Mobile is no longer a nice to have in your marketing – it’s a need to have. And for many industries, so are phone calls. Especially when mobile marketing will drive over 100 billion calls to US businesses this year. Marketers should be taking advantage of new technology to drive even more of these calls from their mobile marketing. Here are 8 dos and don’ts for using click-to-call:
WITH CALL EXTENSIONS
Don’t: Ignore Them
Calls from mobile search are the biggest driver in the call volume figure I mentioned above. If you ignore call extensions in your paid search ads, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to drive more calls. The best part? They’re free. They take up more real estate on the SERP. And it’s one more opportunity for searchers to easily engage with you. Plus, Google stated that ads with call extensions get 8% higher click-through rates than ads without.
Do: Target Ads They’re In
Once you begin using your (again, free!) call extensions, target your paid search ads to get even better engagement from searchers. Run ads during hours you know your sales team can handle more calls. Or target ads to specific locations or offices you know you want to drive more calls to. Don’t waste money ads with call extensions in areas unprepared to handle calls.
WITH CALL-ONLY ADS
Don’t: Run Them Outside Business Hours
It may seem obvious, but it’s a mistake you don’t want to make. Call-only ads only give searchers one call to action from the SERP. If you run these ads outside of business hours when you’re unavailable to answer, you risk frustrating prospects and losing business.
Do: Connect Them to Your RLSAs
You can use calls as an event with any remarketing lists for search ads (RLSAs) you have in AdWords. If someone visits your website and calls (or doesn’t call), you can add them to one of your remarketing lists. Targeting call-only ads for past callers is great for businesses that value repeat customers (such as plumbers, electricians, etc.) – why force them to click through to your site to find a phone number? You can bid higher for these customers and serve them call-only ads next time.
ON LANDING PAGES
Don’t: Forget to Make Numbers Clickable
Don’t make the visitors to your mobile app or website work harder than they need to – it’s a sure-fire way to turn away business. To make your phone numbers clickable, all you have to do it is use a little HTML code: <a href=”tel:8772955100”>. It takes hardly any time and makes it easier for visitors to call you.
Do: Put a Number on Every Page of Your Website
Sometimes people will visit a mobile landing page and, instead of converting immediately, will explore your website. This makes it even more important to have a prominent, clickable phone number on every page – you want to give them every opportunity to convert. It’s not realistic to put a web form on every page – it takes up too much real estate on a small smartphone screen – but a phone number is perfect. (Not to mention, BIA/Kelsey research tells us that phone calls convert to revenue 10x more than web form fills.)
IN SOCIAL MEDIA ADS
Don’t: Get Discouraged If People Don’t Call
When you use a “Call Now” call to action in your social media ads (Facebook and Twitter currently offer these), don’t get discouraged if people don’t call. They aren’t actively searching for what your business offers, but research has shown Facebook ad exposure increases mobile search clicks by 6.3%. Your social ads still have impact, but the conversions might come from another channel.
Do: Offer Incentives In Your Ads
Because people on social media aren’t searching for your business, when they see your ad they are less likely to take immediate action. This is the perfect opportunity for you to offer incentives within your ads to catch their attention and drive them to take action. And if you use a “Call Now” call to action it helps create a sense of urgency for them.
Mobile is the core of omni-channel marketing. And click-to-call helps marketers take advantage of consumers’ preferred conversion path on a smartphone: a phone call. You can get even more out of click-to-call by tracking the resulting phone calls. To learn more about how call attribution can help you optimize click-to-call in your marketing, check out this paid search playbook or request a demo for more information!
