News & Insights

From Ring To Cha-Ching: Call Tracking Pays Off

From Ring To Cha-Ching: Call Tracking Pays Off

When it comes to paid search (or any marketing tool for that matter), understanding what does and does not work is vital to your campaign’s overall success. But in the particular case of PPC, how do you gain a complete understanding of performance if the only metrics you have are clicks and conversions from contact us form leads? The answer is call forwarding, ad phone extensions and mobile click-to-call ads.

PPC Call Forwarding & Why You Need It

Call tracking is a free service offered by both Google and Bing that allows you to set up a call forwarding number on your AdWords and Bing ads that can then be tracked and measured. It works like this:

You’ll provide Google or Bing with a phone number that you’d like you customers to call. Google or Bing will then assign a unique phone number to your paid search ad that forwards to your real phone number. When your customers call this unique number, it will be tracked and measured. You’ll gain valuable conversion information including call times and duration.

Phone numbers in ads are simple configurations within the search advertising platform. Displaying call-forwarding phone numbers on a website requires a code snippet and javascript implementation by a developer.

What makes PPC call tracking so great is that it helps take much of the guesswork out of paid search. In the past, marketers couldn’t be certain if phone calls were the direct result of their ads – unless they asked their customers (and even that could prove limiting). Now phone leads can be correctly attributed as conversions (depending on predetermined call lengths), giving marketers the knowledge they need to make messaging and spending adjustments. Ultimately, call tracking can help attribute marketing dollars invested in paid search to results.

How Call Tracking Pays Off

In addition to the advantages previously mentioned, call tracking has other benefits worth considering, including:

  • Adding phone numbers to your ads makes it easier for customers to call on the go
  • Phone numbers can be set to show only when your business can field calls
  • Visible phone numbers typically increase click-through rates by 6-8% (source: Google)

Conclusion: It’s A Good Call

As marketers, we’re living in an amazing time in which the rise of digital has enabled unprecedented levels of measurability. Today, the old saw that “half my advertising is wasted, I just don’t know which half” is shrinking in relevance. In the 21st century, marketers can now know what does and does not work. And call tracking is another amazing tool that can help us do so.