You are reading the article Q&A: What You Need To Know About Google’s Call Tracking Offering updated in November 2023 on the website Moimoishop.com. We hope that the information we have shared is helpful to you. If you find the content interesting and meaningful, please share it with your friends and continue to follow and support us for the latest updates. Suggested December 2023 Q&A: What You Need To Know About Google’s Call Tracking Offering
Last Monday Google announced the launch of their basic call tracking solution for AdWords. Since then, my company has received hundreds of questions about Google call tracking from media, clients, prospects, competitors, and random people on Twitter. Google is calling their version of AdWords call tracking ”Website Call Conversions”.
In this post, we’ll answer a few of the questions we’ve received and explain who should use Google’s call tracking, and who shouldn’t.
What did Google Just Release?Google will now display unique phone numbers on AdWords landing pages dependent on the visitor’s session. In other words, every visitor will see a different phone number on the AdWords landing page. Google is essentially offering session-based call tracking for AdWords only. It is free and, again, it is only for AdWords.
It does not work for Google organic search.
It does not work for the Google Display Network.
It does not work for any lead source anywhere on the web, except AdWords.
From the Google AdWords blog:
What are the Pros of Google’s AdWords Call Tracking Service?
It’s free. Free is free is free.
It works perfectly with AdWords. It is automatically integrated with AdWords and UA.
It is relatively easy to set up…not necessarily easier than a third-party call tracking number, but simple.
Keyword level call tracking for AdWords
Phone number appearance can be formatted to match the website design
What are the Cons of Google’s AdWords Call Tracking Service?Again, this list of cons comes from agency blogs, industry experts, and the limitations of Google’s AdWords call tracking platform:
It only works for AdWords. Most marketers use AdWords as only a part of their broader marketing mix. If calls result from a Google organic search, Google’s display network or ANY other source, Google call tracking simply won’t track that call.
No call recording.
No in-depth call analytics. This is the big one for our company. Basic call tracking is not powerful. Deep call analytics—conversation analysis—are extremely powerful. That’s where the power of phone calls truly lies.
No local numbers, only toll-free numbers are available. This is a problem for small businesses and enterprises with a local presence.
No telephone features like call routing, scheduled routing, IVR, and geo-routing. These features matter to businesses.
Are Call Tracking Providers in Trouble?No. Call tracking providers who provide more data than merely basic call tracking are going to be just fine.
Analyzing call conversations is and always has been far more powerful than simply telling you if someone called a phone number or not. That’s rather rudimentary stuff.
Will there be some small prospects or agencies that decide to use Google’s AdWords call tracking? Absolutely. But, will they simply ignore the call data generated by their other marketing efforts? Certainly not.
To quote a prominent marketer I had an email exchange with:
Who Should Use Google’s AdWords Call Tracking?If I was a small business spending $800/month on AdWords, and that was my only marketing spend, I would recommend using AdWords call tracking. It’s free. My call tracking vendor brethren might disagree with that statement. But, why wouldn’t you use it for that limited amount of data?
Google provides basic call tracking for free for AdWords. If I’m a small business owner I likely don’t need all of the deep data, recordings, IVR, and routing capabilities provided by LogMyCalls and some other call tracking companies. Instead, I just need to know if a call was made.
Small businesses—if they’re marketing exclusively on AdWords—should use Google’s call tracking platform.
Who Shouldn’t Use Google’s AdWords Call Tracking?In the days since Google’s call tracking release a consensus has started to build, marketers with a small AdWords budget could significantly benefit from Google’s AdWords call tracking. Agencies our company works with—and the blogs of agencies we don’t work with—are saying they will encourage their smaller clients to use Google’s AdWords call tracking. The data is basic, the information is simple, it is relatively easy to implement.
But, for medium-sized clients and enterprises, agencies will encourage them to remain with a third-party call tracking provider. As one agency exec told me last week:
“The data Google’s call tracking provides is just so basic. Sophisticated marketers want more data than that.”
