Tracking Phone Calls and WhatsApp Clicks From Google Ads

The five ways Google Ads tracks phone calls

Google's phone call conversion tracking page lists five methods. Three of them depend on Google forwarding numbers, special numbers Google puts in your ad or on your site so it can log each call.

Google's call reporting page lists the countries where forwarding numbers are available. In October 2026 it includes Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan and the US among others, but not Singapore. Check the list again before setting up, as it can change.

Calls from the ad itself: call assets

A call asset adds your phone number to your search ads. On phones it shows a call button; on desktop a "Call us" button. Google charges a click on the call button at the same cost per click as a headline click.

In Singapore, the conversion action to use is clicks on call ads and assets. Google counts a click as a conversion based on its estimate of whether a meaningful call followed, rather than measuring the call itself. You won't see call length or the caller's number in Google Ads, so keep your own call log to compare.

Tracking tap-to-call and WhatsApp clicks on your website

Most people who click your ad land on your website first, then tap the phone number or a WhatsApp button. You can count those taps as conversions. Google's guide to tracking clicks on your website covers the code method; Google Tag Manager is easier to maintain.

1. 1

   Create two conversion actions in Google Ads

   One for phone link clicks, one for WhatsApp clicks. Set them as secondary at first, and give them a value (see below).

2. 2

   Make sure links are real links

   The phone number should be a tel:+65... link and the WhatsApp button a wa.me or api.whatsapp.com link, not a script that opens a chat window.

3. 3

   Add a Just Links click trigger in Tag Manager

   Fire it when Click URL starts with tel: for calls, and when Click URL contains wa.me or api.whatsapp.com for WhatsApp (GTM click trigger help).

4. 4

   Attach the Google Ads conversion tags

   One tag per conversion action, each fired by its trigger. Keep the conversion linker tag on all pages.

5. 5

   Test in Preview mode

   Click the phone and WhatsApp links on your site in Tag Manager's preview and check each tag fires once.

6. 6

   Check counts after a week

   Compare Google Ads conversions with the calls and WhatsApp chats you actually received from new customers.

If you use a floating chat widget instead of a plain link, it may open WhatsApp through its own script. Our guide to adding a WhatsApp chat button covers the simple link approach that tracks cleanly.

A click is not a lead: matching clicks to real enquiries

Tapping a WhatsApp button only opens the app. Many people never send a message, and some who do are existing customers or job seekers. If bidding treats every tap as a sale, it chases cheap taps.

• Give clicks a modest value. If roughly one in three WhatsApp taps becomes a real enquiry in your own records, value a tap at a third of what an enquiry is worth to you.
• Keep a simple lead log. Date, channel (call, WhatsApp, form), whether it was new and whether it became a sale.
• Compare weekly. If Google Ads reports 40 WhatsApp conversions and you logged 12 new enquiries, adjust the value or switch the action to secondary.
• Ask new callers how they found you. Without forwarding numbers, this is the simplest check for phone leads.

For leads that arrive through forms or chat with a click ID attached, Google supports offline conversion import using the GCLID: store the GCLID with the lead, then import the ones that became customers, manually or via tools like Zapier. Our guide to conversion tracking and enhanced conversions explains the set-up.

Which conversions should Smart Bidding optimise for?

Only primary conversion actions feed automated bidding. A sensible starting point for a Singapore service business:

Counting the same lead twice, for example a WhatsApp tap and a form for the same person, inflates results. Review your primary actions whenever you add a new one.

Do it yourself or get help?

If your site already uses Google Tag Manager, setting up phone and WhatsApp click conversions takes an hour or two, plus a week of checking against your own lead log. The judgement calls are the conversion values and which actions to make primary.

Our Google Ads Setup (S$690) creates the account in your name linked to GA4, sets up and tests the Google tag and conversions for forms, calls, bookings or purchases, writes a Search campaign with up to 3 ad groups including a call asset, and adds a 2-week check-in report. Ad budget is paid by you directly to Google.