What is Call Tracking and How Does it Work?

For businesses that rely on phone calls for leads and customer inquiries, understanding which marketing efforts are driving those calls is crucial. This is where call tracking comes in. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore what call tracking is, how it works, and how it can transform your marketing strategy by providing detailed insights into your phone leads.

What is Call Tracking?

Call tracking is a technology that allows businesses to track the source of phone calls generated by their marketing efforts. By assigning unique phone numbers to different marketing channels, campaigns, or even specific advertisements, businesses can determine which marketing initiatives are driving phone calls and, ultimately, conversions.

Unlike digital interactions, which can be easily tracked through cookies, UTM parameters, and other digital markers, phone calls have traditionally been a "blind spot" in marketing analytics. Call tracking bridges this gap, providing visibility into the offline conversion path from online (and offline) marketing efforts.

How Does Call Tracking Work?

Call tracking systems work by assigning unique phone numbers to different marketing sources. When a customer calls one of these tracking numbers, the call is forwarded to your actual business number. During this forwarding process, the call tracking system collects data about:

• The marketing source that drove the call (e.g., Google Ads, Facebook, direct mail)
• The specific campaign or ad that the caller responded to
• The keywords the caller used in their search (for calls driven by search ads)
• The caller's geographic location
• The date and time of the call
• The duration of the call
• The caller's phone number (if not blocked)

This data is then compiled into reports that provide insights into which marketing efforts are driving phone calls and, by extension, potential business.

Types of Call Tracking

There are several types of call tracking implementations, each suited to different business needs:

1. Campaign-Level Tracking

Campaign-level tracking assigns unique phone numbers to different marketing campaigns. This approach is straightforward and allows businesses to see which high-level campaigns (e.g., Google Ads, Facebook, billboards, direct mail) are driving calls.

2. Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI)

Dynamic Number Insertion is a more advanced form of call tracking used for website visitors. With DNI, the phone numbers displayed on your website change based on how a visitor found your site. For example, a visitor who found your site through Google will see a different phone number than someone who arrived via Facebook.

DNI can be implemented at different levels of granularity:

• Source-based DNI: Displays different phone numbers based on the traffic source (e.g., Google, Bing, Facebook)
• Session-based DNI: Displays a unique phone number for each visitor session
• Keyword-level DNI: Displays different phone numbers based on the keywords used in search

3. Offline Call Tracking

Offline call tracking uses unique phone numbers in traditional marketing materials like billboards, print ads, direct mail, and TV commercials. This approach allows businesses to track the effectiveness of their offline marketing efforts.

Key Benefits of Call Tracking

Call tracking offers numerous benefits for businesses that rely on phone calls for leads or sales:

1. Attribution and ROI Measurement

Call tracking allows you to attribute phone calls to specific marketing channels, campaigns, and even keywords. This attribution enables you to calculate the true ROI of your marketing efforts by including phone leads in your conversion data.

2. Optimized Marketing Spend

With insights into which marketing channels are driving phone calls, you can allocate your marketing budget more effectively, focusing on the channels that drive the most valuable conversions.

3. Improved Customer Journey Mapping

Call tracking provides visibility into the customer journey from online research to offline conversion. This comprehensive view allows you to understand the full path to purchase and optimize each touchpoint.

4. Enhanced Local SEO

For businesses with a local presence, call tracking can help measure the effectiveness of local SEO efforts. By tracking calls from Google Business Profile listings and local search results, you can refine your local SEO strategy.

5. Better Lead Quality Assessment

Call recording and transcription features available in many call tracking systems allow you to assess lead quality from different sources. This assessment helps you focus on marketing channels that not only drive calls but drive qualified calls.

6. Improved Sales Performance

Call recording can be used for training and quality assurance purposes, helping your sales team improve their call handling and conversion rates.

How to Implement Call Tracking

Implementing call tracking for your business typically involves the following steps:

1. Select a Call Tracking Provider: Choose a call tracking service provider like CallRail that offers the features you need. Consider factors like the number of tracking numbers provided, call recording capabilities, integration options, and pricing.
2. Define Your Tracking Goals: Determine what you want to track. Do you want to track calls from specific campaigns, measure the effectiveness of different keywords, or compare online versus offline marketing efforts?
3. Set Up Tracking Numbers: Assign tracking numbers to the marketing channels or campaigns you want to track. For website tracking, implement dynamic number insertion code on your site.
4. Integrate with Your Marketing Tools: Connect your call tracking system with your other marketing tools, such as Google Analytics, Google Ads, CRM software, or marketing automation platforms.
5. Monitor and Analyze Data: Regularly review your call tracking data to gain insights into which marketing efforts are driving calls and conversions.
6. Optimize Your Marketing Strategy: Use the insights from your call tracking data to optimize your marketing strategy, reallocating budget to high-performing channels and refining underperforming ones.

Call Tracking Best Practices

To get the most out of your call tracking implementation, follow these best practices:

• Maintain NAP Consistency: For local businesses, it's important to maintain consistent Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) information across the web. Use a local tracking number that matches your area code, and make sure your call tracking provider supports proper setup for local SEO.
• Integrate with Other Analytics Tools: Connect your call tracking data with your web analytics and CRM systems to get a complete picture of your marketing performance.
• Use Call Recording Wisely: If you use call recording, make sure to comply with legal requirements by notifying callers that their calls may be recorded. Use recording data for training and quality assurance.
• Track Call Quality, Not Just Quantity: Focus not just on the number of calls generated but also on the quality of those calls. A campaign that generates fewer but higher-quality leads may be more valuable than one that generates many low-quality calls.
• Test and Iterate: Continuously test different marketing approaches and use call tracking data to refine your strategy over time.

Conclusion

Call tracking bridges the gap between online marketing efforts and offline conversions, providing valuable insights into which marketing channels drive phone calls and business. By implementing call tracking, businesses can optimize their marketing spend, improve their customer experience, and ultimately increase their ROI.

Whether you're a small local business or a large enterprise, if phone calls are a significant part of your lead generation or sales process, call tracking is an essential tool in your marketing toolkit.