Tow Truck Google Ads | Setup and Call Tracking

Source: https://oguzerol.com/en/tow-truck-and-roadside-assistance/

Google Ads

# Tow Truck and Roadside Assistance Google Ads: Setup and Tracking

[Oğuz Erol](https://oguzerol.com/en/about-me/)  |  11 min read

The Google ad a towing company should run is the one that appears on a stranded driver’s phone and lets them call you with one tap: in Google Ads terms, a responsive search ad with a call asset. It runs only on the roads you can reach in reasonable time and only during the hours someone answers. The biggest trap is the word “tow”: people looking for a truck to buy, a job, their impounded car or their breakdown cover type it too.

## Local Services Ads or a search campaign?

In the US, apply for Local Services Ads if towing is offered in your area and run a search campaign alongside it; in the UK, a search campaign is your option. Local Services Ads charge per lead rather than per click, and Google’s US help pages list “Towing” as a category. Screening can include background checks, insurance and state licences, and Google says it takes 3–4 weeks on average across categories ([Local Services Help](https://support.google.com/localservices/answer/12174778?co=GENIE.CountryCode%3DUS), 13 October 2026). A search campaign covers those weeks and the searches Local Services Ads don’t reach; the UK version of the page doesn’t list towing. I haven’t run Local Services Ads for a towing firm, so this follows from how the products work, not a measured comparison.

Google asks for nothing extra for towing: as of 13 October 2026, its [local services policy](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/13527633) restricts services such as locksmiths and garage door repair (and plumbers in the Netherlands), not towing. Licensing for the work itself depends on your country and, in the US, your state.

## Which ad type: call-only ads are gone

A towing search campaign now uses responsive search ads with a call asset, the “Call” button and number attached to the ad. According to [Google’s timeline](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16619010) (13 October 2026), new call-only ads couldn’t be created from February 2026, and existing ones stop receiving impressions in February 2027. A [call-focused campaign](https://oguzerol.com/en/call-focused-ads/) is now a way of building a search campaign, not a separate ad format.

The call asset’s number must be in unspaced international (E.164) format and appear exactly that way in your website’s source code, or your domain must be verified in Search Console. You can also schedule the call asset to show only when you can take calls ([About call assets](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453991), 13 October 2026).

## Who is searching for “tow truck”?

In the US, “tow truck near me” is searched about 368,000 times a month; in the UK, stranded drivers search “car recovery near me” (8,100) more than “tow truck near me” (3,600). Some of these searches have other intent; Keyword Planner can’t measure that share, but it can measure the other searches:

| search | US monthly | UK monthly | who is searching | my suggestion |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| tow truck near me · towing near me | 368,000 · 246,000 | 3,600 · 1,600 | Stranded | Emergency group |
| car recovery near me · breakdown recovery | 170 · 90 | 8,100 · 5,400 | Stranded (UK wording) | Emergency group |
| towing cost · car recovery cost | 4,400 · 10 | 170 · 260 | Comparing prices | Separate group |
| aaa roadside assistance · geico roadside assistance | 301,000 · 27,100 | 590 · 20 | Own cover | Negative |
| breakdown cover · aa breakdown · rac breakdown | 210 · 110 · 90 | 60,500 · 60,500 · 49,500 | Membership cover | Negative |
| tow truck for sale · recovery truck for sale | 18,100 · 90 | 720 · 4,400 | Buying a truck | Negative |
| impound lot near me · my car was towed | 12,100 · 720 | 70 · 20 | Towed by the authorities | Negative |

Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner, English, US and UK measured separately, average of September 2025 – August 2026, measured on 13 October 2026. “Who is searching” is my reading. Volumes are rounded.

Don’t assume price searches are cheap. In the US, the top-of-page bid for “towing cost” was about 70% of that for “tow truck near me”. In the UK it depends on the wording: “car recovery cost” matched “car recovery near me”, while “towing cost” was about 40% of “towing near me” (all measured 13 October 2026). Top-of-page bid is Google’s estimate of what advertisers bid for the top positions, not what you’ll pay. Keep price searches in their own group so you can bid on them separately.

