I've been working extensively with HubSpot lately, particularly in setting up Google Ad Conversion Tracking with HubSpot landing pages and forms. HubSpot’s Enterprise Marketing Hub simplifies tracking conversions like form submissions, marketing-qualified leads, or offline sales as Google Ad Conversions. If you’re not using the Enterprise Marketing Hub, the process can be more complex, but that's a topic for another time.

Tracking Phone Call Leads: Is It Possible?

What if your business primarily generates leads through phone calls? Can HubSpot’s Google Ad Integration track calls as a conversion? Can it track marketing-qualified leads and offline sales originating from phone call leads?

I recently posed this question to HubSpot support regarding the tracking of offline conversions from phone calls, and here’s what they had to say:

"HubSpot's capability for creating a lifecycle stage ad conversion event is primarily based on leads that submitted a form and where HubSpot collects the GCLID or email address for Enhanced Conversions for Leads.

Unfortunately, at this time, HubSpot does not support creating a lifecycle stage ad conversion event for leads that came in via a phone call instead of a form submission.

The process relies on capturing specific data points like GCLID or email address, which are usually associated with form submissions for ad conversion events synchronization with Google Ads."

As you can see, tracking phone call leads as a conversion via HubSpot’s Google Ads Integration is currently not possible. This limitation is somewhat puzzling, especially given that many businesses, particularly local ones, still rely heavily on phone calls. It appears that HubSpot’s focus as an enterprise CRM may prioritize leads generated through form submissions over those from phone calls.

Alternatives for Tracking Phone Call Leads

However, all is not lost. You can still track phone calls as Google Ad Conversions using Google Ads’ native call conversion tracking, which operates independently of HubSpot or its Google Ads Integration. You can also track offline conversions like marketing-qualified leads or sales for phone call leads by manually importing the data to Google Ads using their template. However, this method can be cumbersome and prone to errors and not easy since you have to be equipped to collect data like call start time.

A More Efficient Solution: WhatConverts

For those seeking a more streamlined approach to tracking offline conversions from phone call leads, even when using HubSpot CRM, I recommend using a software solution called WhatConverts. I've been using it recently, and it makes tracking offline conversions for both call and form submission leads much more manageable.

WhatConverts offers a HubSpot integration that ensures seamless data synchronization. Essentially, WhatConverts acts as an intermediary between your ad platform and HubSpot. When a lead comes in, it first passes through WhatConverts, and then it is forwarded to HubSpot. As the lead progresses through stages in HubSpot, such as becoming a marketing-qualified lead or a customer, that data is automatically sent back to WhatConverts, which can then trigger a Google Ad Conversion.