Google Ads Local Actions - Clicks to Call: What It Means and How to Set It Up

If you've seen a conversion goal called "Local Actions - Clicks to Call" in your Google Ads account, here's what it actually tracks: every time someone tapped the "Call" button on one of your business locations, while or after engaging with your ad. It's one of six local actions conversions, and it has the narrowest bidding availability of the two goals that support bidding at all.

What triggers a "Local Actions - Clicks to Call" conversion

Per Google's own documentation, Clicks to call tracks the number of "Call" clicks on your business locations, while or after engaging with your ads. Same mechanics as Directions: someone can click "Call" right after clicking your ad, or later from an organic search result for your business, and it still counts, within the default 30-day attribution window.

Is it available for bidding, or reporting only

Both, but with a real restriction. Clicks to call is available for bidding only in Performance Max campaigns. Search and Shopping campaigns can report on it if it's happening, but neither can bid toward it, that's a meaningful difference from Directions, which can be bid on in three campaign types. If your account leans heavily on Search for local businesses and you were hoping to optimize toward phone calls this way, Performance Max is the only door that opens.

Where it is biddable, supported Smart Bidding strategies in Performance Max include Target ROAS, Target CPA, and Maximize Conversions or Conversion Value.

Where to find it in your account

Conversion goals page. Goals → Summary → View all conversion actions, filtered by Conversion Action.
Campaign overview page. Campaigns → add the "All Conversions" column, filtered by Campaign segment.
Stores report. Campaigns → Stores.

How to set it up

Link your Google Business Profile to Google Ads, if you haven't, so location assets exist to attach this to.
Confirm location assets are active across the account, campaigns, and ad groups you expect this to apply to.
Wait for at least one Call click to occur. Google creates the goal after a real conversion happens, not before.
Google auto-creates "Local Actions - Clicks to Call" as a Google-hosted goal. Nothing to install, it's built entirely from location asset interaction data.
Add it as a campaign-level goal in Performance Max if you want it counted toward Smart Bidding. In Search and Shopping it stays reporting-only regardless.

To add it across multiple Performance Max campaigns at once, select them on the Campaigns page, open Edit → Update conversion goals, and add the Clicks to call goal from the list.

Eligibility

Available for any advertiser with active location assets in eligible countries. Reporting is restricted for sensitive categories, religion, sexual interests, children, and certain health-related businesses including abortion clinics, addiction treatment facilities, domestic violence shelters, fertility centers, and counseling centers.

Frequently asked questions

Can I bid toward Clicks to call in Search campaigns? No. It's biddable only in Performance Max. Search campaigns can bid toward Directions, but not Clicks to call.

What counts as a click-to-call, exactly? A tap on the "Call" button on your Business Profile listing, whether it happens during or shortly after someone engages with your ad, or later from an organic search result, within the 30-day window.

Does this replace call tracking through a service like CallRail? No. This only counts a tap on the Call button in your Business Profile listing, it doesn't tell you whether the call connected, how long it lasted, or whether it was a real lead. For that level of detail you still need dedicated call tracking.

Do I need to install anything for this to work? No. It's a Google-hosted goal generated automatically from location asset data once your Business Profile is linked and location assets are active.

Why hasn't the goal appeared in my account yet? Either location assets aren't active, or your account hasn't recorded a single Call click yet. Google needs one real conversion before it creates the goal.

Full detail is in Google's own documentation on local actions conversions.

This is one of six local actions conversions. See the full local actions conversions guide for how it compares to the other five.

If you want phone leads tracked with more detail than a Business Profile click, that's what conversion tracking covers.