Phone Leads from Google Ads: Move from Call-Only Ads to Call Assets

A phone call can be an important next step for someone seeking home services. The advertising setup should make contact straightforward and measure what happens after the call, without assuming every emergency search produces an immediate booking.

Use the current ad format

Google's call-ad migration guidance states that creation of new call-only ads ended in February 2026. Existing call-only ads are scheduled to stop receiving impressions in February 2027. The replacement is responsive search ads with call assets.

Review existing call ads, prepare the responsive search ads and relevant phone assets, and check approval and delivery before retiring the old ads. Do not follow an older tutorial that asks you to launch a new call-only campaign.

Provide a useful call and website experience

Call assets add phone numbers to ads. When shown, they give people a way to call while retaining the website option. The asset does not appear on every impression, and clicking is not proof of a connected conversation.

Use a working business number and accurate service information. Advertise emergency availability, dispatch promises, prices, licenses, and warranties only when the business can substantiate them. Keep the website destination useful for visitors who prefer to read details or request contact.

Match availability to the response process

Schedule call assets around the hours the business can handle calls. Separately decide when the campaign and website inquiry options should be available. An unanswered phone does not establish that every possible website inquiry outside office hours is worthless.

Check the routing to staff or an answering service, including missed-call handling. Do not assume a separate campaign is always required for after-hours operations. Use the account structure and routing arrangement that fit the actual coverage.

Define what counts as a result

Google's phone conversion documentation distinguishes several measurement methods. A website phone-link event tracks a click, not the completed call. A duration-based call conversion counts calls meeting a configured length; it does not establish that the caller was qualified or booked a job.

Call conversion measurement also describes call-quality analysis and importing outcomes from another system. Review the method available in your account and how its results are defined before using it as a bidding goal.

Choose any duration threshold based on your own call process rather than a universal 60-second rule. A short call can be useful, and a long call can be unsuitable. Record qualified inquiries and booked work separately when those outcomes can be reliably captured.

Verify the measurement path

Call reporting uses Google forwarding numbers to report details such as duration and connection status where supported. Confirm the applicable setup, phone destination, conversion action, and reporting before judging acquisition costs.

Review which actions are used for bidding so that a click, a duration threshold, and a later booking are not unintentionally treated as equivalent successes. Retain clear definitions in your reports.

Evaluate economics without promised benchmarks

Choose a supported bidding strategy and an affordable test budget around the business goal. Google's Smart Bidding guidance does not make a fixed number of historical calls a universal prerequisite for starting.

Compare spending with qualified inquiries, bookings, and the capacity to perform the work. Review unwanted search terms in context before excluding them. Correct broken routing or tracking promptly, and report uncertainty when the available results are too limited to support a decision.