How do I track phone calls that come from Google Maps?

What does Google show me about calls?

Google shows a Calls figure in your Business Profile performance report. Google’s help page defines it as the number of times a customer clicked the call button on your Business Profile. You must add your phone number to the profile for this metric to work.

The report covers Search and Maps together. It includes activity from organic results and from Google Ads. Only verified profiles get performance data. Only the metrics that apply to your business appear.

How do I find the Calls figure?

On a computer:

1. Sign in to the Google Account that manages your profile.
2. Go to your Business Profile.
3. Click Performance.
4. Select a time period at the top.
5. Click Apply.

On your phone:

1. Open the Google Maps app.
2. Tap Business at the bottom right.
3. Next to “Performance”, tap See more.
4. Select a time period and tap Apply.

What does the Calls figure not tell me?

It counts clicks on the call button. It does not prove that a call connected. It does not prove that the caller became a customer. Someone who reads your number and dials it later from a different phone does not appear as a click.

The figure also does not separate Maps from Search. If you need to know which of the two sent the caller, the report alone cannot say.

Views have limits too. Google counts a person once a day, so the numbers can be lower than you expect. The searches metric updates at the start of each month and can take up to 5 days to appear.

How do I count the calls the report misses?

Add a simple human check. It costs nothing and works for a small business.

1. Make a sheet with these columns: date, caller name or job type, how they found you, and whether the job was booked.
2. Teach everyone who answers the phone to ask: “How did you hear about us?”
3. Offer the same short list every time: Google Maps, Google Search, a directory, a friend, a truck or sign, or other.
4. Read the sheet once a month next to the Calls figure from the Performance report.
5. Note any month where the sheet shows many more Maps callers than the report shows clicks. Those callers probably copied the number or called from a desktop.

If you record calls, tell callers at the start. That is a privacy matter in Canada, so ask your lawyer what notice you need. If you follow up with a text message, CASL requires consent for commercial messages.

Should I use a separate tracking number?

A separate number gives you cleaner counts. It also carries a risk. Your phone number must match across your profile, your website, and the directories that list you. A mismatch can confuse customers and the systems that read your listings.

Google’s help pages in our sources do not say how Google treats tracking numbers, so we do not make a claim about it. If you try one, keep your main number visible on your website, and check the profile after the change. Do not put a phone number in your business name. Google’s guidelines list phone numbers and website addresses as things a business name must not include.

Keep one profile per business. Google’s guidelines say duplicates can cause problems with how your information shows on Maps and Search.

Do all my calls come from Google Maps now?

No. Customers also ask AI tools and read review sites before they call. In our August 2026 study, we asked ChatGPT one question per town and trade, and we searched Google Maps for the same pair. That gave 390 question pairs across 39 towns and 10 trades. These figures show why a call can start somewhere other than your profile.

A caller who read about you on a review site, then phoned, may never click the call button on your profile. The “how did you hear about us” question catches those callers. The Performance report does not.

What should I do with the numbers?

Compare the sheet and the report each month. Look for direction, not exact counts. If Calls rises and booked jobs do not, check your phone answering and your hours. If both rise, your profile is doing its job. Neither number promises future results.