Call Tracking for Google Ads & SEO: Convert Leads Faster

Are you ready to improve your sales approach and convert leads more quickly?

Inbound call processes are a goldmine but sadly often overlooked by business leaders who assume bad leads.

Deliver better customer experiences through well-planned paid and organic search campaigns that use the right keywords.

On September 22, I moderated a sponsored Search Engine Journal webinar presented by Franco Aquino, co-founder of REN Marketing, and joined by Laura Lawrie, CallRail’s Principle Product Manager.

They shared insights on how you can boost your paid and organic lead generation campaigns using call tracking.

Check out the highlights and key takeaways below.

The Problem: Your SEO & PPC Efforts

The problem is that the standard approach to PPC and SEO for many businesses uses the same tools that have existed for several years.

You may already be driving traffic, and you could be generating leads and know what search queries led to those leads, but you’re not using tools that are not the best ones for the job.

Google Ads Limitations

Google Ads has access to forwarding numbers for ads. However, this doesn’t assist with organic traffic, and you also don’t own the numbers.

If you’re using Google Ads, you’re able to put the number on a Google Ad extension. In addition, you’re able to put tracking numbers on a landing page.

But at the end of the day, those are not numbers that will necessarily assist you with organic traffic. Those numbers are also not the property of the business you’re running ads for.

So down the road, if, let’s say, someone engages with your ad, and they call a number six months later, that number might not take them to the number that they thought it was going to take them to.

So that is a missed opportunity down the road.

Google Analytics Limitations

Google Analytics provides SEO/PPC conversion numbers but has inaccurate tracking of clicks as calls, and there is no context for inbound calls.

It’s not the most accurate when you’re trying to track conversions on phone call button clicks. For example, if someone opens up their mobile device and clicks on a call button that clicks that initial click, it’s an unnecessary call.

Google Analytics, although it’s excellent in terms of being able to get that data, it doesn’t provide the context for the calls themselves. So you can’t listen in on the calls because Google Analytics doesn’t record that.

Challenge 1: No Idea How Calls Go

Considerations:

• You may not know the answer to “are these leads good?”
• Call duration helps, but it can be misleading.

SEO

Are your SEO efforts generating high-quality leads?

PPC

Are you using suitable match types?

Without the proper context, you won’t know if specific keywords are helping you get appointments or sales.

Many companies do not use advanced call tracking software when managing their campaigns; instead, they use the tools included in several platforms.

Challenge 2: No Understanding of the Relationship Between Keywords and Calls

Considerations

• One of these keywords has higher intent: “Miami dentist” vs. “Emergency dentist.”
• Understanding how calls go can aid with easy wins.

SEO:

What keywords are generating calls?

PPC:

How do callers differ from keyword to keyword?

When you use call tracking software to direct people to a landing page or blog post, you want to know what search queries led them there and how those calls went.

This will allow you to understand how much difference there is between keywords so that you can put the money where it counts.

Challenge 3: No Inbound Process Measurement

Considerations

• If the campaign is generating good leads, why does the client want to scale back?
• Ask yourself, “Is the receptionist/salesperson aiding the movement?

SEO:

Is the receptionist pushing for an appointment?

PPC:

How many calls are we answering, or are we leaving unanswered?

These little details are important to share with businesses because they show that you’re a partner in what they do.

Furthermore, they present an opportunity to convert more of these leads into clients. Ultimately, this aids in client retention.

Challenge 4: No Understanding of Google’s Changes

Considerations:

• How are Google’s changes affecting you?
• For example, the broad match modifier change impacted the quality of leads we received.

SEO:

Have you noticed a change in leads generated after a Google update?

PPC:

Has the removal of BMM helped us? How has it affected us?

You would want to make sure that you have context and determine how some changes are affecting your campaigns.

You’re Running Campaigns Blind

When clients say they are receiving bad leads, some leads are bad, but they may not have an excellent inbound call process and are unaware of it.

Running campaigns blind results in low customer retention for agencies and a terrible experience for businesses.

A Dental Client Story

Before scenario:

Franco shares that his client had no idea when he asked how many clients they generated with $30K of budget.  The client did not like Google ads just because their approach wasn’t right the first time.

The Solution: Continuous Improvement With Advanced Call Tracking Software

Franco’s team was able to draw the client in as soon as they mentioned they would track the leads transparently and see what they were generating for them. Having that added transparency really made all the difference.

After Scenario

They installed tracking numbers and contact forms.

• Spending on Google PPC with measurable results (e.g., they know they’re generating appointments).
• An improved sales process that has impacted their other channels.
• Tons of opportunity found for an office 20 years in business.
• Confidence in what’s bringing them new patients.
• They know who came from ads.

The Call Tracking Tool They Used

By using CallRail as a tracking tool, it allowed Franco’s team to do the following:

• Offline call tracking
• Online call tracking
• Customer journey
• Dynamic number insertion
• Call notifications
• Free call recording
• Call forwarding
• Google Analytics integration
• Google Ads integration
• Google My Business integration o Facebook integration

Franco’s team has been able to leverage these tools to provide his clients with the correct data and the right insights to be assured that their advertising dollars are well spent.

Benefits of an Advanced Call Tracking Software

Benefit 1: Identify the Top Performing Channels

Benefit 2: Capture the Right Keywords

You will identify the keywords that generated traffic and leads and use these insights to launch a PPC or SEO campaign.

Example: using PPC campaign data to create optimized content for a new website design.

Benefit 3: Show Clients You Can Deliver Results

Want to make your clients happy?

Deliver results – whether that’s getting people to purchase, schedule an appointment, or take another conversion action.

Benefit 4: Measure the Quality of Leads

Are you getting the right calls? You need to know:

• What are they interested in?
• Are the callers motivated or are they researching?
• Are they wrong number calls?
  • Example: “Miami dentist” BMM change

Benefit 5: Improve the Inbound Call Process

• Listen in on calls to determine keyword and inbound sales effectiveness.
• Use insights to train client staff with a call script.
  • Example: Dental client’s initial inbound process affected by all paid and organic efforts. They had potentially lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in business over the years.

Your Next Steps

Look at call tracking software that provides you with some of these features:

Key Takeaways

• The standard approach to PPC and SEO for many businesses has been using the same tools for several years.
• Most current tools like Google Ads & Google Analytics, although great in terms of being able to get data, don’t provide the context for the calls themselves.
• You aren’t just generating leads for clients. You’re providing them the assistance they need to be able to close those leads.

[Slides] Call Tracking for Google Ads & SEO: Convert Leads Faster

See the SlideShare below.

Image Credits

Featured Image: girakchik/Shutterstock
All screenshots taken by author, September 2021