Call Tracking Primer. Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Call Tracking

Learn the "what", "why", "where" and "when" of Inbound Phone Call Tracking as it applies to Paid and Organic Search Engine Marketing

• What is call tracking?
  • "Call tracking" or "phone call tracking" are terms used to describe inbound phone call identifiers such as: time and date of call; caller ID; call source (ad, business card, directory.)

     

    By utilizing AvidTrak-Lite you may assign a unique telephone number to each of your advertising campaigns for each respective media and track in near real time the efficacy of all your campaigns.

     

    You may also utilize AvidTrak’s integrated online phone call analytics package to view in aggregate or in granular detail
    all of the results of your offline advertising campaigns.

  
  
• What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM) call tracking?

  • If you are running a pay per click ad campaign on Google, Yahoo or Bing, you are likely measuring the response rate of your advertisements. To that end, search engines provide you with tools to track online actions such as impressions, clicks, purchases, download and inquiry form submission.
    
    However, what if a visitor to your site were to decide to call you rather than send you an email or request for information form? At this point the data feed link between your site visitor and your search engine is broken as the site visitor has strayed away from the domain of the online world. Enter SEM call tracking.
    
    SEM Call Tracking re-establishes the link between your online campaigns and your visitor’s offline actions.



• What is Campaign and Ad Group level call tracking?

  •  

    Search Engine Marketers can track the performance of their paid click campaigns by assigning unique trackable telephone numbers to the landing pages utilized for their campaigns and more granularly for their ad groups.
    
    For example, if you are running 5 SEM campaigns for the same website and you want to know which of your campaigns is responding best in terms of generating phone calls from site visitors, you may assign unique, trackable telephone numbers to each landing page associated with your campaign. Similarly, you can assign unique telephone numbers to the landing pages of your ad group to achieve further granularity of response rates.
    



• What is search keyword level call tracking?
  • Until a few years ago, due to lack of competitive awareness, PPC bids for most keywords were inexpensive. However, today the scenario has changed and most Search Marketing practioners find that they are faced with placing ever increasing bids for their inventory of keywords.
    
    In order to justify this expenditure, Search Marketers need information on which Keyword delivers them the most bang for the buck. Search Keyword call tracking provides this information by identifying the exact keywords that lead to inbound phone calls.


• What is a call tracking learning algorithm?
  • 
    In Organic Search, the call tracking learning algorithm needs to go through a phase of keyword discovery, i.e. the software needs to figure which keywords are generating organic traffic to the website.
    This "learning process" never quite ends completely, as there can always be new keywords through which your website is found. This keyword discovery process can even be extended to Paid Traffic, if only conversion data is required, i.e. keyword Pay Per Click (PPC) cost data is not required. Once the algorithm learns which keywords are generating the traffic, it can then mathematically decide on the "optimum" phone number allocation scheme.


• Can I use call tracking to track my SEO keywords?
  • Yes absolutely. If you are conducting search campaigns utilizing both paid and organic search keywords you should expect to see reports on which of your paid and organic keywords yield you inbound phone calls.


• Can call tracking be used to tracking my display ads?
  • Yes, in fact this is the most elementary form of call tracking and should be conducted in almost all situations.


• Is "conversion tracking" the same as "call conversion" tracking?
  • The term "conversion" is used to describe the positive response that a web visitor takes to your call to action. For instance, if you are looking to generate leads/inquiries for your business through your website, you may have a "contact form". When a visitor fills in this form, you receive a lead or a "conversion".
    
    However, if you prefer that your visitor call on you on the phone, then this means that you prefer "phone conversions." The practice of tracking in detail how many of your site visitors called you on your phone line is called "call conversion" tracking.


• What does the term "offline conversion" mean?
  • Any positive response to a web based "call to action" is called an "online conversion." Example of online conversions could be: ecommerce, Newsletter signups, forms/inquiries submitted online.
    
    However, if your web visitor decides to take the non web "offline" route of calling you on the phone, then this action is called "offline conversion".


• I work in a service industry and we have two levels of conversions. Can I track both conversions?
  • Yes, most certainly. Service businesses such as accountants, lawyers, dentists, plumbers, etc. who utilize online advertising have to measure their effectiveness of their conversion efforts twice. Once when the web visitor calls them to inquire about their services and the second time when the web visitor actually makes a physical visit to the place of business.
    
    By using AvidTrak service businesses may track the exact search keyword or ad that led a web visitor to call you and then visit your place of business to purchase your service.


• I already utilize conversion tracking script to track which search keywords lead to my form conversions. So why can’t I use form conversions as a proxy for my call conversions?
  • 
    There is little evidence to suggest that keywords that lead to online submissions of inquiry forms work equally well in attracting web visitors who prefer calling a business. The best way to test if your hypothesis is correct is to implement call tracking and learn the true picture.


