What is call tracking?

The short answer

Call tracking tells you where your phone calls come from. You use a different phone number for each place you advertise, and every number rings your normal phone. Because each number belongs to one channel, you can count how many calls each channel produces. Add recording and AI and you can also see which of those calls were real enquiries.

Why it matters

If customers contact you by phone, a big part of your marketing is invisible without it. Analytics tools such as Google Analytics see website visits and form fills, but they cannot see someone reading your page and then picking up the phone. Advertising platforms are the same. So businesses that mostly get calls end up judging their marketing on the small share of leads that arrive by form, or on gut feel.

Call tracking fills that gap. It answers questions such as:

Which of my adverts and listings actually make the phone ring?
Is my SEO bringing in calls, or just visits?
Is that directory worth the monthly fee?
How many calls are we missing, and when?
Which calls were real leads, and which were existing customers or sales pitches?

How it works

There are two kinds of tracking number.

Static numbers belong to one channel permanently. You put one on your Google Business Profile, another on the van, another on a directory listing. Any call to that number came from that channel.

Dynamic numbers are used on your website. A small script shows each visitor a number based on how they arrived, such as Google Ads, organic search or Facebook. This is called dynamic number insertion, or DNI. With a large enough pool of numbers, each visitor can see a unique one, so the call can be matched to their exact visit, keyword and the pages they read.

Either way, the call forwards to your existing phone. Nothing changes for the person answering, apart from an optional whisper telling them where the call came from.

What you can do with the data

Move budget to what works. Once you can see calls per channel, it is easy to cut what is not working and put more into what is.
Improve your ads. Send qualified calls back to Google Ads as conversions so its bidding learns which clicks become phone leads.
Answer more calls. Answer-rate reports show when calls are missed. Missed-call text-back replies to callers instantly.
Improve how calls are handled. Recordings and AI summaries show what happens on the phone, which is often where leads are won or lost.

Does it affect my local SEO?

Not if it is set up properly. Search engines are shown your main number on your website, so your business details stay consistent across the web. On Google Business Profile, the recommended approach is to use the tracking number as your primary number and keep your main number as an additional one. Our call tracking and SEO guide explains this in more detail.

Is call recording allowed?

Yes, if you tell callers. Most businesses play a short announcement at the start of each call. There are a few other rules to follow, covered in our guide to call recording and the law.

Who uses call tracking?

Any business where phone calls lead to sales. That includes trades, solicitors, dentists, clinics, garages, estate agents, venues, brokers, schools and recruiters, and the marketing agencies who work for them. See our industry pages for examples.

How much does it cost?

UK providers have tended to charge £150 to £200 a month or more. Call Tracked starts at £39 a month with minutes included. See pricing.

Getting started

Most businesses start with three to five numbers: one for Google Business Profile, one for their website, and one for each main offline channel. You can be set up in ten minutes, and the free trial includes three numbers so you can see real data before paying anything.