How to Track Phone Calls From Google Maps

Can you still see who called your business from Google Maps? No, you can’t. Google switched off call history in Google Business Profile on July 31, 2024.

So how do you track phone calls from Google Maps now? Use the Calls metric in your Business Profile Performance report for free counts. Then add a call tracking number as your primary phone for real call data. A UTM tag on your website link and a click-to-call event in Google Analytics cover the visitors who call from your site.

We went through every Google help page on calls, phone numbers and Analytics. We also compared the pricing pages of three call tracking tools. In our research, we found that the free Calls metric counts taps on the call button. It doesn’t confirm that a call ever connected. As a result, a tracking number is the only way to get call length, recordings and caller numbers.

Compare Every Way to Track Phone Calls From Google Maps

Method	What it counts	Caller details	Cost
Calls metric in the Performance report	Taps on the call button in your profile on Search and Maps	None	Free
Google Analytics link to Business Profile	The same Calls metric inside GA4, for the last 6 months	None	Free
UTM tag on the profile website link	Visits from your profile to your website	None on its own	Free
Click-to-call event in GA4	Taps on phone links by visitors who came from your profile	None	Free, set up in Google Tag Manager
Call tracking number	Connected calls, call length, recordings, caller number	Yes	From $30 a month
Business Profile call history	Ended on July 31, 2024	Not available	Retired

The first four methods are free, and they count interest. Only a tracking number counts real conversations. Most local businesses need both, because each one fills a gap the other leaves.

If phone calls are your main lead source, this sits at the core of your local SEO reporting. Rankings mean little until you can tie them to calls.

Know What Happened to Google Maps Call History

Google retired two features together. Chat and call history both stopped working in Business Profile on July 31, 2024. Customers with open chats got notice on July 15, 2024.

Past call history stayed downloadable through Google Takeout until August 30, 2024. After that date, the old records were gone too. So if a guide tells you to open “Call history” in your profile, it is out of date.

Customers can still call you from Google Search and Maps. In fact, nothing changed for the caller. The call button still appears on your profile when you list a phone number. Google also points businesses to text messages, WhatsApp where eligible, and Reserve with Google for bookings in some regions.

Read the Calls Metric in Your Business Profile Performance Report

Google defines Calls as “the number of times a customer clicked on the call button on your Business Profile.” You need a phone number on your profile for this metric to appear. Performance data is only available for verified profiles.

To open the report on Google Search:

1. Search for your business name and open your Business Profile.
2. Click Performance.
3. Pick a time period and click Apply.

To open it in the Google Maps app:

1. Tap Business.
2. Tap “See more” next to Performance.
3. Pick a time period and tap Apply.

The same report lists Directions, Website clicks, Bookings and other interactions. Only the metrics that apply to your business show up.

Treat Google Maps Call Clicks as a Trend Line

A call click is a tap on the button. Some people tap and hang up before anyone answers. Others tap twice. Then there are people who read your number on a laptop and dial it on their phone. That call never registers as a click.

So treat the Calls metric as a trend line. Say it rises 30% after you add photos and reviews. Then your profile is pulling more interest. But you still don’t know how many of those taps turned into booked jobs. Our local pack CTR statistics show how much of that interest the map pack captures in the first place.

Send Google Maps Call Clicks to Google Analytics

Google Analytics can now pull your Business Profile metrics into GA4. Once linked, a Google Business Profile collection appears in your reports. It shows Calls, Website clicks, Directions, Interactions, Messages, Bookings and Menus.

You need the Editor or Administrator role in GA4. You also need Owner or Manager access on each Business Profile. Then follow these steps:

1. In GA4, open Admin.
2. Under Product links, open Google Business Profile links.
3. Click Link and select your profiles.
4. Review the data sharing details and confirm the link.

Work Around the Limits of GA4 Google Maps Call Data

The link has real limits. GA4 only shows the last 6 months of Business Profile data, even if you pick a longer date range. It also sums all linked profiles together. So you can’t filter calls by a single location.