Perhaps Acquisio’s blog says it best:
“Thanks to Google’s call tracking limitations, current call tracking vendors can rest easy. The limited scope of Google’s call tracking solution (Adwords only) means that multi-publisher and multi-channel call tracking will continue to thrive. In fact, call tracking vendors will even work with Google to generate phone numbers, so it seems Google’s release is more of a friendly pairing than an industry disturbing rival for call tracking providers.”
So, specifically, what types of companies should not use Google’s call tracking solution for AdWords?
Agencies: Agencies that want to use Google call tracking for small clients and a third-party call tracking provider for larger clients are going to find themselves in a mess of data, reports, and analytics. Don’t use two platforms when you can only use one. It makes life harder.
SMBs Doing More Than AdWords: Earlier we used the example of a small business spending $800 on AdWords as someone who should use Google’s call tracking tool. That is true – if that small business is ONLY spending money on AdWords.
Why?
Because Google can’t provide call tracking for any of those sources. Their tool ONLY works for AdWords.
Enterprises: Obviously sophisticated marketers at enterprises need more data than Google is providing on AdWords. Every enterprise exec we’ve talked to knows this.
Basically, any company that wants deep analytics or even basic telephony features simply shouldn’t use Google call tracking.
What Does All This Mean for Marketers?Calls are now mainstream for marketers. If Google cares about something, everybody cares about that something.
Google’s foray into call tracking validates the call analytics world. Google now believes that calls matter. The rest of the marketing world will follow Google’s lead and start caring about calls too. Call data and call intelligence are mission-critical for leading businesses. The exciting thing for the call tracking industry is that now, with the entrance of Google, there is a known entity that cares about phone calls. Google cares about calls!
In short: Google might take a piece of the call tracking pie, but they will also increase the size of the pie dramatically. More pie is always good for everyone.
You're reading Q&A: What You Need To Know About Google’s Call Tracking Offering
Apple’s $1 Billion Win Over Samsung: Q&A
In what has been dubbed “the patent trial of the century,” Apple has emerged victorious beyond measure. On Friday a Silicon Valley jury ruled that a series of ubiquitous smartphone and tablet features—such as the rounded rectangular form and how screens slide and bounce when touched—are proprietary Apple innovations.
For Apple fans, it’s great news. But for the millions of people walking around with Android devices in hand, we have some questions.
To answer them, I checked in with Van Lindberg, an IP and open-source attorney with the international corporate law firm Haynes and Boone.
Q: What is still to be determined in this case?
A: The big unknowns are whether Apple will get an injunction [stopping sale of infringing Samsung devices], and how big Apple’s damages will be.
Apple will likely ask for an injunction preventing Samsung from selling its infringing devices in the United States. That would immediately remove a large number of Samsung devices from the market. Given that Samsung is the largest Android vendor, an injunction might move the market share numbers back in Apple’s favor, at least temporarily.
Q: Will the ruling affect features and functions in current Samsung devices?
This win may also affect Apple’s other lawsuit against Samsung, alleging that some of Samsung’s newer models (such as the Galaxy II and the Galaxy Nexus) also infringe Apple’s patents—but Samsung will have a chance to fight that battle in 2014.
A: It will depend on the specific ruling from the Judge. The judge may require software updates to remove infringing functionality. It has happened before. The “global search” functionality was removed in some phones due to a patent threat.
Q: What about upcoming products—how will Samsung need to pivot its products going forward?
A: Many of the patents at issue today had to do with the exterior design of the iPhone, so the biggest and most visible differences going forward will likely be in the shapes of Samsung’s phones. Some would say that Samsung has already started to “pivot” its design. For example, the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note are visually distinct from Apple’s iPhones. It is also likely that Samsung will spend some greater effort trying to distinguish its user interface from the interface of Apple’s iPhones.
