Key Takeaways:
- Local Actions vs. Local Action Conversions: Local Actions represent the user behavior after interacting with an ad, while Local Action Conversions are the verified actions Google records and reports in Google Ads after confirming the interaction.
- Primary vs. Secondary Conversion Actions: Setting Local Action Conversions as Primary allows Google’s automated bidding to optimize campaigns toward those actions. Secondary conversions provide reporting and insight but do not influence campaign optimization.
- Reporting Delay: Local Action Conversions often have a 24- to 48-hour reporting delay, and sometimes longer. Recent data may appear incomplete when reviewing performance from the previous day.
- 30 Day Attribution Window: Conversions can be attributed to an ad interaction if the user completes the action within 30 days of engaging with the ad.
- Data Driven Attribution: Conversion credit may be distributed across multiple campaigns or touchpoints when data driven attribution is used.
The goal of advertising for your local business is driving more qualified leads. Whether you’re looking to increase foot traffic to your store or the number of calls and form submissions, you want your local ads to encourage users to interact more with your business.
Bridging the gap between online clicks & calls to your business or customers entering your store can feel like a guessing game. Local Actions Conversions are the missing piece of the puzzle.
By tracking how users interact with your business across Google Maps and Search, these metrics provide a clear view into how your ad spend translates into real-world interest. Understanding this data is essential for any business looking to master the art of location-based marketing.
What are Local Actions?
Local Actions are a specific set of pre-defined user engagements that occur on your Google Business Profile (GBP) after a user interacts with one of your ads.
- For businesses with a physical shop: they track intent to visit your brick-and-mortar storefront.
- For service-area businesses: they track the intent to engage with a local provider.
Local actions are counted when a user performs a location-specific task, such as clicking to call your business, sending a message, or viewing your service area map.
Types of Local Actions
Google tracks six (6) types of local actions:
- Clicks to call: number of times users click on the “Call” button while or after interacting with your ad. Helpful for users who are on mobile devices who can automatically get your store on the line without even having to go to your website.
- Direction requests: number of “Directions” or “Start” (navigation) clicks on your business locations, while or after engaging with your ads.
- Website visits: number of “Website” clicks on your business locations, while or after engaging with your ads.
- Clicks to order: number of “Order” clicks on your business locations, while or after engaging with your ads.
- Menu views (Vertical specific): number of menu clicks on your business locations, while or after engaging with your ads.
- Other engagements: number of clicks on additional user actions. For example, “Share Location”, “Save”, “Photos”, “More Info”, “Place Exploration”, and more, while or after engaging with your ads.
What are Local Actions Conversions?
Local Actions Conversions are a specific set of “Google-Hosted” conversion actions that measure how users interact with your physical business locations on Google services (like Google Maps and Search) after engaging with your ads.
Because these actions take place directly on Google’s own platforms rather than your website, Google creates and tracks them automatically if you have active Location Assets (formerly location extensions) linked to your Google Business Profile.
How Local Actions Conversions Affect Google Ads Data
Local Actions Conversions change how you interpret your campaign performance by bridging the gap between online clicks and offline intent. Here is how they specifically affect your data:
Reporting
Local actions function as Google-hosted conversions, meaning they track interactions that occur within the Google ecosystem rather than on your website. Because these actions happen on platforms like Google Maps or the Search Results Page, they are recorded automatically and typically populate in the “All Conversions” column of your dashboard.
This provides a high level of metric transparency. Instead of guessing what happens after a user clicks your ad, you get a granular view of exactly how they are engaging with your business. You can see the specific breakdown between:
- Clicks to Call: Direct phone inquiries.
- Directions: High-intent navigation requests.
- Website Visits: Traffic redirected from your Google Business Profile.
Segmenting
Local actions are more than just a metric; they are a powerful tool for segmenting data to understand how ads drive specific geographic intent. Since these actions are Google-hosted and automated, they offer a unique layer of reporting that standard web conversions cannot match.
Segmentation by Conversion Action
While Local Actions usually live in the All Conversions column rather than the main “Conversions” column, you can break this data down by campaign. By segmenting by Conversion Action, your reporting table expands into multiple rows, showing the exact volume for each specific local interaction.
Segmentation by Store Location
For businesses with multiple branches or service areas, you can segment data by Store Location. This allows you to identify which specific physical locations are the primary drivers of digital engagement, helping you pinpoint where your local marketing is most effective.
