Creative Formats & Assets

Call Assets vs Location Assets

In short: Both add an action-oriented element to a search ad, but they point toward different real-world actions. Call assets add a phone number you enter directly, prompting a dial and trackable by call duration. Location assets pull address and distance from a linked, verified Business Profile, prompting a visit and trackable through store-visit estimates. Call assets fail from staffing or scheduling issues you control; location assets fail from profile-verification issues that surface no visible error. Choosing between them is really choosing which action - calling or visiting - actually closes your sale.

By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026

Call Assets

Adds a phone number or tap-to-call button to a search ad, letting a searcher dial you without loading a landing page.

Formerly call extensions, these can use a Google forwarding number so calls report as conversions once they pass a duration threshold, and they can be scheduled to appear only during business hours. They fit service businesses where the phone closes the sale. The mistake is leaving them running outside staffed hours, which spends budget on calls nobody answers and buries the conversion data under missed rings.

Full definition

Location Assets

Pulls address, map pin, and distance from a linked Business Profile so a search ad can surface your nearest storefront.

The asset links your Google Business Profile to the ads account, and Google shows the branch closest to the searcher along with hours and a directions link, which can also feed store-visit reporting. Use it whenever the physical location matters to the purchase. The mistake is broken plumbing: unverified or mismatched Business Profile locations simply stop the asset from serving, silently, with no obvious error surfaced.

Full definition

Side by side.

The differences that actually change what happens in your account.

 Call AssetsLocation Assets
What it addsA phone number or tap-to-call button.Address, map pin, and distance from Business Profile.
Action promptedDial the phone.Get directions or visit in person.
Source of contentA number you enter directly, optionally with a Google forwarding number.Pulled live from a linked, verified Business Profile.
Varies by searcherNo, same number to everyone - only its schedule varies.Yes, shows the nearest branch and live distance.
Setup dependencyA working number; forwarding number optional for tracking.A verified Business Profile correctly linked to the ads account.
Conversion signalCall-duration-based conversion.Store-visit conversion estimates, when eligible.
Failure modeRunning outside staffed hours, wasting spend on unanswered calls.An unverified or mismatched profile silently stops it from serving.

What actually separates them.

01

Call assets are entered directly by you - a number, optionally a forwarding number - while location assets are inherited from an external, verified Business Profile you don't type into directly.

02

Call assets track conversions by call duration; location assets track a separate signal, store-visit estimates, when eligible - the two conversion paths measure entirely different real-world actions.

03

Location content varies with the searcher's position, showing the nearest branch and live distance; a call asset's number is identical for everyone, with only its schedule varying by time.

04

Call assets fail from staffing and scheduling mismatches you control directly; location assets fail from profile verification or linking problems that produce no visible error in the Ads UI.

05

Call assets fit a phone-first conversion path and location assets fit a visit-first conversion path, so choosing between them is really a choice about which real-world action actually closes the sale.

Which one should you use?

Use Call Assets when

  • Phone conversations close the sale better than any page could.
  • You have staffed hours to schedule the asset around.
  • You want call-duration conversion tracking.
  • There's no meaningful storefront element to the purchase.

Use Location Assets when

  • A physical visit is the actual goal.
  • You run a multi-location business with a verified Business Profile.
  • You want directions, nearest-branch logic, and store-visit reporting.
  • Phone isn't the primary conversion path for the business.

Common questions.

Can I run call assets and location assets on the same ad?

Yes, this is a common combination for local service businesses - the location asset drives foot traffic, the call asset captures the searchers who'd rather phone in first.

Which one should a single-location retail store use?

Often both - location assets add directions and hours that help someone find the store, and call assets add value if phone orders or questions matter too. They're not mutually exclusive, so there's rarely a reason to pick only one.

Why would my location asset stop working while my call asset still shows fine?

They're independent systems - location assets depend on Business Profile verification and linking, which is unrelated to the phone number you entered directly for the call asset. One breaking has no bearing on the other.

Do call assets require a physical address to work?

No, a call asset only needs a valid phone number - there's no location data or Business Profile dependency involved at all.

Or stop choosing between them.

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