Call Tracking for Ads in India: DNI, Tracking Numbers, Google Ads

To see which ad made your phone ring in India, give each source its own phone number and count the calls on each. Google Ads does this with Google forwarding numbers, including dynamic number insertion (DNI) on your website, at no cost beyond your ad clicks; a separate number for a newspaper ad or hoarding costs ₹300 a month on Heyo Lite, ₹499 for an extra Zoho Voice landline, or ₹200 on Plivo's developer API.

There are India-specific catches. Google doesn't show the caller's number for Indian calls, CallRail doesn't serve India, and Meta's call-ad figures are partly modelled. A practical setup combines Google's call reporting, one rented number per offline source, and a "How did you hear about us?" question.

What is dynamic number insertion?

Dynamic number insertion is a script on your website that swaps the phone number each visitor sees, based on how they arrived: a Google ad, an Instagram post, an email. Each swapped-in number forwards to your real line, and the tracking system notes which number was dialled, so it knows the source.

DNI only works for website visitors. For offline sources such as a newspaper ad, a hoarding, a flyer or a listing site, you print a fixed tracking number, one per source.

Can you use DNI in India?

Yes, through Google. Google Ads' website call conversions allow "a Google forwarding number to dynamically replace your website number for users who clicked an ad" (Google Ads Help), which is DNI for your Google-ad traffic. Google forwarding numbers are available in India (country list).

Three limits to plan around:

• No caller number in India. Google's call details include duration, start time and whether the call connected, but not the caller's number for Indian calls. On some Indian calls, your caller ID shows a Google number instead of the customer's, so after a missed call from an ad you may have no number to call back.
• Search only. Call reporting runs on the Search Network.
• No CallRail. The best-known DNI vendor offers call tracking only in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia (CallRail Help).

Waybeo, an Indian company, sells virtual numbers to track calls by ad, website or campaign, and doesn't publish prices.

Six ways to track which ad or campaign drove a call

How we compared: features and prices from each provider's official page, checked in September 2026. Prices exclude 18% GST unless stated.

Google Ads call reporting

Turn on call reporting in Account settings, and Google puts a forwarding number on your call assets and call ads. You set a minimum call length, and every call at least that long counts as a "Calls from ads" conversion. A tap on the call button is charged as a click; Google doesn't charge when someone dials the forwarding number by hand.

Without forwarding numbers, Google can still count clicks on call buttons, but then it estimates whether a real call followed.

Google's DNI on your website

Add the Google tag and a website call conversion snippet, and visitors who clicked a Google ad see a forwarding number on your site. Visitors who found you any other way still see your normal number, so their calls aren't counted by Google.

Meta call ads

Meta reports calls placed, 20-second calls and 60-second calls for call ads, and says the metrics are "partially derived through modeling, rather than a straight count" (Meta Business Help). Use them to rank ads against each other, and count real enquiries on your own line.

One number per offline source

Rent an extra number for each offline source and print it only on that ad. Four ways to get one:

• Heyo Lite: ₹300 a month for a business number with 2 users and call recording.
• Zoho Voice: 499 credits a month for an extra landline number and 799 for a mobile number, on top of a Zoho Voice plan; 1 credit is ₹1.
• Plivo: ₹200 a month per domestic number, plus ₹0.38 a minute, through its developer API. It needs a certificate of incorporation and GST.
• Exotel Believer: ₹19,999 for 11 months, with 2 numbers, 6 agents and 9,500 call credits, if you want one number for campaigns.

Before printing, call the number yourself and check it rings where your team answers.

Missed-call numbers

A missed-call number rings once, disconnects and logs the caller, and your team calls back. It suits hoardings and packaging, where a caller won't wait on hold.

Vi Business Lead Management starts at ₹1,000 a month with 6 paise per missed call, and Knowlarity's missed-call number costs ₹5,000 a month with 2 lakh free missed calls. Our missed call alert service guide compares the options.

Ask the caller

It costs nothing and catches word of mouth, which no tracking number can. Ask on every new enquiry and log the answer from a fixed list, not as free text.

English: "Before I note your requirement, may I ask how you found us: Google, Facebook or Instagram, a newspaper, a hoarding, or someone who recommended us?"

Hinglish: "Aapki requirement note karne se pehle ek chhota sa sawaal: aapko humara number kahan se mila? Google, Facebook ya Instagram, akhbaar, hoarding, ya kisi ne refer kiya?"

Worked example: a coaching institute with 4 lead sources

Our calculation, with assumed call volumes. The institute runs Google search ads, Instagram call ads, a newspaper ad and a hoarding near a college. The front desk answers all calls.

1. Google search ads: turn on call reporting. Extra cost: ₹0.
2. Instagram call ads: read calls placed and 20-second calls in Ads Manager. Extra cost: ₹0.
3. Newspaper ad: a Zoho Voice Basic licence for the front desk costs ₹699 a month, billed annually, and includes 1 free Mumbai landline number. Print that number in the newspaper only. If you want a local number instead, check which cities Zoho offers before printing.
4. Hoarding: a second Zoho Voice landline at 499 credits = ₹499 a month.
5. Call charges: assume 300 billed minutes of incoming calls a month on the two numbers (Zoho rounds each call up to the next minute), at 0.4 credit a minute = 120 credits, or ₹120.

Total: ₹699 + ₹499 + ₹120 = ₹1,318 a month, plus local taxes, on top of ad spend. After a month, divide each source's spend by its calls. For example, a ₹15,000 newspaper ad that brings 25 calls costs ₹15,000 ÷ 25 = ₹600 a call; compare that with the hoarding and the Google ads before renewing.

Set it up this week

1. List every source that brings calls today, including repeat customers and word of mouth.
2. Turn on Google Ads call reporting, and set a minimum call length that matches a real enquiry.
3. Rent one number for each offline source you pay for, and print it only there.
4. Add a "Source" column to your call log with fixed options, and ask the question on every new call.
5. After four weeks, work out cost per call for each source: spend ÷ calls.
6. Cut or change the most expensive sources, and repeat monthly.

For the other meaning of call tracking, watching your own team's calls, see how call tracking software works and our comparison of sales call tracking software.

Where TalkEasy fits

TalkEasy by GrowEasy handles what happens once the phone rings. It gives your team a shared virtual business number that routes enquiries to whoever is free, logs every call whoever answers, and, with missed-call automation on, calls back customers whose calls were missed. Disclosure: TalkEasy is our product.

To measure which ads bring those calls, start with Google Ads call reporting and one number per offline source. For a list of Indian providers that rent extra numbers, see our comparison of virtual number providers, and our virtual number guide covers the KYC you'll need.

Last reviewed 24 September 2026.