Automated Bidding Impact
Google’s Smart Bidding strategies, such as Maximize Conversions or Target CPA (tCPA), can use Local Actions as powerful signals to optimize campaign performance. However, for these actions to influence the bidding algorithm, they must be set as Primary conversion actions or tied to specific campaign goals. Once integrated, the automation learns which users are most likely to perform these local tasks and adjusts your bids in real-time to capture that intent.
Attribution and the 30-Day Window
By default, Local Actions utilize a 30-day click-through window. If a user interacts with your ad and then performs a local action (like calling or requesting directions) within the next 30 days, credit is attributed to that specific ad.
Most of these actions now utilize Data-Driven Attribution (DDA). Rather than simply giving all the credit to the very last click, DDA allows for partial credit to be distributed across every touchpoint in the user’s journey. This creates a much more accurate picture of how various ads contributed to the final local engagement.
Proxy Metric for Store Visits
True “Store Visit” conversions require massive amounts of data and verified location history. Many smaller accounts or service-area businesses may not meet these threshold requirements.
For accounts that lack the data volume for official Store Visit reporting, Direction Clicks serve as the most reliable proxy metric. It acts as a digital signal that highly correlates with a user physically arriving at a location or engaging deeply with a service-area provider.
Primary vs. Secondary Conversion Actions
Local Action Conversions can be categorized as Primary or Secondary. How you categorize these actions directly dictates your campaign performance and how Google’s AI treats your budget.
- The Default State: Local Conversion Actions typically default to Secondary. This means they are recorded and visible in your reports, but they do not impact automated bidding. This is ideal for advertisers who want to observe user behavior without forcing the campaign to spend money specifically to get more direction requests or phone calls.
- Shifting to Primary: If your goal is to drive phone calls or map views, you must categorize these as Primary actions at the account or campaign level. This signals to Google that these interactions are a priority for optimization.
- Performance Max for Store Goals: Certain campaign types are exceptions. In a Performance Max campaign optimized for Store Goals, Google automatically treats Local Actions as Primary to ensure the campaign focuses on driving local traffic.
- Campaign-Level Flexibility: You can apply specific local goals to a single campaign without affecting the rest of your account. This allows one campaign to focus strictly on local intent while others focus on website sales or lead forms.
The Stores Report
Store Report allows advertisers to see how individual physical locations perform within your ad campaigns. Instead of just seeing totals at the campaign level, we can drill down further to see how users are interacting with the local conversion actions for each location.
To view this performance, the left-hand side will take you through Campaigns > Insights & Reports > Stores.
From here, we can see how individual store locations interact with the location actions.
Segment by date range to view how stores are doing during a certain period (remember, there is a delay in reporting if looking at recent performance).
Common columns that can be reviewed include:
- Local Reach (Impressions),
- Store Visits,
- Call Clicks,
- Driving Directions, and
- Website visits.
These columns can be adjusted to include the columns we care for the most and exclude the ones we don’t.
Why the Stores Report Matters for Local Ad Performance
The Stores report helps you understand how customers interact with each of your business locations after seeing your ads. Instead of viewing performance only at the campaign level, this report reveals how individual locations drive engagement such as calls, direction requests, and website visits. These insights help you see which locations generate the strongest local interest and where additional optimization may be needed.
By reviewing this data, advertisers can identify patterns in customer behavior. For example, one location may generate a high number of direction requests while another receives more phone calls. These differences can reveal how customers prefer to engage with each location and help you tailor your advertising strategy accordingly.
This location-specific engagement data also makes it easier to optimize campaigns around specific goals. If a location receives strong engagement but fewer store visits, you might update ad messaging to encourage in person traffic. If calls are the priority, you could emphasize call focused messaging or highlight services that encourage immediate contact.
Advertisers can also refine ad copy, location assets, and promotions based on what drives engagement for each location. For instance, promoting an in-store sale or limited time local offer can encourage users to request directions or visit the store. Over time, these adjustments help ensure your ads support the actions that matter most to your business.
Turn Local Ad Engagement Into Measurable Growth
Mastering Local Conversion Actions can transform how you evaluate Google Ads performance. Instead of relying only on website clicks or impressions, you gain visibility into how users interact with your business through calls, directions, and other location-based signals. This deeper level of insight helps advertisers connect digital campaigns with real world engagement and make smarter optimization decisions.
If you want to maximize the impact of your local advertising strategy, working with experienced PPC professionals can make the difference. The team at Logical Position helps businesses translate Google Ads data into actionable growth strategies that drive calls, visits, and qualified leads. Contact Logical Position to learn how expert ppc ad management services can help you get more value from your local ad spend.
