Google has updated its paid search tool AdWords to make all advertiser’s mobile numbers clickable and trackable.
Google has been offering a click-to-call feature for AdWords since January 2010.
Previously, AdWords users who placed a phone number in their ad copy could only get a call if the searcher entered the number manually. Now, the phone numbers inside the creative are clickable by default.
Additionally, advertisers can view details on the performance of the clickable number by looking at the “click type” campaign segment of their campaign reporting.
The image below shows how the service works before the update (left) and after (right).
Writing in the official Google Mobile Ads blog, Surojit Chatterjee, Product Manager of Mobile Ads for Google, said: “Previously our system wasn’t able to provide separate reporting for clicks to phone numbers from a URL click so these numbers were not clickable.
“Now advertisers can view detailed reporting on click-to-call activity by segmenting traffic by click type. As a result, we will be making an upcoming change to ads where any phone number in an ad will be clickable on a mobile device.”
Calls from the phone number clicks won’t cost any more than a click to an advertiser’s site would cost, however users of mobile advertising are advised to set up a Call Extension.
This will show an advertiser a number on a separate line without taking up any of their ad test characters, “in addition, you’re able to take advantage of other powerful enhancements such as Vanity Numbers, call-only creatives, and Call Metrics reporting” says Chatterjee.