• Who needs call tracking?
  • Any business that utilizes search engine marketing and/or online advertising as a means to acquire sales leads and who prefers phone call based sales leads should use phone call tracking.
    
    In verticals such as Dentistry, Law, Mortgage and Insurance, call tracking is absolutely essential because advertiser competition has driven up clicks costs to a point where the bid for each keyword needs to be justified. The only way to make a rational decision on the value of a click (web visitor) is by knowing before hand the expectation of a conversion.


• Why is call tracking so important?
  • The answer to this question lies in the successful business person’s axiom of "Doing more of what is right and doing less of what is wrong."
    If you knew which of your actions lead to success wouldn’t you want to do more of the same? Call tracking identifies the strengths and weaknesses of your online campaigns in a complete and holistic manner.


• I do call tracking at an Ad Group and Campaign level. Why do I need to do keyword level call tracking?
  • The answer depends on how much you pay for your clicks and the competition for your desired keywords. The fact that you are measuring the effectiveness of campaigns and ad groups, implies that you measure conversions in order to determine return on investment (ROI) on your online ad spend.
    
    If the expense of call tracking at a keyword level is less than the amount that you save in identifying non-converting keywords, then your ROI for keyword tracking is justified.


• How is call tracking implemented?
  • 
    If you wish to track display ads, simply acquire as many unique telephone numbers as you have display ads and insert these numbers within your display ad campaigns.
    To track search keywords, you will need to provide your call tracking provider:
    
    1. The amount of search keywords in your campaign
    2. Your daily traffic
    3. Your peak traffic
    
    Your call tracking provider will provide you with Java Script which you will install on your landing pages (where the telephone number is displayed). The Java Script will display the tracking numbers, which your site visitors will see and call.
    All (whether for display or keyword ads) tracking numbers are set up to forward to your main telephone line.


• What is Google’s Pay Per Call Platform?
  • 
    Google’s AdWords advertisers may have noticed that recently Google has introduced a provision for adding a telephone number within the 5th line of the text ad. This feature is available only for Google’s mobile ad platform.
    
    When a search visitor enters a search query using a mobile phone device, Google serves up mobile text ads with the participating advertiser’s telephone number displayed clearly. If the searcher clicks on the telephone number, Google connects the call to the advertiser and charges the advertiser just as if it were a click. Currently, Google does not charge extra for a phone call, even though phone calls are more valuable than clicks.


• What is an Affiliate Pay Per Call Platform?
  • 
    Advertisers within an Affiliate Network, compensate their publishers for sending them traffic or for online conversions.  However, Advertisers who wish to be more aggressive in their conversion tactics may decide to compensate their Publisher Affiliates for inbound telephone calls generated by the Publishers. For example, say you are an advertiser responsible for increasing bookings for your hotel properties. You enroll into an Affiliate Network program and offer Publishers $1.00 for every visitor that they send to your hotel website and $2.00 for every call that is made to your hotel booking hotline.
    
    By paying your Publishers for clicks as well as telephone calls, you allow them a more complete way of monetizing their ad inventory which allows them to promote your ads more aggressively.
    


• I am a publisher in an Affiliate Network. Can I participate in a pay-per-call platform and also track my source of traffic?
  • 
    Yes absolutely. AvidTrak has a product which allows Advertisers to compensate their Publishers for inbound phone calls generated by the Publisher. Additionally, AvidTrak’s platform may be leveraged by the Publisher to determine exactly which search keywords are bringing the Publisher her own traffic.
    


• Who offers an Affiliate Pay Per Call Platform?
  • 
    Commission Junction is one of the companies that provides this form of compensation to its Publishers.
    


• How much does call tracking cost?
  • 
    Call tracking rates vary by vendors. Typical per minute toll charges range from 5.5 cents to 8.5 cents. The variance is dependent on the call volume.
    
    Additionally, there vendors may charge setup fees and fixed monthly charges for phone numbers utilized in call tracking.


• What are the different pricing models for call tracking?
  • 
    The two prevailing models for call tracking are:
    
    Session Based Charges + toll charge
    Fixed Charge + toll charge
    


• Will I need to pay twice for my toll free charges?
  • 
    No you do not. If you are currently using a toll free number to facilitate inbound calling for your clients and prospective clients you simply replace the existing number with the tracking numbers provided to you by your call tracking provider.


• Are there any businesses that absolutely need to do call tracking?
  • 
    We have found that businesses where keyword competition is intense and resultant click costs can be as high as $5 or more, call tracking is absolutely essential. This is because high traffic acquisition costs can be curtailed by eliminating keywords that garner clicks but no online and offline conversions (forms and calls).
    
    By knowing which keywords are making you money, you can weed out unprofitable keywords and spend more of the money saved on your profitable keywords


• Can I get free call tracking?
  • 
    At this point the only place which offers free call tracking is Google’s mobile ad platform.


