In the world of mobile advertising, click-to-call ads from Google's AdWords is one of the simplest innovations. By clicking on the phone number extension, the user is immediately given the option of calling your service without the need of copying anything down - one click and they are on the point of conversion. Whereas a click through to website, on mobile or desktop, will then involve a minimum of one-step conversion process, a phone call practically is the conversion. The advantage is that by committing to interaction with another human being, the consumer is more invested than when simply browsing a webpage.
Click-to-call is undoubtedly an effective weapon in an advertiser's arsenal but there are more specific benefits when considering the format solely in relation to the mobile user. Google likes to emphasize the effectiveness of reminding the user that the advertiser understands mobile search, and what is more integral to a mobile device than the call facility? Another practical application is the ability to display a phone extension without the accompanying website link that a user would see on desktop. This might be seen as limiting a user's experience, but can be very handy if you don't yet have a mobile website - why give the consumer the chance of clicking through to a bad user experience when a phone call will be a good one? It is also effective in persuading the consumer to carry out an action that they might otherwise feel uncomfortable with on a mobile. It might be tough to convince me that a website on my phone is secure, but somehow a call centre feels more familiar.
We decided to implement the click-to-call function on a set of new mobile campaigns for one of our legal clients. The campaigns were simply duplicates of desktop campaigns but with the added phone call extensions. In this instance we did not disable the webpage link, though we do not have a mobile website. In 10 weeks from the creation of the campaign we have had 128 phone calls compared to 12 web conversions (impressive considering the user needs to fill out an 8-field form on a desktop website!), at an average CPA of just £0.65 compared to £71.86 for the web conversions.
So all's peachy, right? Well, not quite. The elephant in the room is tracking, which is currently non-existent for UK advertisers on AdWords. What’s more, the US beta relies on Google Voice, a product unavailable across the pond, so any European version will need reworking with new technology and is unlikely to be accessible anytime soon. The assumption has been throughout this article that a phone call equates to a conversion; this might be likely but it is by no means certain and a tracking product is what provides the clarity of your advertising. There are private, and often more comprehensive, tracking solutions around. Even without a good tracking system, however, all is not lost. There are simple, common sense ways of sectioning your traffic. A separate phone number for paid search is a no brainer, but you could try different phone numbers combined with different targeting options if things like location or demographic are important to you. A good call centre with practices in place to record conversions will help to get an idea of conversion rates or revenue tracking. The level of detail will never quite compare to a good tracking tool, but at £0.65 a pop, is that really a detriment to your campaigns?
Claudia Rowe
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