How to track calls from Google Ads location assets and Performance Max local ads with Nimbata

If you're running Google Ads - especially Performance Max - some of your call conversions are quietly routing through your Google Business Profile (GBP) instead of the Call Asset you set up in Google Ads. This guide shows how to track those calls properly with Nimbata, without breaking your organic call tracking.

Google Ads can pull phone numbers from at least three different places when serving an ad:

• The Call Asset you create manually inside Google Ads (formerly known as "call extensions")
• Automated assets generated by Google after scraping your website
• Your Google Business Profile - any time Google Ads serves a local map or location-based ad format

Performance Max routinely serves local map ads. When it does, the phone number on the ad comes from your linked Google Business Profile, not from your Call Asset.
This means a portion of your Google Ads-driven calls bypass your Call Asset setup entirely.

If you only have a Nimbata tracking number on the Call Asset, those local-ad calls won't be tracked.

Why you can't just replace the main GBP phone number

The instinct is to swap the main phone number on the Google Business Profile with a Nimbata tracking number. But that has a side effect: the tracking number then shows up everywhere - organic Maps listings, organic search results, the "Call" button on your business listing, everywhere your GBP appears.
You end up tracking everything — paid and organic — through the same number. That defeats the purpose of paid attribution.

The fix: Google Ads phone number field in GBP

Google Business Profile has a dedicated field for exactly this scenario. It's called Google Ads phone number, and Google describes it as "The number used on your location extension ads."
In plain English: this is a phone number that only gets used when Google Ads pulls your GBP into a location-based ad. Organic Maps, organic search, and the standard "Call" button on your GBP listing keep using your main business phone number.
The field is buried inside the GBP Advanced settings drawer, so most marketers don't know it exists.

How to set it up

Step 1. Open your Google Business Profile

Search for your business in Google while signed in as a manager of the profile. Click the three-dot menu next to your business name and select Advanced settings.

Step 2. Scroll to "Google Ads phone number"

In the Advanced settings drawer, scroll past the Labels and Shop code sections. You'll find a section titled Google Ads phone number with the description: "The number used on your location extension ads."

Step 3. Add your Nimbata tracking number

Click Add, paste in the Nimbata tracking number you want to use for paid local ad calls, and save.
If you don't already have a tracking number provisioned for this purpose, create one inside Nimbata under Tracking Numbers before completing this step. We recommend using a number from the same area code as the business itself so the ad still looks local and native to the searcher.

Step 4. Confirm your two-number setup

Your GBP should now have:

• Primary phone number - your client's real business line (stays clean for organic listings)
• Google Ads phone number - your Nimbata tracking number (only fires on paid local ad formats)

That's it. Performance Max and any other Google Ads campaign serving location-based ads will now route those specific calls through your tracking number, while organic listings continue to use the real business line.

How to verify it's working

Give the change 24–48 hours to propagate, then:

• Open the campaign in Google Ads and go to Insights → Call details
• Cross-reference the numbers in the Phone number column with your Nimbata tracking inventory
• Calls with source "Ad" and type "Mobile click-to-call" should now route through your Google Ads phone number, not your main GBP line

You can also confirm inside Nimbata by filtering calls by tracking number and reviewing the Call source field on incoming calls.

A note on Performance Max specifically

Performance Max is the campaign type where this matters most, because it has the broadest mix of ad formats - search, display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and local map ads. The local map ad format is what pulls the GBP phone number.
If you're running Search-only campaigns, the Call Asset typically covers you. Once Performance Max enters the picture, the GBP field becomes essential.

Updated on: 30/06/2026