• What information does a vendor need to calculate my call tracking cost?
  • 
    You will need to provide the vendor with:
    
    1. The number of keywords in your campaigns
    2. The total number of site hits per day
    3. Access to your advertisement accounts (via MCC)
    
    


• What do I need to look out for in selecting a good call tracking vendor?
  • 
    Almost all call tracking providers utilize a Tier-1 carrier to carry the voice calls over the network. So the quality of the calls is the same from one vendor to another.
    
    Look for domain expertise in Search Marketing as this skill is critical to allow you to fully benefit from the call tracking tool being utilized on the Search channel.
    
    A good User Interface which delivers actionable information in a clear, concise manner is very important. Make sure that your reports are downloadable and allow for you to receive automated updates.
    


• When a call comes in we ask the Caller "how did you find us?" Isn’t this information enough?
  • 
    Most callers will tell you this information if they remember. However, it is highly unlikely that your caller will remember which search keyword was used in arriving at your website.


• If call tracking is so important then why aren’t more people doing it?
  • 
    In the past call tracking was expensive due to lack of competition in this domain. Secondly, the incentive to do call tracking has increased with rising costs associated with keyword competition in PPC advertising. As conversions have become increasingly expensive, conversion optimization and deriving keyword attribution have become critical strategies utilized to mitigate costs. Call tracking is an ideal tool for deriving keyword attribution.
    


• Why doesn’t Google offer call tracking?
  • 
    Google has over 10,000,000 advertiser accounts. Some of these advertisers have keyword inventories in excess of 1,000,000. In order for Google to provide offline call tracking to all its advertisers, by our rudimentary calculations it would require the addition of an extra digit (11 digit telephone numbers versus the current 10) within the US telephone number system.
    


• Do I need to use call tracking continuously or can I use it as and when necessary?
  • 
    This is your choice. After you’ve identified your conversions and your data suggests that the converting keywords are holding steady, then you may pause your tracking efforts temporarily.
    
    You may resume your call tracking efforts from time to time to keep tuning up your conversion data.


• Can I push my call tracking data into my Google Adword’s accounts?
  • 
    Yes you may, but the solution isn’t very elegant. One way to do so would be to send a confirmation email to your caller after completion of the call. This email would contain a link which when clicked upon by your caller would toggle a conversion script within Google Adwords. The accuracy of this system is dependent on your callers taking the necessary step of responding to the call to action in your email.


• Can I push my call tracking data into my 3rd party provided bid management tools?
  • 
    Yes absolutely. Most 3rd party bid management tools are able to accept conversion information. 


• Can I see my call tracking results in my Analytics packages such as Google Analytics and Omniture?
  • 
    Yes, most reputable and technologically savvy call tracking providers have integrated their product to be able to push their conversion data into Google Analytics or Omniture Analytics.


• What is post call reporting?
  • With a post call reporting system, after a call is completed, the call attendant may enter call attributes such as:
    
              How did the call end: sale/no-sale/lead (request for more information)
              Any special notes to be added


• What are the benefits of having a post call reporting system?
  • 
    This is primarily a planning tool that helps campaign managers to understand the conversation that each keyword is initiating with their prospective buyers.


• What is dynamic number insertion? How does dynamic number insertion work?
  • 
    When a user enters a website through a keyword search on one of the search engines, the keyword searched on can be extracted through what is called a "referrer token".  At that point in time, a phone number from an available pool of phone numbers (for a specific client) is dynamically allocated to that keyword for the duration of that session.  The phone number is then returned to the pool of available phone numbers when the session is considered to have ended. 


• What is session ID call tracking pricing?
  • 
    Session ID call tracking is a pricing model that allows you to pay for the call tracking only for each session that a tracking phone number is served up. This is similar to paying for a click. For example, if you are running an SEM campaign and you get 1,000 clicks a day, this is equivalent to 1,000 sessions a day.
    
    However, due to cookie tracking, you will not pay for your repeat visitors as long as the visitor is returning within 30 days of his/her first visit.


• Is it better for me to choose session based pricing or variable pricing?
  • 
    Costs for both pricing models for long term use are about the same. Some people choose to work with session pricing only because they understand this concept better because it is analogous to paying for clicks.
    
    The advantage with a monthly fixed charge (for telephone number rental) is that your costs are capped, whereas with session pricing your costs are more likely to be variable.
    
    AvidTrak avails both pricing models to its clients.


• If call tracking entails a continuous change of my contact numbers isn’t that bad for my business?
  • 
    The dynamically changing numbers may be placed only within the landing page of your paid SEM campaign, while your original number may remain on the home page or main contact us page.


• Is there any way for me to keep my same number and still do call tracking?
  • 
    Yes, this is possible with the aid of a dynamically changing tracking code that is placed on each page. When a web visitor calls you, you simply ask your caller to provide you with the visible code ID.
    
    After you enter the code ID into your database, you’ll be provided with a match of the respective keyword and inbound cal.l