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If you are an AdWords user who has been waiting for an opportunity to utilize the Google call extension feature, Google has a sweet surprise for you…

Google call extension has added a new avenue to regular ads to reach potential customers who are willing to actively pick up a phone and place a call. In order to make this feature more useful, Google is now boosting the capabilities of call extension feature.

Reasons for the change

Google call extension with Google Forward Number enables tracking success of the feature. However, there were gaps with the conversion tracking where all conversion actions were grouped. This meant that you had no way to track if an action such as a purchase took place on your website by looking at the (call) count. Also, the call extension feature does not work if you have a flexible bidding strategy.

What’s Changing?

From the end of April 2014, a call will be split into multiple conversion actions based on call length. This change offers new options for reporting and bidding, including the ability to:

• Create conversion names for each of your account conversion actions.

For example, you can create a conversion action named “sale” for calls longer than 60 seconds and another named “lead” for calls longer than 30 seconds. You can then choose the conversion actions you would like to count for any ad group in your account.

• Apply custom conversion values to each of your conversion actions
• Edit call length settings in the Conversions page in the “Tools and Analysis” menu
• Apply Target Return on Ad Spend (Target ROAS) bidding strategies

However, these changes do not fill all the gaps. Minimum click threshold per ad group does continue. But, the current enhancements to the tracking will provide more comprehensive reporting on the features’ success.

Watch this space for more updates. We will be keeping an eye on future changes Google may make.

Position²’s POV

Call extensions enhancement will have an impact on how success is measured for the feature with the application of custom conversion values:

• Call extension feature can be leveraged to make actual sales because calls that last longer and typically lead to sales can be captured separately.
• You can apply ROAS bidding strategy, which allows for call extensions to be targeted with call per conversion goals.
• The minimum threshold for the feature to kick-in for ads continues so the feature should be reserved for best performance ads and keywords.
• For companies that have a call center support system, the enhancement is a good way to capture incremental conversions.