Use the Internet to Bring More Phone Calls to Your Business

It might sound counter intuitive initially to run ads that encourage Internet searchers to call first before visiting your web site. After all – wasn’t that the purpose of your Website – to encourage traffic to the website and then to make a phone call? Well, it can depend on your business niche – and your targeted customer.

Encouraging calls can also bring in a stream of customers who are just reluctant to do any business through the Internet. They’ve heard too many horror stories about scam artists on the Internet. Or, they are reluctant to give out any personal information (like an email address or phone number) through a website and risk getting spammed or receiving annoying telephone calls.

More people are moving to getting all of their internet information through their iPads and smart phones that are enabled with full Internet browsers. These are customers who are more likely to hit a button on the cell phone to call a business than labor with an email message on a tiny cell phone pad. New click-to-call ad technology makes it even easier to send these callers directly to your business.

Some niches and businesses are just more suited toward generating sales through inbound phone calls – such as high-tech gadgets (like cell phones) and travel. Initial visitors to your website will have to call your business anyway to make the final sale – so why not just direct them immediately to your phone number through an ad?

The holidays is an excellent time to run Internet ads featuring a 1-800 number if you are selling gift items. In the holiday season rush, time-pressed customers are more likely to pick up a phone and order a present after seeing an ad with a 1-800 number on the Web, without taking the time to scroll through an elaborate website for the perfect gift.

Tracking Phone Calls

One of the biggest advantage of Internet advertising is the ability to track how ads are working – and how many sales are generated through each ad. Tracking phone calls is a harder venture, since most small businesses do not have access to elaborate technology and CRM systems that is required for tracking phone calls. Some ideas to get around that hurdle:

• Take advantage of that by offering sales ads on the Internet that highlight your phone number – and include an incentive to make the call.

• Track how many people take advantage of that incentive -and you’ll get an idea about the effectiveness of a campaign.

• Create a unique 1 -800 number and put it in an ad …and track to see how many actually calls and sales are generated with that unique 1-800 number.

Ideas For Getting More Calls

• Run a Google or Yahoo/Bing text or image ad, highlighting your 1-800 number with an incentive for callers, such as a $5 gift card. As mentioned earlier, this will also be a great way to track the usefulness of these ads.

• Run a Google AdWords campaign targeted only to mobile devices. Remember to turn off this setting in your other campaigns with the same keywords.

• Add phone extensions to your campaigns with call metrics. Right now, these features are free – so take advantage of this before Google begins to charge you for calls!

• Try other mobile phone ad networks with ads that feature your phone number and ad text inviting people to call you.

• Create an alternative mobile site to attract people cruising on their cell phones – and direct the ads to this site. The development of an alternative mobile site does not have to be extremely elaborate or expensive. Most mobile sites are very stripped down text only affairs – no images or elaborate flash and graphics are necessary.

About the Author: Anne Barber is a Search Engine Management specialist who works for Site Pro Specialties . She manages Pay Per Click campaigns for small and large businesses — some of them who solely rely on phone calls for leads and sales. Founded in 2005, Site Pro Specialties relies on a team of industry leading pay per click managers and AdWords experts who understand exactly how to facilitate online advertising campaigns.

Photo Credit: nromagna

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