Google retired call-only ads. Here is what a plumbing company should run instead
Google has phased out call-only ads in favor of search ads with call assets. What that means for plumbers who relied on tap-to-call ads, and the fix.
If your plumbing company ran call-only ads for years, the ones where a homeowner tapped the ad and their phone dialed you with no website in between, those campaigns have been winding down. Google has phased out the call-only ad format and moved advertisers to regular search ads with a phone number attached as a call asset. For a trade that lives on emergency calls, that is worth understanding before the first freeze.
What actually changed
The old call-only ad was built for one thing: a phone call. It had a headline, two short lines and your number. A tap dialed you. There was no landing page, so there was no chance of a homeowner wandering off to read reviews or price lists first.
That format is gone. In its place, Google wants you to run a standard responsive search ad, which points to a page on your website, with a call asset attached. On a phone, the call asset shows a call button or your number next to the ad. A homeowner can still tap to call, but they can also tap the headline and land on your site.
Google explains how call assets work, including scheduling and call reporting, in its help page on call assets.
What it means for a plumbing company
Three things, in order of how much they matter.
Your website is now part of every ad. With call-only ads, a slow or thin site did not matter much. Now some share of people who see your ad will land on the page before they call. If that page loads slowly, does not show a phone number at the top, or talks about everything except burst pipes, you pay for the click and lose the call.
The data suggests a lot of plumbing companies are exposed here. 28.7% of plumbing companies in our data link no website at all, and companies with one carry a median of 39 reviews against 6 without. If you were running call-only ads without a real site, you need one now.
You have to schedule the call button. A call asset can show at any hour unless you tell it not to. If nobody answers at 2 a.m., an ad promising a phone call is paying for missed calls. Set the call asset schedule to match the hours someone actually picks up. If you do answer around the clock, say so, because only 25.6% of plumbing profiles show as open 24 hours.
Calls and clicks now compete in the same budget. Before, every dollar on a call-only campaign bought a dial attempt. Now some of the spend goes to clicks that never call. Watch your cost per call, not your cost per click, and track calls from the site as well as calls from the ad.
How to rebuild the campaign
If you had call-only campaigns, here is a simple replacement.
- Build one landing page per emergency. Burst pipe, no hot water, sewer backup, clogged main line. Each page needs your number in large type at the very top, a tap-to-call button that follows the visitor down the page, your service area, and two or three reviews. The website essentials guide has the full list.
- Write ads that match the page. "Burst Pipe Repair, Plumber On The Way, Call Now" should go to the burst pipe page, not your homepage.
- Attach a call asset with a schedule. Use a Google forwarding number so calls are counted, and limit the schedule to staffed hours.
- Count calls from the website as conversions. Put a tracked number on the landing pages and record calls over a set length, such as 60 seconds, as conversions. Otherwise Google will optimize for clicks.
- Cut the research searches. Add negatives for "how to," "DIY," "cost of," and "jobs." Those searches were mostly filtered out by the call-only format. Now they will eat budget.
The Google Ads guide goes deeper on budgets, match types and negatives.
Do not forget the alternatives
For many plumbing companies, Local Services Ads still sit above regular search ads and charge per lead, not per click. And the map results below them cost nothing. Both depend on reviews. The median plumbing company in our data has 21 reviews and only 23.1% have passed 100. If your ad budget is tight, the change to call-only ads is a good moment to move some effort into your profile and review requests, which pay off no matter what Google does to ad formats next.
A check to run this week
Open your Google Ads account and look for any campaign still built around call-only ads. Check whether it is still getting impressions. Then search your top emergency keyword on your phone and tap your own ad. Count how many seconds it takes to see your phone number, and whether the page matches the search. If either answer is bad, that is your first fix. The benchmark report shows how your profile compares while you are at it.
If you want the landing pages, call tracking and campaign rebuild handled for you, any service is available as a free 14-day trial, no card. Text or call (346) 436-6274.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, plumbing companies among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor