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Freedom251 › Blog › Call Tracking

How to Track Calls and Direction Requests from Performance Max Ads

By Freedom251 Team · · 9 min read

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Performance Max can count two local interactions with a business location as conversions: a user clicking the Call button and a user clicking Directions or Start navigation. Those events are clicks, not proof that a call connected, lasted a useful length of time, produced a sale, or ended with a store visit.

To track them, link active location assets, let Google Ads create the applicable local-action goals, and include the goals in the Performance Max campaign’s conversion-goal settings when you want bidding to optimize toward them. Use separate call-conversion tracking for calls that meet a minimum duration, and import call outcomes when your business needs to connect conversations with quotes, sales, or other downstream results.

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What Performance Max reports as a local action

Google Ads defines local-action conversions as engagements with a physical business location. In a Performance Max campaign, the two events relevant to this question are:

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Local action What is counted What it does not prove
Clicks to call A click on the Call button associated with a business location. That a telephone conversation connected, met a duration threshold, or led to a business outcome.
Local actions – Directions A click on Directions or Start navigation for a business location while or after the person engages with an ad. That navigation started successfully, the person arrived, or a transaction occurred.

The interaction can happen after the initial ad engagement. For example, someone may see a local ad, open the business’s Google-hosted profile, and then select Directions. Google records the resulting navigation click as a Directions local action.

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These are useful measures of local intent. They should not be presented as confirmed phone calls, qualified leads, visits, or revenue.

Prerequisites: active location assets and an eligible business

Link the locations you want to promote

Location assets are the foundation for local-action reporting. Add and verify the business locations in the account, then make the appropriate location group available to the Performance Max campaign. Assets can be linked at the account level or, where the campaign setup allows it, at campaign level. A campaign promoting stores must have a location selection that includes the locations you want Google to advertise.

Check each location for a correct name, address, phone number, map pin, opening information, and profile association. A location asset that is paused, disapproved, or attached to the wrong location group cannot reliably produce the local interactions you intend to measure.

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Allow Google Ads to create the local-action goals

With active location assets, Google-hosted local actions such as Clicks to call and Local actions – Directions can be created automatically. Google’s Help documentation describes the relevant local-action goal becoming available after the account has received at least one conversion for that action. Consequently, a newly configured account may not show every local-action goal immediately; allow the campaign to receive eligible activity and check the conversion-goal list again.

Check geography and category eligibility

Local-action reporting is limited to eligible countries where location or affiliate-location assets are available. Google also restricts reporting for sensitive categories, including examples such as healthcare, religion, adult content, and children-related services. Confirm the current policy and country coverage for the account before promising that these conversions will be available.

Set up local-action tracking in Performance Max

1. Confirm the account’s location setup

  1. Open the Google Ads account’s location-asset area and confirm that the business locations are present and active.
  2. Verify that the locations are grouped correctly for the campaign. If the business has several branches, use a location group that contains only the branches the campaign is intended to promote.
  3. Resolve asset errors, duplicate locations, address mismatches, or policy limitations before judging conversion volume.

Performance Max can serve across Google properties, so the same location information may support several ad experiences. The local action is associated with the business location, not only with one placement.

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2. Create or edit the Performance Max store-goal campaign

  1. Start a Performance Max campaign and choose the store or physical-location objective when that option is offered.
  2. In the campaign construction flow, select the location group or business locations to promote.
  3. Review the conversion goals presented for the campaign. Depending on the configuration, examples can include store visits, store sales, Google-hosted contacts, and directions.

Google changes campaign labels and available controls as it updates the interface. The important setting is the campaign’s conversion-goal selection, not the exact wording of a particular button.

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3. Include the intended local actions for bidding

  1. Open the campaign’s conversion-goal settings after setup.
  2. Include the local-action goal for Clicks to call, Directions, or both, according to the action you want Performance Max to pursue.
  3. Remove a goal from the campaign’s bidding set when it is useful for reporting but should not guide optimization.

Including a goal makes it part of the campaign’s optimization target; it does not change what the event means. A Directions goal still represents a navigation click, and a Clicks-to-call goal still represents a button click.

4. Choose a conversion-focused bidding objective

When the purpose is to increase local actions, Google recommends conversion-focused bidding. Depending on the campaign configuration, choose whether the priority is a greater number of actions or greater conversion value.

Assign a value only when it reflects the business’s own valuation. For example, if a qualified call is worth more to the business than a navigation click, that difference belongs in a documented valuation model; it should not be invented simply to make a report look more precise. If no defensible value exists, optimize for the number of actions instead.

5. Wait for data and inspect the conversion action

After the campaign runs, open the conversion-action details and confirm the source is the local action you selected. Review the action name, status, reporting window, and whether it is included in the campaign’s goals. A goal can be visible in account reporting while excluded from a particular campaign’s bidding.

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Do not infer a problem from a short period with no conversions. Location eligibility, ad delivery, asset approval, search demand, and the time needed for the account to record its first qualifying action all affect when data appears.

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Choose the right level of call measurement

There are three distinct ways to measure phone-related performance. They answer different questions and should not be merged into one number.

