Why Are Google Ads Call-only Ads Getting Clicks But No Calls?

Google call-only ads are a special ad type designed to help businesses get more calls from consumers. It’s a great strategy for businesses that offer products and services that may be bought quickly by consumers.

This ad format will be exclusively delivered to mobile devices that are able to make phone calls, but you still need to add a landing page to give users the option of researching your products and services. So you might still get a few clicks here and there.

But what happens if you only get clicks from your call-one campaign?

How Call-Only Ads Work

Call-only ads are designed to help consumers call your business directly, without having them search for a phone number. This type of ad is only available on the search network, and while you still have ad copy and a call to action, instead of promoting a landing page you are promoting your business’ phone number.

Call-only ads are different for call extensions, however. Google ads have many different ads extensions you can use to promote a particular aspect of your business, such as its location. The extension is attached to a wider campaign within the search network, and Google will add a particular extension based on the user query. The call extensions could appear in the SERP or not, depending on what the user intent is.

Call-only campaigns, on the other hand, focus solely on getting more phone calls to your business. The phone number replaces the headline which commonly appears in the ad preview, and users can quickly click on the number to get in touch with your business.

The call-only ad contains the following elements:

• Business name
• Phone number
• First line of the ad – 35 characters max
• Second line of the ad – 35 characters max
• Display URL

You can have multiple ad groups to drive calls to your business, each with its own target audience.

Why Don’t People Call?

If you’re running a paid search campaign to encourage users to call your business, but they instead click your landing page, you may have some issues with how your ads campaign was set up.

Here are some issues that may be making your potential audience click instead of calling:

1. You May Have the Wrong Product

Call-only ads work best with products and services where people can make an instant decision regarding if they should purchase or not. For instance, running a call-only campaign to promote your hair salon’s phone number is a great idea – people can type in the relevant search terms, see your number, and instantly call to book an appointment.

But some products and services aren’t that fit for spur of the moment purchases.

2. You’re Not Matching User Intent

Your product or service may be perfectly fine for this type of campaign, but the users you are targeting may not be in the buying mood just yet.

Some people search for items to buy on the spot, while others are in the just looking stage. When you target a user who is just window shopping with a call-only ad, your conversion rate lowers.

This all boils down to the type of keywords you use in your Google Ads campaign. General keywords may increase your odds of the ad being delivered, but it also means you’re not getting to the right audience.

There is a big difference between the search terms “hair salon” and “appointment hair salon.” The first is vague, not very indicative of user intent other than informational, while the former shows the user is specifically looking for an appointment. Which one do you think would be more likely to call?

3. You’re Not Compelling Enough

In a call-only campaign, you have two steps: first, the user clicks on the phone number. Then, their mobile device will showcase that number, and the user needs to press the call now button to begin the call.

You may be losing those users in that split second extra needed to press the call now button. You should consider creating content aimed at encouraging users to get in touch with your business directly. Give them a reason to call, and make it clear from the ad.

Over to You

Google Ads is one of the best PPC services out there, and while it can bring many opportunities to a business, you may need some additional support in setting up the right type of campaign.

Book a free 30-minute strategy session with Australian Internet Advertising now to get started.