## Negative keywords to add on day one

A [negative keyword](https://oguzerol.com/en/negative-keyword-management/) stops your ad showing for searches you don’t want; add these at campaign level. A single word is **broad match** and blocks any search containing it; quotes are **phrase match** (those words in that order); brackets are **exact match** (only that search).

```
toy
toys
"for sale"
used
salary
jobs
hiring
"how to become"
impound
"towed my car"
insurance
cover
membership
```

Google says negatives cover misspellings but not close variants or plurals ([About negative keywords](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453972), 13 October 2026), so “toy” and “toys” both go in. Add the motoring clubs, insurers and car brands common in your area: someone typing them most likely wants that organisation’s helpline. If you tow heavy vehicles, give heavy recovery its own group. I’d also add rival towing firms’ names when they appear in your search terms report; that’s reasoning, not something I’ve measured. Bidding on a brand keyword isn’t restricted under Google’s [trademark policy](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6118), but implying an insurer or club backs you when it doesn’t breaches the misrepresentation policy.

## Location: radius, motorways and ring roads

Target the roads your truck can reach in reasonable time, not the city boundary. I recommend three settings (Google Ads Help, location targeting, 13 October 2026):

- **“Presence”:** people in or regularly in your area. “Presence or interest” also reaches people elsewhere who are only interested in it.
- **Radius targeting:** at least 1 km around an address or location; bulk upload takes up to 1,000 locations.
- **Small radiuses along the motorway you cover,** centred on junctions. My suggestion, not a measured method.

Bid on motorway searches only if you can get there. If you don’t serve customers at your address, Business Profile asks you to remove it and list up to 20 service areas within about 2 hours’ drive ([Business Profile Help](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481)). More on drawing the area: [geographic targeting](https://oguzerol.com/en/geographic-targeting-optimization/).

## Nights, weekends and ad scheduling

The mistake I see most often in Google Ads accounts is running ads when nobody answers the phone. In towing, an unanswered driver calls the next result after you’ve paid for the click.

- **Up to 6 ad schedules per day** per campaign; a schedule past midnight is entered as two, e.g. Friday 22:00–00:00 and Saturday 00:00–06:00 ([Create an ad schedule](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6372656), 13 October 2026).
- Smart Bidding ignores manual hourly bid adjustments but respects the schedule ([Bid adjustments](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2732132)).

Open night hours only if a driver is on call. At about 5 clicks a day with, say, 15% at night (an assumption), three weeks give about 15 night clicks, too few to judge by.

## Example headlines

A responsive search ad takes up to 15 headlines of 30 characters and 4 descriptions of 90 ([Google Ads Help](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7684791), 13 October 2026). Say where you are, what you do and why you can be trusted:

| headline | what it does |
| --- | --- |
| M25 Junction 10 Car Recovery | Matches a motorway search |
| Price Quoted Before We Tow | Answers the fear of a surprise bill |
| Text Us Your Location | For drivers who can’t describe where they are |

Description: “Stuck on the road? Call us, share your location, and we’ll tell you our arrival time.” (85 characters). Promise an arrival time only if you always keep it: Google’s [misrepresentation policy](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6020955) bans enticing users with an improbable result.

## How to stand out from fake listings

Fake listings are common in emergency trades: Google says it removed over 10,000 fake listings by a group impersonating locksmiths and removed or blocked more than 12 million fake Business Profiles in 2024 ([Google blog](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/maps/google-business-profiles-ai-fake-reviews/), 7 April 2025). Be verifiable: company name and licence numbers on the site, a real photo of your own truck, a written price by text before loading.

## How to track towing calls as conversions

In the US, the UK and Canada you can count calls by length, because Google forwarding numbers are available there ([country list](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2382961), 13 October 2026). Create a phone-call conversion action of the “calls from ads” type; a call counts when it lasts longer than a minimum length you choose ([Measure calls from ads](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6095882)). I’d start between 30 and 60 seconds as an unmeasured assumption, since a towing call can be short. Listen to calls early on and move the threshold until it separates job enquiries from wrong numbers. Add [calls to a number on your website](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6095883) too. Setup details: [call conversion tracking](https://oguzerol.com/en/call-conversion-tracking/).

**If you are in Turkey** (or another country without forwarding numbers), call length can’t be measured; you count clicks on the call asset and upload jobs through GCLID, the ID Google gives every ad click.

