How can advertisers track phone call conversions in Bing Ads?

Tracking phone call conversions in Bing Ads (now part of Microsoft Advertising) is an important feature for advertisers who rely on phone calls as a primary conversion action. This is especially valuable for businesses like local services, real estate agents, healthcare providers, and more, where phone calls are often the final step in the conversion process.

Here's how advertisers can track phone call conversions in Bing Ads:

1. Using Call Extensions for Phone Call Tracking
Bing Ads allows you to add Call Extensions to your ads, enabling users to call your business directly from the ad. You can then track phone call conversions through the Call Extension feature.

How to Set Up Call Extensions:
Sign in to Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads):

Go to the Microsoft Advertising platform and sign in.

Navigate to Extensions:

In the top menu, click on Ads & extensions.

Then select Extensions from the dropdown menu.

Create a Call Extension:

Click the + button to add a new extension.

Choose Call Extension.

Enter the phone number you want to track.

Choose the device targeting (mobile phones are typically best for phone call conversions).

Set any other desired options (e.g., scheduling, location).

Add the Call Extension to Campaigns/Ad Groups:

You can apply call extensions at the campaign or ad group level, depending on how granular you want the tracking to be.

Tracking Call Conversions:
Once you set up the call extension, Bing Ads automatically tracks phone calls made directly from the call button on mobile devices. You can then view the following metrics:

Phone calls: Total number of calls made from the ad.

Call duration: Duration of each call (Bing Ads tracks calls over 30 seconds as conversions).

Phone call conversions: Number of calls that met the minimum duration threshold (usually 30 seconds, but you can adjust this).

2. Using Call Tracking with a Third-Party Solution
If you want more detailed insights into phone call conversions (e.g., recording calls, advanced tracking features), you can integrate third-party call tracking solutions like CallRail, Invoca, or DialogTech with Bing Ads.

How to Set Up Third-Party Call Tracking:
Choose a Call Tracking Provider:

Select a call tracking provider that integrates with Bing Ads. These services assign a unique phone number to each ad campaign or keyword, allowing you to track exactly which ad or keyword led to the call.

Integrate with Bing Ads:

Many call tracking providers offer integration with Bing Ads, so you can import phone call conversion data directly into your Microsoft Advertising account.

You can configure these providers to track the phone number that was displayed to the user (based on the ad or keyword they clicked on).

Set Up Conversion Tracking:

In your Bing Ads account, create Phone Call Conversion goals, specifying the conversion action as the phone call being placed.

Track metrics such as the number of calls and the call duration.

View and Analyze Data:

After integration, you can view phone call conversions alongside other digital conversions, analyze performance, and optimize your campaigns based on which ads and keywords are driving the most calls.

3. Setting Up Phone Call Conversion Tracking via UET Tag
Another option is to use the Universal Event Tracking (UET) tag to track phone calls as conversions. This method requires you to track phone calls that occur after a user interacts with your website and then calls.

How to Set Up Phone Call Tracking with UET:
Install the UET Tag:

Follow the steps to install the UET tag on your website to track user interactions. The UET tag will allow you to track conversion goals based on user behavior on your site.

Track Phone Call Button Clicks:

If your website has a click-to-call button or a similar interactive element, you can set up event tracking through the UET tag to track when users click the button.

This will record an event whenever users click to call your business, and you can set this as a conversion goal in your Bing Ads account.

Create a Conversion Goal for Phone Calls:

Go to Tools > UET tags > Create a Conversion Goal.

Choose Event Tracking and define the action to track (e.g., when users click the "Call Now" button).

Set Up Call Duration (Optional):

If you want to track call duration (e.g., only consider calls that last longer than 30 seconds as a conversion), you can work with your call tracking provider or use advanced setup options.

4. Tracking Phone Calls from Offline Ads or Listings
For businesses that rely on offline ads or third-party directories that use a different phone number than the one in the call extension, you can still track conversions by setting up a dedicated call tracking number.

How to Set Up Offline Call Tracking:
Use Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI):

With a DNI service (provided by third-party call tracking services), you can dynamically assign phone numbers based on the user's source, campaign, or keyword. This enables you to track exactly which ad or keyword prompted the phone call.

Import Call Data to Bing Ads:

Integrate your third-party call tracking data with Bing Ads using the Offline Conversion Import feature. This allows you to import phone call data back into Bing Ads and track phone call conversions alongside other digital conversions.

5. Metrics for Phone Call Tracking in Bing Ads
Once phone call tracking is set up, you can analyze the following metrics:

Phone Calls: The number of calls made through the call extension on your ads.

Call Duration: The length of each call, typically used to determine whether it should count as a conversion (e.g., calls longer than 30 seconds).

Phone Call Conversions: The total number of calls that meet your predefined duration threshold or other criteria.

Cost Per Call: The total ad spend divided by the number of phone call conversions.

Conclusion
Tracking phone call conversions in Bing Ads is essential for businesses that rely on inbound calls for conversions. Advertisers can use Call Extensions, third-party call tracking services, or UET event tracking to measure phone call performance. Once set up, you'll be able to see valuable data on how many calls were made from your ads, how long they lasted, and which ads and keywords are driving the most phone calls.