Online phone fun
Your company gets a call from a (potential) customer. Have you ever wondered where they found your phone number? If it on your corporate website, the yellow pages or an ad (online or offline)? Or what if you run an ad with your phone number in it on different channels. How can you measure which channels is most effective and generating most leads/sales?
This is all possible with a service called “Call Tracking”. Several companies offer this type of service like Mongoose Metrics and Ifbyphone (I am not affiliated in any way with either of those services).
How does call tracking work?
Call tracking works thanks to using a different “virtual” number for each of the channels through which you are advertising. When someone calls one of those virtual numbers, they are transparently routed towards your conventional phone number, but the tracking system knows the originating source and can keep detailed stats like call duration, caller area, …
Call transcriptions
Some of the companies offering this type of service also allow you to record the conversations and give you the opportunity to read the call transcriptions. This offers you with tremendous value from a search marketing perspective because this allows you to learn how customers talk about your products. You might discover new keywords to use in you PPC campaigns and SEO strategy.
Call me
Do you offer your visitors the chance to leave their contacts to be called back at a later time? Did you know that by each minute that passes since the person submitted his details, the chance of converting him to a customer drop significantly? Why not set up a call immediately?
The service will call the visitor and your number at the same time and connect them when both parties pick up. That way you can immediately handle the prospect and have a much greater chance of converting them into a customer.
Google is also entering the field by combining Google Voice and Adwords. This will happen by adding your (virtual) number to your adwords ads. Then when people dial the number instead of clicking on the ad, you will be able to track this in you adwords campaign metrics. Currently this feature is available only to a select number of adwords advertisers but will be rolled out to all others.
If you qualify, you’ll be able to find the option underneath ad extensions
