Question

I have an Ads account set up for a security guard company. I get calls for other security companies, border patrol, the navy, network security and other things that are not my business. I've asked people how they got our number (google) and what number they dialed. For a while, it was other phone numbers that were coming through to us (i. e. our number is 555-555-5555 and they dialed 123-456-7890 but it came to our phone), making me think it was google phone numbers that were set up to track calls and somehow they were being routed to the wrong number. I turned off call tracking, which reduced the amount of calls I get like that, but I still get them, only now the people indicate the ad shows our number. So they're telling me they see an ad for another security company, border patrol, the navy, etc. that has our 555-555-5555 number on it. Disclaimer: The people that call are not very bright (just being honest), so I'm not 100% sure they didn't just search for some term, our ad popped up first and they dialed our number without realizing it was an ad and not the specific thing they were searching for. But I've talked to a few people that seem pretty adamant that the number they are seeing for "border patrol" is our number. Has anyone experienced something like this? If it is a situation where google is somehow putting our number on someone else's ad or routing a call from someone else's ad to our number, I have no idea who to speak to at google about it. I hope someone can provide some insight.  

Answer 1

All of that can easily be solved by using a call tracking software. It's usually accurate down to the keyword.  

Answer 2

Hey it was something which usually happened to me on daily basis 4 years back but all i did was "nothing" one of my competetors called me one day complaining that my number was showing in his ad copy and claimed i hacked or circumvented the system but i gave him the finger on the call and this continued for a while till that account got suspended.  

Answer 3

Communication issues with the callers. I highly doubt the navy and other companies are paying to run ads to your # Make a negative list of all other security companies to avoid customer service calls. Neg out all military and network security companies and terms. And use the positive kws. And sign up for CallRail and put tracking on site so you don't have to ask people where they found you. You'll know exactly how they found you. And how much you're paying per call, to the cent People literally type anything into Google and click the first thing, thinking that Google magically read their mind. They are certain that they called border patrol because they do not understand how Google works

Comments

@damning/activity" class="qa-user-link">damning this^. You would be surprised the dumb people that will click threw your ad and landing page and call you that are looking for something else , just because of what they searched and your ad popping up. It’s extremely common especially in new campaigns, what @damning/activity" class="qa-user-link">damning said and check your search term report religiously and negative out the junk.  

Answer 4

Check search terms conversions for phone calls.  

Answer 5

In a very rare scenario, what happens is that one Google Forwarding number that was assigned to the previous client, having the same nature of business, gets allotted to another client, having similar nature of business. As a result, you keep on getting calls for somebody’s else’s business name, though the nature of the business remains the same. Since this allotment of Google forwarding numbers is on an automated basis, you’d have to figure out if your case fits into that completely or not. I’d advice you to contact Google support and inform them about what you’re experiencing. They can check the allotment of these numbers, and will give you the real reason and maybe with a possible refund.  

Comments

Please leave Google support. They'll only make more damages. PLEASE DONT!  

---

@moyers4 I don’t personally know about your experience, but like I’ve seen clients getting a refund for this, so mentioned that

---

@kipper2 a refund? From Google Ads? They have been EXTREMELY lucky. Not even a case normally. (Google Partner)

---

I’ve dealt with all Google Partner clients up till now and haven’t faced this scenario. The idea is to push back and let them know what exactly happened and for how long did your business suffer for it. Basically the detailing part. Hope this helps

Answer 6

Clearly your ads are either all over the place (no specific targeting, broad match kwrds and perhaps no negative keywords) Or have some issues with geo-targeting. I'd say stop the ads (and the money wasting) and get someone to audit your account.  

Comments

And when I say "get someone to audit the account"can be ANYONE but NOT GOOGLE REP!  

Answer 7

Thanks for all the feedback. It IS a new account, and I have been monitoring the search terms and adding negative keywords for things like border, navy, job, hiring, and other irrelevant terms that show up in the reports. Is it a good idea to negative out competitors? I was thinking there is a chance someone could be searching for a competitor for a new account and end up calling us because of our ad placement, but the amount of people that are searching for the competitor for customer service is probably greater.