What Is Call Tracking and How Does it Work?

Introduction

For a long time now, marketing budgets are not being distributed “just like that” anymore across different channels, but are measured against clear KPIs. Marketers need data on user behavior to assess the performance of marketing activities. Of particular relevance here is the topic of Call Tracking. The technology provides important information on incoming call leads/conversions. But Call Tracking can do much more: the technology significantly increases marketing transparency and the success of lead management processes. For example, advertising measures can also be tracked outside the website (on- and offline), and with simple optimization measures, marketers can achieve that they miss fewer calls, and sales specialists are thus relieved. 

How Call Tracking Works

In short and very simplified terms, Call Tracking links an advertising measure (online or offline) to a phone number. In this way, marketers can determine which campaigns achieve the greatest success. The parameters measured can be more or less detailed such as call duration, number of generated calls, or number of redirects. 

 

A company uses different, specific static call numbers for the website, print, and radio ads and measures how many calls are generated via these media channels. However, if a marketer wants to use the technology to improve the performance of his measures, he should take an in-depth look at all the possibilities offered by Call Tracking.

Types of Call Tracking

There are four types of call-tracking marketing:

 

1. Static Call Tracking

2. Channel-driven Call Tracking

3. Dynamic Call Tracking
4. Dynamic Call Tracking with value transfer

Static Call Tracking

This is the simplest form of tracking inbound calls. Each medium (television, print, website, etc.) is assigned a specific phone number. This allows marketers to determine exactly how many calls are coming from a particular medium.

Channel-driven Call Tracking

For example, performance marketing can determine how a particular campaign is performing in terms of calls. Each channel gets a separate tracking number. Calls can now be assigned to different channels (SEA, SEO, newsletter, etc.). 

Call Tracking Dynamic

Marketers get insights about the customer journey of website visitors. Each user is shown a unique number, which is dynamically sent to the website via a script. Calls are now linked to the visitor down to the keyword level and are available as a conversion for Google Ads.

 

Dynamic Call Tracking with value transfer

Additional value-added: Data about the quality of a call. This call Tracking variant makes it possible, for example, to enrich and increase the data/lead quality with additional information using the DTMF dialing method or CRM integration after the call. 

Reasons why you should rely on Call Tracking Marketing

1. Call Tracking provides marketers with cross-channel performance reports of on and offline advertising efforts – including missed calls as well as online tracking information such as visited URLs.

 

1. Call Tracking enables the assignment of calls to specific channels, campaigns, keywords, and conversion values, thus ensuring greater transparency.

 

1. All generated data is available in the Call Tracking Marketing Control Panel and can be integrated into important marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Google Ads or CRM.

 

1. Call Tracking modules do not require any changes to the telephone system or IT infrastructure and can be easily integrated via a Tag Manager.

Call Tracking Marketing Dashboard

Google Analytics, Google Ads, mail reports, call logs – these are all data sources that are supposed to make marketers’ lives easier. But is it getting easier? Can they measure their marketing results better, more efficiently, and more clearly?

 

The solution: The Call Tracking Marketing dashboard The following points are visualised at first glance:

 

1. Overview of marketing spending and generated leads
2. Easy access for all team members and stakeholders as well as regular email reports 
3. Proof of contacts and actual call acceptances
4. Tracking of website KPIs
5. Comparison to previous advertising phase to better evaluate and optimize campaigns 

Digitization: Transfering the phone into the world of clicks

Users are under constant observation in the online marketing world – using tracking pixels that reveal every virtual step. No matter whether the user came to the company’s website via a Google Ads, display campaign, newsletter, or a paid backlink. Everything is tracked and stored down to the smallest detail. But what about inbound calls triggered by marketing measures? 

 

Many marketing departments and agencies are still unable to efficiently integrate inbound calls into their tracking strategies. This is exactly the information they then lack to significantly improve their online marketing efforts as well as their ROI. An example: Which keyword performs best? Important topic: bid management. These strategies only work if enough relevant data is available either collected manually or via a bid management system. Set up correctly, they lead to higher transparency, better decisions, and more leads for the same budget. But beware! Call Tracking is not relevant for every industry e.g. for the mail-order industry! Companies like Zalando, don’t want to generate calls at all. 

Conclusion

In addition, Call Tracking Marketing empowers companies to set up more efficient and better sales, customer care, decision-making, and communication-based lead management processes using turnkey and cloud-based technology. Everything can be seamlessly integrated with third-party systems such as CRM or analytics tools. This is a real win-win situation that is trusted by well-known companies and brands such as the Autoscout24 and Immoscout24 portals, the agency Moccamedia, and the electronics retailer Euronics.

FAQ’s

Does Call Tracking Hurt SEO?

No, it doesn’t… if it’s used correctly. The reason that call tracking has a bad name in the minds of some local search experts is that many call tracking providers, local search agencies, along SMBs have misused it for years.

 

2. What’s the implementation process/how long will it take?

This allows us to track precisely which marketing efforts are generating phone calls.

 

3. Will it save us money/help us make money?

Using Conversation Analytics we’ll be able to un-miss Missed Opportunities. Plus, we’ll be able to make our marketing budget more efficient.

 

4. What’s the impact on SEO?

Some local experts used to believe that call tracking harmed SEO. That has been proven NOT true. If used and implemented correctly, call tracking does not harm SEO in the least.

 

5. What are the biggest benefits of call tracking?

 It will allow us to determine which ads, campaigns, and keywords are generating phone calls. For example, we’ll be able to determine, with precision, how many phone calls our PPC campaigns are producing. This will allow us to spend our marketing budget more effectively.