How to Track Phone Calls and Offline Conversions in GA4 (A Complete Guide for Small Businesses)
Why Phone Call Tracking Matters
If your business relies on phone calls, tracking them is essential for understanding your marketing performance. For a broader look at how this fits into your overall strategy, start with The Ultimate Guide to GA4 and Web Analytics for Small Businesses.
Proper tracking helps you understand:
- Which marketing channels drive the most calls
- How many calls come from mobile users
- Which pages generate the highest call volume
- How Google Ads contributes to phone leads
- How many calls turn into real customers
Without this data, you are guessing—and guesses like this lead to wasted marketing spend.
Part 1: Tracking Click-to-Call Events in GA4
Most phone calls start with a user tapping your phone number on their mobile device. GA4 does not track this automatically, so you need to set it up manually using Google Tag Manager.
Step 1: Create a Trigger for Phone Clicks
Inside GTM:
- Go to Triggers and head to New
- Choose Click and select Just Links
- Set the condition: Click URL starts with "tel:"
- Save the trigger
This tells GTM to fire whenever someone taps your phone number.
Step 2: Create a GA4 Event Tag
- Go to Tags and click New
- Choose GA4 Event
- Name the event something clear, like: "phone_click" or "call_click"
- Select your GA4 Configuration Tag
- Attach the phone click trigger
- Save and publish
Step 3: Mark the Event as a Conversion
Inside GA4:
- Go to Admin and select Events
- Find "phone_click"
- Toggle Mark as Conversion
Now GA4 treats phone calls as real business outcomes.
Part 2: Tracking Calls from Google Ads
If you run Google Ads, you can track calls in two ways:
Option A: Call Extensions and Call Ads
Google Ads can track calls directly from call-only ads, call extensions, and your Google Business Profile. These calls show up as conversions in Google Ads, but not automatically in GA4.
Option B: Website Call Tracking (Recommended)
Google Ads can track calls that happen after someone clicks your ad and visits your website. Google replaces your phone numbers with a forwarding number, and when someone calls it, Google logs the call.
How to connect this to GA4
- Import Google Ads call conversions into GA4
- Use GA4's attribution reports to see how calls fit into the customer journey
- Combine call data with click-to-call events for a full picture
This is essential for Edmonton businesses running paid ads in competitive industries.
Part 3: Tracking Offline Conversions (Appointments, Sales, Deals)
Some conversions happen offline, such as phone calls that turn into booked appointments, in-person consultations, or signed contracts. GA4 can track these too, but you need to upload them manually or automate the process.
This allows you to see which campaigns generate actual revenue, not just leads. For example:
- A Google Ads campaign may generate fewer leads but higher-value customers.
- SEO may drive more calls, but fewer booked appointments.
If you are unsure if your current tracking is capturing these nuances, it is a good idea to learn How to Audit Your Analytics Setup.
Part 4: What to Do With Your Call Data
Once phone calls and offline conversions are tracked, you can:
- Identify your highest-converting pages
- Improve your Google Ads bidding strategy
- Optimize your website for mobile users
- Reduce wasted ad spend
To visualize this data effectively, you can follow our tutorial on How to Build Dashboards in Looker Studio. This level of insight can dramatically improve ROI for Edmonton businesses.
Final Thoughts
Phone calls and offline conversions are some of the most valuable actions a customer can take. With GA4, Google Tag Manager, and Google Ads working together, you can finally understand which marketing efforts drive real business results. For service-based companies in Edmonton, this clarity is a major competitive advantage.
Need help navigating your digital strategy? At Alberta Web Craft, we specialize in helping businesses build high-performing websites that rank. Whether you need an SEO audit or a full site build, we’re here to help you own your piece of the internet.