for Local Websites → https://surfsideppc.com/blogs/google-ads/google-ads-conversion-tracking-local-websites
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TIMESTAMPS
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0:00 Conversion Tracking, Episode 31
0:53 Installing Google Tag Manager
1:47 Adding the GTM Code With WP Code
2:37 Checking Tags With Tag Assistant
3:08 Conversion Actions and Goal Categories
5:20 Creating the Google Ads Tag in GTM
6:23 Creating a Lead Form Conversion
7:50 Conversion ID, Label, and the GTM Tag
8:49 Thank You Page Trigger
9:40 Adding the Conversion Linker Tag
10:19 Three Phone Call Conversions
11:31 Display Number vs Destination Number
12:40 Linking Google Business Profile Calls
13:24 Why Click To Call Overcounts
14:43 Building the Calls From Website Tag
16:28 Building the Mobile Click To Call Tag
18:00 Publishing and Testing in Preview Mode
20:51 Campaign Goals and Bidding
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ABOUT SURFSIDE PPC
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Surfside PPC helps businesses grow with Google Ads, Meta Ads, and SEO. Questions? Leave them in the comments. See you next episode.
#ConversionTracking #GoogleAds #GoogleTagManager #CallTracking #PPC #GoogleAdsTutorial