Conversions from viewers who chose to call were difficult to track in the early days of digital advertising.
Because of this, campaign data did not always tell the whole story. However, with call tracking, you can now enable advertisers to link calls to specific ads.
It’s even better now that phone tracking has evolved to include more features and capabilities.
That leaves us to wonder how call tracking works. So, here’s how it works:
Contents
- How Call Tracking Works
- What are the benefits associated with call tracking?
- Call tracking flexibility and options
How Call Tracking Works
Call tracking works by associating a local or 800 number with a business phone line. When the ‘new’ number is called, the call is forwarded to the business line. The assigned number is associated with technology that enables the following tracking:
- Caller id
- Recording of calls
- Source of Call (traditional/digital ad, PPC/SEO)
- Date, time, and duration of call
What are the benefits of call tracking?
So why should you track calls in your next campaign?
- Easy to apply
- Caller data can track actual sales/enrollments.
- Statistically significant campaign optimization using channel and keyword data.
- Measuring media spend ROI accurately costs money.
- A large percentage of conversions come from phone calls.
- Callers are highly motivated bottom-funnel individuals
Call tracking flexibility and options
Depending on your industry, call tracking offers a variety of options.
- Single source dynamic tracking
- Call whisper
- Call recording & greeting
- Conversion settings
1. Single source dynamic tracking
You can track any or all sources with single source dynamic tracking.
Consider a recent Google AdWords campaign that you want to properly attribute ROI to.
One of your AdWords campaigns must be active to generate a call tracking number.
Your regular business phone number appears if a user clicks on an organic listing or comes in through direct or referral traffic.
For example, some businesses want to track calls from all digital sources, while others only want to track paid calls from digital sources. Every situation is flexible with dynamic tracking.
2. Call whisper
Prior to connecting, the caller hears ringing and a short message called a whisper message.
Call whisper provides real-time feedback by telling you which marketing campaign your call is from.
Incoming call from our Google AdWords campaign, for example. So, before the call even starts, your staff will know exactly what the user wants to discuss.
3. Call recording & greeting
To keep track of customer service and employee performance, call recording may be used to record calls.
Any time before the call is connected (e.g. to inform them the call will be recorded), or at any time in your call flow, you can upload, type, or record a custom greeting to play to the caller.
4. Conversion settings
This option lets you specify which actions you can report as conversions.
Calls lasting a minute or more can be converted, for example. This allows you to specify when a second call is not considered a conversion.
Customize conversion settings to fit your business.