How to Get More Calls From Google

Calls from Google reach a local business three ways.

The map: your Google Business Profile shows a Call button next to your stars, and for many local searches it's the first thing people see. Ads: Local Services Ads at the very top of the page, and Google Ads that show your phone number.

And your website, when it shows up in the regular results and the number is easy to tap. Start with the profile, because it costs nothing and you control it.

Google says it ranks local results by relevance, distance and prominence, and that complete, accurate information helps it match your business to the right searches (Google Business Profile Help, "Tips to improve your local ranking on Google").

Choose the primary category that matches what you do most, add the other categories that fit, and list your services. Set the areas you serve, keep your hours right, and add special hours for holidays so nobody calls into a closed shop. Use a phone number someone will answer.

Add real photos of your team, your work and your place of business, and post an update every week or two.

Ask every customer for a review right after the job, with your direct review link, and reply to every review you get.

Never ask only happy customers or offer anything for a review: both break Google's rules. Our guide to getting more Google reviews has the whole routine.

Plenty of people who find you on Google are on a phone, so put your number at the top of every page as a tap-to-call link, as text, not inside an image.

Give each service you want more calls for its own page, and each town you really serve its own page, so Google has something to show for "water heater repair in Ventura" and not only for your business name. (Plumbers: how to get more plumbing leads goes deeper.)

Make the site load fast on a phone, and say clearly when you answer and whether you take emergencies.

Google's prominence also uses what it knows about your business from across the web, like directories, articles and links. Make sure your business name, address and phone number are the same on your website, your Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, Apple Maps, Bing and the directories for your trade.

Old numbers and old addresses in directories confuse customers and Google alike.

Local Services Ads show above the regular ads for searches like "plumber near me" or "electrician near me", with a badge once Google has screened your business.

You pay for each lead, a call or a message, not for each click, and Google credits back leads it finds invalid, like spam, on its own (Google Local Services Ads Help). They're available for many home service and professional businesses.

Google also looks at how responsive you are, so answer those calls quickly.

If you run Google Ads, add your phone number to the ads (Google calls these call assets), so people can call straight from the ad without visiting your site.

Use the ad schedule to show the number only when someone can answer, or make sure your calls are covered around the clock. Count calls as conversions, so the ads learn what a good click looks like.

Getting more calls only helps if they're answered. A caller who reaches voicemail can go straight back to the search results and call the next business.

Look at your call log for last month: count the calls you missed and note when they came in, such as evenings, weekends or your busiest hours. If you can't answer, have something answer for you, or at least send an automatic text back to every missed call.

If you want to know which calls came from which source, you can use a tracking number on your website and ads.

On your Business Profile, Google lets you add other numbers, so you can keep your main number on the profile and the rest of the web and add a tracking number as well. Check the numbers once a month and put your effort where the calls come from.

Open your Business Profile and fill in everything that's empty: categories, services, service area, hours, photos. Put a tap-to-call number at the top of your website. Text your last ten customers your review link.

Then count your missed calls for one week, because that number tells you whether you need more calls or need to answer the ones you already get.

If missed calls are the bigger number, that's what Victoria, our AI receptionist, is for. She answers your calls 24/7 in English and Spanish, books jobs on the call and texts back the calls nobody could take.

There are no packages: the free 2-minute assessment works out your price.