**Cost per job** is monthly ad spend ÷ jobs from ads. Asking “how did you find us?” gets “Google”, mixing ads, map listings and organic results, so cost per job looks lower than it is. Count jobs from ads, most reliable first: calls above your minimum length; a separate line used only in the call asset; or asking “did you tap Call in the ad, or find us on the map?” and logging unclear answers as “unknown”.

## Which bid strategy to start with

Start with Manual CPC until conversion tracking is settled. Google says Smart Bidding’s learning period depends on your conversion volume, how long clicks take to convert and the bid strategy, typically lasts 1–2 conversion cycles, and doesn’t apply to Manual CPC ([Learning period](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13020501), 13 October 2026). A firm taking a few dozen jobs a month gives the system few examples; that’s my judgement, as Google gives no threshold. As a starting assumption, set the emergency group’s bid at the middle of the $5–$9 range in the cost example below, about $7, and adjust once your first week shows real costs. Make the primary conversion a call above your minimum length, not a click on the call button, or the system will grow clicks rather than jobs.

## What does one tow cost, and what should the first month cost?

Cost per job from the click side: average cost per click ÷ (share of clickers who call × share of callers who become jobs).

**Example numbers, not real towing data:** 30% of clickers call and 40% of callers become jobs (assumptions), so 12% of clicks become jobs. I picked 20 jobs a month as the target; scale it to yours.

| cost per click | cost per job | clicks for 20 jobs | first month | daily budget |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| $5 | ~$42 | ~167 | ~$833 | ~$27 |
| $9 | $75 | ~167 | ~$1,500 | ~$49 |

$5 and $9 sit inside Keyword Planner’s US top-of-page bid range for “tow truck near me”, about $2.65–$9.53; the UK range for “car recovery near me” is about £2.02–£6.42. Your first week shows the real cost per click. Daily budget uses Google’s note that, when you use ad schedules, a campaign paces toward a monthly spend of 30.4 times its average daily budget ([About ad scheduling](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2404244), 13 October 2026).

*Note: dollar and pound ranges are converted from the measuring account’s lira at the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey forex selling rate, 13 October 2026 (bulletin 2026/193); treat them as approximate.*

If a tow leaves you $60 after fuel and driver, the first row makes money and the second loses it; if the share of callers becoming jobs falls from 40% to below about 28%, the first row loses too.

## The first 30 days

| when | what |
| --- | --- |
| Before launch | Business Profile, number verified, “calls from ads” conversion, call log |
| Week 1 | Emergency + price groups, negatives, Manual CPC, staffed hours, “Presence” |
| Week 2 | Search terms report, new negatives and plurals, listen to calls |
| Week 3 | Real cost per click; are motorway radiuses producing calls |
| Week 4 | First cost per job, decision to continue |

We start with the roads you cover, who answers the phone at night and how you log calls today. You can write to me from the [contact page](https://oguzerol.com/en/contact/).

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Should a towing company use Performance Max?

Not as the first campaign. [Performance Max](https://oguzerol.com/en/what-is-performance-max/) runs across several Google placements and learns only from the conversions you give it. Test it once qualified calls or uploaded jobs are flowing back; before that, its main signal would be clicks.

### Do I need a separate campaign for long-distance car transport?

A separate ad group is enough; use a separate campaign for a separate budget and schedule. It’s planned work that doesn’t need night hours; in the emergency group it would eat night budget.

[Back to top ↑](https://oguzerol.com/en/tow-truck-and-roadside-assistance/#icerik)

## You may also find these useful

[Call Conversion Tracking | Measuring Phone EnquiriesIf customers convert by calling and that is not measured, campaigns look worse than they are. Call tracking setup and filtering low-quality calls.](https://oguzerol.com/en/call-conversion-tracking/)[Call-Focused Ads | Converting Straight to the PhoneIf customers call rather than fill in forms, the goal should be calls, not clicks. Call campaign setup, scheduling and filtering low-quality calls.](https://oguzerol.com/en/call-focused-ads/)[Geographic Targeting Optimisation | Location ControlThe wrong location setting spends money on cities you do not serve. The hidden default trap, region-level bidding and local campaign structure.](https://oguzerol.com/en/geographic-targeting-optimization/)

[Browse all articles →](https://oguzerol.com/en/articles/)

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