Call Tracking 101 – In today’s digital age, tracking the performance of your marketing campaigns is essential for optimizing your ROI. One of the most effective ways to do this is by tracking phone calls generated by your campaigns. With the rise of mobile devices, this has become more important than ever, as many consumers prefer to call businesses directly from their phones rather than fill out a form or send an email. In this article, we’ll explore how to track mobile calls using a few different methods.
Method 1: Call Tracking Software
The easiest and most comprehensive way to track mobile calls is by using call-tracking software. There are many different call-tracking solutions available, but most work in a similar way. They provide you with a unique phone number to use in your marketing campaigns, which is forwarded to your main business line. When someone calls the tracking number, the call is recorded and the caller’s information is logged in a database. You can then view detailed analytics on each call, including the caller’s location, the campaign that generated the call, and the outcome of the call (e.g., sale, lead, missed call).
Some popular call-tracking software solutions include:
- CallRail
- DialogTech
- Invoca
- Marchex
Method 2: Google Ads Call Tracking
If you’re running ads on Google Ads, you can track mobile calls directly within the platform. Google Ads provides a call-tracking feature that allows you to assign a unique phone number to each ad campaign. When someone clicks on your ad and calls the tracking number, the call is recorded and you can view detailed analytics on each call, including the duration, the caller’s location, and the outcome of the call. This is a great option if you’re already using Google Ads and don’t want to invest in a separate call-tracking solution.
To set up call tracking in Google Ads, follow these steps:
- Sign in to your Google Ads account and click on “Settings” in the left-hand menu.
- Click on “Account Settings” and then “Call extensions”.
- Click on the “+ New phone number” button and enter the phone number you want to use for call tracking.
- Choose the campaigns you want to use the tracking number for and click “Save”.
Method 3: Dynamic Number Insertion
Another way to track mobile calls is by using dynamic number insertion (DNI). This method involves inserting a different phone number on your website depending on how the visitor arrived at your site. For example, if someone clicked on an ad for your business, they would see a different phone number on your website than if they arrived organically. When someone calls the tracking number, the call is recorded and you can view analytics on each call, including the source of the call.
To implement DNI on your website, you’ll need to use a tracking script that detects the source of each visitor and inserts the appropriate phone number. Many call-tracking software solutions provide this feature, but you can also use third-party scripts like Google Tag Manager or Twilio.
In conclusion, tracking mobile calls is essential for optimizing your marketing campaigns and maximizing your ROI. By using call tracking software, Google Ads call tracking, or dynamic number insertion, you can gain valuable insights into the performance of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions to improve your results.