Is the “Call Us” button still relevant?

Technical level
Mar. 21 2018
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E-commerce Paid Media & SEM

Did you know that 88% of users feel more inclined to contact a business if a call button is displayed on their website? Think about all the years of missed marketing opportunities and client prospects… If only they could have called you.

In this article, you’ll learn precisely how to use your digital marketing to receive more phone calls and make your business grow.

1. Keep track of incoming calls with a call tracking tool

Allowing users to call you simply by listing a phone number on your website is not enough. Sure, you might see an increase in incoming calls, but you won’t know where they’re coming from. But if you know how and when your marketing channels make your phone ring, you can enhance your digital presence. For example, you might realize that a particular channel is not generating sales but is generating a lot of phone calls. Knowing this, you’ll want to keep the channel open, even if your Google Analytics tells you otherwise.

In order to track incoming calls and connect them to the right source, all you need is a call tracking tool.

How does it work?

A call tracking tool is a script that is integrated into your website. It will replace your phone number by another number assigned by the service provider. This new number will redirect your incoming calls toward your original number while recording the contents of the calls and learning the source of their channel (either by using your URLs’ UTM, or by assigning a new number for each of them).

How much does it cost?

Contrary to common belief, a call tracking tool is not that expensive. There are some costs,* but most of the time, the returns make it a worthwhile investment. You will be charged a fixed fee for each phone number you obtain, plus an additional cost per minute for phone calls.

*AdWords offers a free call tracking solution, but it can only track calls made through paid advertisements on Google, thus limiting your multichannel analysis. Here is a list of call tracking tools.

2. Encourage users to call you

Tracking incoming calls is one thing, but making your phone ring is even better! It might not be enough to display your phone number in the corner or footer of your website: you need to encourage users to take action!

How?

Here are three simple ways to receive more incoming calls with the help of your digital properties.

A – On your website, calling you should seem like an added value.

A user is probably not visiting your website to look up your number, but rather, to find answers. Nonetheless, in certain cases—such as a non-optimized mobile navigation or when making a purchase that requires additional information—a human interaction can provide added value to the customer’s experience. Just make sure you explain it.

To get there, you need to display your phone number, and make sure mobile users can click on it to call you.

B – In your marketing communications, make a clear call to action: “Call us”.

Highlighting the “Call us” message across all communications can be very beneficial, and can ensure that users know about this option. Our experience revealed that there’s a real difference in click rates and engagement with ads featuring this specific call to action and those with a more classic one, such as “Contact us”.

C – Take full advantage of a click-to-call ad in your ad campaigns.

Most ad networks offer multiple formats made for users to easily call you with a simple click on an ad. For instance, Google and Facebook have formats featuring a highlight on a phone call. Here is an example:

Our experience has shown that the cost per prospect for click-to-calls that redirect users toward an online contact form are more efficient than the classic formats with the same attributed value.

Google also allows you to display your phone number on your AdWords ads. On mobile, it could be a simple “Call” button in an ad that can connect users directly to you without having to visit your website. Here is a preview:

#PRO Tip

Google AdWords’ new interface allows you to adjust auctions to display these calling options. You can find it under “Adjustment bid adj”.

In conclusion, phone calls can be a great way to improve your sales and your digital marketing offensives profit. Of course, this only works if you have the in-house resources to answer the phone, and an omni-channel understanding of your business and its conversion rate. The gap between online and offline is narrowing, so we need to understand it to be able to analyse our marketing presence.