Call Extensions (now called Call Assets) add a clickable phone number to your Google Ads search ads, allowing users to call your business directly from the search results page. On mobile devices, the number appears as a tap-to-call button, while on desktop it displays as a visible phone number. Google can track call duration and report calls as conversions.
Key Takeaways
- Display your phone number directly in the ad for immediate contact
- On mobile, users tap to call without visiting your website first
- Google forwarding numbers enable call tracking, duration reporting, and conversion counting
- Schedule call extensions to show only during business hours
- Calls can be counted as conversions based on minimum duration thresholds you set
What Are Call Extensions
Call Extensions bridge the gap between online advertising and phone-based business. For industries where phone calls are a primary conversion action — legal services, healthcare, home services, insurance — call extensions make the phone number a first-class element of the ad rather than something buried on a landing page.
| Device | Display Format | User Action |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | Tap-to-call button with phone icon | One-tap direct call |
| Desktop | Visible phone number text | Manual dial or click (with VoIP) |
| Tablet | Tap-to-call or visible number | Varies by device |
Call extensions differ from call-only ads. Call extensions add a phone number to your regular search ad (users can still click through to your website). Call-only ads are designed exclusively to generate calls, with no website click option.
How It Works
Setting up call extensions in the 2026 Google Ads interface:
- Navigate to Ads & assets > Assets and select Call
- Enter your phone number — must be a local or toll-free number in your target country
- Enable Google forwarding number (recommended) — Google assigns a tracking number that forwards to your real number, enabling call reporting
- Set call reporting — choose minimum call duration for counting as a conversion (e.g., 60 seconds)
- Configure scheduling — set specific hours when the call extension appears (matching your phone availability)
- Apply to account, campaign, or ad group level
With Google forwarding enabled, you get detailed reporting:
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Phone calls | Total calls received via the extension |
| Phone impressions | Times the call extension was shown |
| Phone-through rate (PTR) | Calls / phone impressions |
| Call duration | Average and individual call lengths |
| Call conversions | Calls meeting your minimum duration threshold |
| Caller area code | Geographic origin of calls |
Practical Example
A personal injury law firm adds call extensions to their Search campaigns targeting keywords like “car accident lawyer” and “personal injury attorney.”
Configuration:
- Phone number: firm’s intake line
- Google forwarding: enabled
- Minimum call duration for conversion: 90 seconds (filters out accidental calls and quick inquiries)
- Schedule: Monday-Friday 7am-9pm, Saturday 9am-5pm
30-day performance:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Call extension impressions | 8,200 |
| Total calls received | 312 |
| Phone-through rate | 3.8% |
| Calls over 90 seconds (conversions) | 148 |
| Average call duration | 4 minutes 22 seconds |
| Cost per call conversion | $62 |
| Cases signed from calls | 18 |
| Average case value | $8,500 |
Revenue analysis:
- Call extension spend: $9,176 (148 conversions x $62 CPA)
- Cases signed: 18
- Total case value: $153,000
- ROAS: 1,667%
Compared to website form submissions from the same campaigns:
- Form CPA: $95
- Cases signed per form lead: 8% conversion rate
- Call CPA: $62 with 12.2% case signing rate
Calls convert to signed cases at 1.5x the rate of form submissions and cost 35% less per conversion, making call extensions the firm’s highest-value Ad Extension.
Why It Matters
Call extensions are essential for any business where phone conversations drive revenue. They eliminate friction from the conversion path — instead of clicking an ad, loading a page, finding the phone number, and dialing, the user simply taps once. This reduced friction significantly increases conversion volume for phone-dependent businesses.
The scheduling feature is critically important. Showing a call extension outside business hours leads to unanswered calls, voicemails, and wasted spend. Always align call extension schedules with your actual phone availability. For businesses that can answer calls 24/7, the extension should run continuously. Combine call extensions with Location Extensions for local businesses to maximize trust and accessibility in your ads.