Bryan Connally
Internet Marketing Specialist
While many of clients I work with already have established and highly successful PPC campaigns, they are still looking for more ways of driving additional traffic and revenue. Since most of the time these clients already run highly targeted campaigns with proven ad copy and robust conversion rates, finding additional sources of traffic and revenue can be a challenging proposition. It is at this time I usually suggest implementing some sort of Call Reporting solution as an important part in identifying undiscovered areas of potential.
How Does Call Reporting Work?
Call Reporting is not only quick to setup, but it is also easily integrated into your current PPC campaigns. Basically, call tracking works by placing a unique phone number on anything from a landing page to a PPC text advertisement. When the trackable number is called, important call data are collected, such as the duration and time of day of the call, and made available in a special report accessible at anytime. Depending on the robustness of your call tracking solution, you can also track the geographic location that originated the call, the outcome of the call, or even record the conversation. Since call reporting doesn’t have any major upfront cost, it is a powerful and inexpensive way to measure the ROI of any online advertising initiative.
Why is Call Reporting Important?
Along with some of the features mentioned above, Call Reporting is also important for tracking customer contacts that otherwise might not be tied back to the paid search channel. There is significant evidence to support the fact that many users may find your company by a PPC advertisement or online search, but use another channel to actually contact your business. This is nowhere more important than for businesses with local storefronts or clients that have geo-targeted PPC campaigns. In fact, The Kelsey Group has reported that 86% of search engine users search for local products and services online. Furthermore, according to a study by TMP Directional Marketing in conjunction with comScore, the two most common activities following an online local search are a phone call or a visit to a local store.
Not Just for Local Businesses
Call Reporting, however, is just as important for both large and niche B2B clients that are primarily interested in lead generation. This is true for several reasons. By implementing Call Reporting on your website, you provide visitors multiple ways to contact your company. Research shows that while many B2B visitors may be interested in your services, they are often not yet willing to provide their contact information to a web-to-lead form. By allowing them to call a number you setup, you provide them with the ability to call at a time of their choosing and in the method they prefer. Internal Parallel Path data has also shown that this can be an important contributor to overall campaign ROI.
Is Call Reporting Right for my Business?
It is not necessary to be a large multinational brand or have an extensive network of local brick and mortar stores to be an ideal candidate for Call Reporting. Rather, we suggest it for nearly all of our clients. Call Reporting is an established technology that, regardless of the level of functionality you need, whether it be full service tracking down to the individual keyword level or something more basic, Parallel Path can guide you in selecting the solution that is right for you.