Google has announced a major update to its Ads policies that will affect how businesses use phone numbers in call-only ads, call assets, and location assets.
Beginning December 10, 2025, advertisers must follow stricter rules to ensure the phone numbers shown in ads are local, active, and directly tied to the business being advertised.
For small businesses and marketers who rely on call tracking to measure performance and prove ROI, this update raises new questions: Which numbers are allowed? Will dynamic number insertion or rotating numbers still work? And what does this mean for compliance going forward?
Below is what’s changing — and what you can do to stay compliant.
What's changing: The policy in plain terms
Here’s what Google’s new “Unacceptable phone numbers” policy requires:
- Numbers must be active and in service in the targeted country or region.
- Numbers must be local or domestic to the campaign’s target area and connect directly to the advertised business.
- Each number must include voicemail or after-hours handling if the business is unavailable.
- Fax numbers, premium numbers (e.g. 1-900), vanity (e.g. 1-800-FLOWERS), or unrelated “virtual number services” are explicitly prohibited.
- Google may place short test calls to validate that the number is functional, relevant, and accurate.
Why Google made this change: to curb spam, reduce fraudulent listings, and ensure that when a customer calls, they reach the real business promoted in the ad.
When enforcement begins: December 10, 2025. Google will issue warnings at least seven days in advance before any suspension.
Google has confirmed that nothing about its crawler, number-detection logic, or how it handles dynamic number insertion (DNI) is changing with this policy. If your setup works today, it will continue to work after enforcement begins. The update is focused only on stopping egregious, harmful misuse of phone numbers — not on disrupting legitimate call tracking.
The impact: How it might affect your ads
For marketers, this policy reinforces the standards Google already expects for how phone numbers behave in call ads. Any number used in your campaigns must meet Google’s basic integrity requirements.
Number relevance and locality
Google’s crawlers may check your landing page to confirm that the phone number listed in the ad appears there as visible text. If your page uses DNI, ensure your business’s routing number appears somewhere on your site, which helps confirm ownership if alternative verification is needed.
Routing and business connection
Calls must connect to the business represented in the ad. Numbers that connect to the wrong business, shared answering lines, or unrelated destinations may be flagged. Agencies should ensure routing is correct for each client.
What won’t change: Your reporting and attribution capabilities remain unaffected. As long as numbers are local, active, and properly routed, they will continue to pass verification.
Why call tracking still works
If you rely on call tracking to measure ROI, don’t panic — Google’s policy isn’t banning tracking numbers, or changing how they’re verified.
Google’s clarification means call tracking continues to work exactly as it does today. Nothing in the new policy interferes with your ability to use DNI, dynamic routing, or tracking numbers.
Here’s what Google’s policy doesn’t restrict:
- Call-tracking numbers that route to verified businesses
- Dynamically inserted numbers
- Attribution and reporting
What matters most is quality and configuration:
- CallRail provides business-grade numbers that are provisioned locally, active, voicemail-enabled, and routed directly to your business.
- Each number is also washed before assignment to help avoid any previous negative history.
How to keep your call tracking numbers from getting flagged
To stay compliant and avoid disruption, follow these best practices:
1. Use a local or domestic tracking number for each geo-targeted campaign.
- If your ad targets Atlanta, use an Atlanta-based number.
- Do not reuse a single non-local number across multiple local campaigns or countries.
- If your company operates in multiple countries, create separate companies within CallRail and assign region-appropriate tracking numbers.
2. Make sure your landing page number is visible as text.
- Don’t hide the number behind scripts, images, or click-to-call buttons that Google’s crawlers can’t read.
- Ensure the number connects to the same business shown in the ad for easy verification.
3. Make sure calls always connect to the advertised business.
- Route calls directly to the company or location featured in the ad.
- Agencies should confirm routing points to the correct client.
4. Enable voicemail or after-hours call handling.
- Google’s bots may make short test calls to confirm connectivity.
- Your number must always be “in service,” with active forwarding or voicemail when your main line is busy or closed.
5. Avoid vanity, premium, fax, or personal numbering systems.
- Google explicitly prohibits fax lines, toll numbers, vanity formats (like 1-800-GOOG-411), and low-quality consumer VoIP numbers.
- Stick to standard, business-grade tracking numbers provisioned by your call-tracking provider.
6. Keep campaign mapping clean and documented.
- Maintain clear routing between ads, call assets, and target locations so Google can validate business relevance.
- Use separate local tracking numbers for each city, region, or country you target.
7. Monitor your Google Ads notifications closely.
- If a number is flagged, Google will issue a warning at least seven days before any suspension.
- Use that window to update the asset with a compliant, local, in-service tracking number.
- CallRail users can quickly replace flagged numbers to minimize disruption and preserve tracking continuity.
Optional best practice
CallRail recommends registering your tracking numbers with the Free Caller Registry to help strengthen their association with your business.
What marketers should do now
- Review local tracking numbers across campaigns
- Update any non-local or legacy numbers
- Confirm routing logic for quick verification
- Watch for Google warnings starting in December
- Follow CallRail for ongoing updates
The bigger picture: Transparency is the future of call ads
Google’s new policy aims to improve trust and prevent misuse, not to limit legitimate call tracking. Advertisers using compliant, business-grade numbers will have no interruption in performance, and may even see improved call quality and caller trust.
CallRail is committed to ensuring your tracking numbers remain compliant, functional, and aligned with Google’s requirements — today and through the December 2025 enforcement date.