On top of that, these metrics don’t work in custom explorations or comparisons. Subproperties aren’t supported either. For a business with several branches, keep reading each profile’s own Performance report as well.

Tag Your Google Maps Website Link With UTM Parameters

Your Business Profile website link sends visitors to your site. Some of them call from there. Without a tag, GA4 often lumps those visits in with the rest of your Google traffic. A UTM tag marks them clearly.

Google says to always use three parameters: utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign. Values are case sensitive, so “google” and “Google” show up as two different sources. Google’s Campaign URL Builder creates the tagged link for you. A tagged profile link can look like this:

https://www.example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp-listing

Replace example.com with your own page. Then paste the tagged link into the website field of your Business Profile.

Google’s guidelines ban website links that redirect or “refer” users to other landing pages. A UTM tag doesn’t do that. The link still opens your own page. Next, GA4 shows “gbp-listing” as the campaign, so you can filter every visit and every phone tap that started on Google Maps.

Count Click-to-Call Taps From Google Maps Visitors in GA4

Phone numbers on most websites are tel: links. When a visitor taps one on a phone, it opens the dialer. Google Tag Manager can record each tap as a GA4 event.

Set it up in Tag Manager like this:

1. Turn on the built-in Click URL variable.
2. Create a trigger with the type “Click – Just Links”. The Just Links type tracks clicks on HTML links that use the a element.
3. Set it to fire on some link clicks, where Click URL begins with “tel:”.
4. Create a Google Analytics event tag with an event name such as phone_click, and attach the trigger.
5. Preview the container, tap your phone link, and check that the tag fires.
6. Publish the container.

Then, in GA4, mark phone_click as a key event. Now you can report phone taps by campaign. Filter for the gbp-listing campaign to see taps from people who reached your site through Google Maps.

This event still counts taps, and it can’t see the call itself. But combined with the UTM tag, it tells you which visitors from Maps went on to call.

Put a Call Tracking Number on Google Maps Within Google’s Rules

A call tracking number is a separate phone number that forwards to your real line. The tracking tool logs each call before it reaches you. As a result, you see how long the call lasted, who called and, with recording turned on, what was said.

Google’s guidelines for representing your business set the rules for any number you list:

• “Use a local phone number instead of a central call center helpline number whenever possible.”
• “The phone number must be under the direct control of the business.”
• Numbers that redirect or “refer” users to landing pages are not allowed.
• Premium-rate numbers are not allowed, whatever the charge.

The guidelines don’t mention call tracking numbers by name. So pick a local tracking number in your own area code. Keep it in your own account, and point it only at your business line.

Set Primary and Additional Numbers for Google Maps Call Tracking

Business Profile lets you list a primary number plus up to 2 more. Mobile and landline numbers work, but fax numbers can’t be added. To add them, open your profile, select Edit profile, then Contact. Edit the phone number field and save. Use “Add phone number” for the extra ones.

CallTrackingMetrics recommends putting the tracking number in the primary field. Your main business number then goes in the additional field. The primary number is the main one people see and tap on your profile, so Maps calls run through the tracker. Meanwhile, your main number stays tied to the profile, which keeps your details consistent with your website and directory listings.

Consistent listings still matter after this change. Our list of business citation checkers can confirm that your main number matches everywhere else. And our guide to local SEO ranking factors explains why those details count.

Choose a Call Tracking Tool for Google Maps Calls

We compared three call tracking tools that publish their prices. Each one gives you local numbers, call logs and source tracking. The price gap comes from how they bill numbers and minutes.

Check CallRail Plans for Google Maps Calls

CallRail starts at $50 a month for its Lead Tracking plan. That plan includes 5 local numbers, 250 local minutes, 25 text messages and 250 transcription minutes. Lead Tracking Complete costs $95 a month and adds 1,000 form submissions.