Measurement Question answered Requirements Main limitation
Local-action “Clicks to call” Did someone click the Call button for the location? Active location assets and an available local-action goal. It does not establish that a call connected or was qualified.
Calls from ads conversion tracking Did a call meet the minimum duration configured by the advertiser? Call reporting and Google forwarding numbers, plus a configured duration threshold. Duration is only a proxy; a long call is not automatically a sale.
Imported call conversions Did a call produce a tracked outcome such as a sale, quote request, or upsell? A separate system must record outcomes and the advertiser must import them into Google Ads. It requires reliable outcome capture and an import process; it is not automatic.

When a Call-button click is enough

Use the local-action goal when you need a broad measure of local engagement or want Performance Max to find more people who show immediate phone intent. It is the simplest route because the event is generated from the location interaction in Google’s surfaces.

When to count calls by duration

If the business needs to exclude accidental taps, unanswered calls, or very short conversations, create a phone-call conversion with a minimum call length. Google documents this method for calls from ads and call or location assets. It requires call reporting to be enabled and uses Google forwarding numbers. Set the threshold to match the business’s definition of a meaningful call, then monitor whether the threshold is too low to filter noise or too high to capture legitimate enquiries.

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Availability depends on the account’s call-reporting settings and the eligible call experience. Check those settings in the account rather than assuming every campaign has the same call controls.

When to import call outcomes

Use imported call conversions when revenue or lead quality is determined after the call. A sales system, booking system, or other record can identify outcomes such as a completed sale, accepted quote, or upsell. Those outcomes can then be imported so Google Ads can associate ad interactions with the results that matter to the business.

Google describes imported call conversions as the most precise way to measure which calls led to sales and other valuable actions. The advertiser still has to define the outcome, capture it consistently, and complete the import; a Call-button click cannot supply that information by itself.

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Track and interpret direction requests

What the Directions metric means

The local-action Directions metric counts clicks on Directions or Start navigation for a business location while or after someone engages with an ad. It measures navigation intent: the person asked Google for a route or started navigation.

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What it cannot tell you

  • Whether the person followed the route.
  • Whether the device reached the destination.
  • Whether the person entered the store.
  • Whether a purchase, appointment, or other transaction followed.

Use the metric to compare local-intent demand among campaigns, locations, or time periods. Do not label it as “store visits” in a report.

Keep store visits separate

Store visits are a different conversion measurement. Google models or verifies visits only for eligible accounts and locations, and publishes a supported-country list that can change. Performance Max can support store-visit goals where the account qualifies, but eligibility is not universal.

A campaign can therefore report both a Directions local action and store visits, but the two values answer different questions. Directions records the navigation request; store visits is the separate, eligibility-dependent estimate or measurement of physical visitation. Never convert one into the other by assumption.

Reporting workflow that avoids misleading conclusions

Separate the columns in your reports

Keep at least these fields distinct:

  • Local-action Clicks to call.
  • Duration-qualified calls from call conversion tracking.
  • Imported call outcomes, such as sales or quote requests.
  • Local-action Directions.
  • Store visits, if the account is eligible.

Using separate columns prevents a high volume of Call-button clicks from being mistaken for completed conversations and prevents Directions from being reported as arrivals.

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Use the campaign goal setting as an intentional control

Decide which actions should influence bidding and which should remain reporting-only. For example, a retailer may include Directions and store visits in a store-goal campaign, while a service business may include Clicks to call and a duration-qualified call conversion. The correct choice depends on the business outcome, not on which goal has the largest raw count.

Compare locations only after checking asset quality

A branch with fewer conversions may have lower demand, but it may also have an inactive asset, an incorrect map pin, incomplete profile information, or a restricted category. Validate the location setup before making budget or staffing decisions from local-action totals.

Troubleshoot missing or unexpected conversions

The local-action goal is not visible

  • Confirm that at least one eligible location asset is active and linked to the account or campaign.
  • Check whether the account has received a first qualifying local action; Google’s automatic goal creation may depend on that initial conversion.
  • Review country and sensitive-category eligibility.
  • Allow time for the conversion action to populate after the first eligible interaction.

Clicks to call are present but qualified calls are low

This is possible because the two actions measure different stages. A person can tap the Call button and then cancel, reach voicemail, or disconnect quickly. Add duration-based call tracking when call quality matters, and use imported outcomes when only completed business results should count.

Directions are high but store visits are absent

Directions do not automatically create store visits. Check whether the account and locations meet Google’s store-visit eligibility and country requirements. If they do not, continue to report navigation intent as Directions rather than presenting it as an arrival measurement.

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The campaign reports actions but does not optimize toward them

Inspect the campaign’s conversion-goal selection. A conversion action can exist at the account level yet be excluded from the campaign’s bidding goals. Add the relevant local-action goal if it is the intended optimization target, then verify that the campaign uses a conversion-focused bidding approach.

Policy, geography, and interface cautions

Local-action reporting depends on Google’s current location-asset availability, country coverage, and policies. Sensitive categories may have restricted reporting. Performance Max store-goal campaigns also require the advertiser to choose the business locations being promoted. Because Google updates eligibility rules and interface labels, recheck the account’s current Help documentation and campaign settings before publishing a fixed step name or promising a specific report.

The practical rule is stable even when labels change: maintain active location assets, select the locations, include the intended local-action goals for bidding, and use a separate measurement path for qualified calls, downstream outcomes, or physical visits.

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Call Trackingconversion trackingGoogle Adslocal adslocation assetsPerformance Max

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