The Lead Conversion plan costs $150 a month and raises transcription to 10,000 minutes. Extra local numbers cost $3 each. Yearly billing saves up to 10%, and there is a 14-day free trial with no credit card.

Compare CallTrackingMetrics Fees for Google Maps Calls

CallTrackingMetrics prices its plans as a base fee plus usage. Marketing Lite starts at $65 a month on annual pricing. Marketing Pro starts at $149, Sales Engage at $274 and Enterprise at $1,999.

Plans include no numbers or minutes, so you pay for those on top. US local numbers start at $2.00 a month, and US toll-free numbers start at $3. Call recording comes with every plan. CallTrackingMetrics also waives the first month’s subscription fee.

Try WhatConverts for Low-Cost Google Maps Call Tracking

WhatConverts has the lowest entry price of the three. Its Call Tracking plan costs $30 a month and includes $30 of usage credit, which covers up to 148 phone call leads. Plus costs $60, Pro $100 and Elite $160 a month. Those plans also track forms, chats and transactions.

Extra local numbers cost $2.50 each, and extra local minutes cost 4.5 cents. Every plan comes with a 14-day free trial.

For one location that only wants Google Maps calls, WhatConverts at $30 a month is the cheapest start. CallRail costs more, but its plan already includes 5 numbers. So you can track Google Maps, your website and an ad campaign on separate lines. CallTrackingMetrics makes more sense for larger teams that also want sales features.

Build a Monthly Google Maps Call Report

Pull four numbers on the same day each month. Put them side by side, and the gaps tell you where calls get lost.

Number	Where to find it	What it shows
Call clicks	Business Profile Performance report	Interest in calling from Search and Maps
Calls to the profile tracking number	Your call tracking tool	Real calls that connected, with length
Calls over 60 seconds	Your call tracking tool	Likely real enquiries, after wrong numbers and hang-ups drop out
Phone taps from the gbp-listing campaign	GA4 key events, filtered by campaign	Calls from people who visited your site first

Then compare call clicks with tracked calls. A big gap means many people tap and never get through. In that case, check who answers the phone during busy hours.

Track your map rankings in the same report. Our list of local Google Business rank tracking tools covers options for that. Reviews move calls too, and our review statistics for local businesses show by how much.

Google Maps Call Tracking Questions Business Owners Ask

Can I See Who Called My Business From Google Maps?

Not in Google. Business Profile call history ended on July 31, 2024. To see caller numbers and call times, list a call tracking number as your primary phone. The tracking tool then logs every call.

Does the Google Business Profile Calls Metric Count Answered Calls?

No. It counts the number of times a customer clicked the call button on your profile. A click can end before the call connects. Calls dialed by hand from your listed number aren’t counted at all.

Is a Call Tracking Number Allowed on Google Business Profile?

Google’s guidelines don’t ban tracking numbers. They ask for a local number under the direct control of the business. They also ban numbers that redirect users to landing pages and premium-rate numbers. Use a local tracking number as primary and keep your main number as an additional phone.

Can I Still Download My Old Google Business Profile Call History?

No. Google Takeout downloads of past chat and call history stopped on August 30, 2024. After that date, the old records are no longer available.

Why Do Google Maps Calls Look Different in GA4 and Business Profile?

GA4 only keeps the last 6 months of Business Profile data. It also adds up every linked profile into one total. So for one location or a longer date range, the Performance report inside the profile is the better source.

Set Up Google Maps Call Tracking in One Afternoon

Tag your website link with UTM parameters and link GA4 to your Business Profile first, because both are free and take minutes. Next, add the phone_click event in Tag Manager. Then sign up for a 14-day trial with CallRail or WhatConverts and put a local tracking number in your primary phone field.

Keep your main number as an additional phone. After one month, compare call clicks with tracked calls. If your business lives on the phone, that comparison is the most useful local report you’ll run. Home service firms can also match it against our local SEO for home services statistics.