A: Samsung’s business relationship with Apple may well be damaged, perhaps seriously. At some point, though, I imagine that someone inside Samsung gambled that the profits in mobile were bigger than the profits in component supply. Based on Samsung’s latest quarterly reports, that appears to have been a good bet so far. We will see how a 1B+ verdict changes the equation.
Q: Could it be said that Apple effectively has a monopoly on the smartphone market?
A: Not at all. Even though the iPhone is spectacularly successful, most people don’t realize that there are so many other types of phones in the market that iPhones made up only 17 percent of all smartphone sales last quarter.
A: This ruling is undeniably a setback for Samsung. As Apple’s most successful competitor, holding Samsung back may clear the way for Apple to extend its lead in smartphones. On a more fundamental level, though, I disagree with the assumption that the only way to effectively compete is to adopt the features of Apple’s phones.
[Note – the Vancouver Sun article is more nuanced. It seems to be arguing that, from a business perspective, only Samsung has the wherewithal to compete with Apple. Removing them from the marketplace will make it so that nobody will have the business might to compete. That is a different argument, but one too nuanced to address here.]
Q: Does the ruling mean that innovation in the mobile space will grind to a halt?
Q: Are there any upsides for consumers here?
A: Well, consumers will be less able to buy Apple-like phones from anybody who is not Apple. On the other hand, this will likely lead to a greater variety of phone designs in the market. Some of those designs might be better than the iPhone. Some of them will definitely be worse.
Q: Business magnate Mark Cuban tweeted “[Thanks] Apple it’s now mandatory for tech companies to sue each other. Prices go up, competition [and] innovation suffer.” Your thoughts?
Q: Anything else people should be thinking about?
A: Although it is somewhat fashionable to be anti-patent these days, this was one trial in which Apple was using its patents exactly as intended under the system. Apple innovated, disclosed their innovations in a patent, and they are now using their patents to fend off “copycats” in the marketplace. I am much more sympathetic to Apple because they are actually bringing products embodying their innovations to market.
Many times, patent cases are argued like someone was trespassing: This idea is my property, and you started using it. What Apple did well in this trial is that it portrayed Samsung as a cheater—someone who looked over Apple’s shoulder and copied down its answers. This portrayal obviously resonated with the jury leading to this overwhelming win.
Q&A: What You Need To Know About Google’s Call Tracking Offering
Last Monday Google announced the launch of their basic call tracking solution for AdWords. Since then, my company has received hundreds of questions about Google call tracking from media, clients, prospects, competitors, and random people on Twitter. Google is calling their version of AdWords call tracking ”Website Call Conversions”.
In this post, we’ll answer a few of the questions we’ve received and explain who should use Google’s call tracking, and who shouldn’t.
What did Google Just Release?Google will now display unique phone numbers on AdWords landing pages dependent on the visitor’s session. In other words, every visitor will see a different phone number on the AdWords landing page. Google is essentially offering session-based call tracking for AdWords only. It is free and, again, it is only for AdWords.
It does not work for Google organic search.
It does not work for the Google Display Network.
It does not work for any lead source anywhere on the web, except AdWords.
From the Google AdWords blog:
What are the Pros of Google’s AdWords Call Tracking Service?
It’s free. Free is free is free.
It works perfectly with AdWords. It is automatically integrated with AdWords and UA.
It is relatively easy to set up…not necessarily easier than a third-party call tracking number, but simple.
Keyword level call tracking for AdWords
Phone number appearance can be formatted to match the website design
What are the Cons of Google’s AdWords Call Tracking Service?Again, this list of cons comes from agency blogs, industry experts, and the limitations of Google’s AdWords call tracking platform:
It only works for AdWords. Most marketers use AdWords as only a part of their broader marketing mix. If calls result from a Google organic search, Google’s display network or ANY other source, Google call tracking simply won’t track that call.
No call recording.
No in-depth call analytics. This is the big one for our company. Basic call tracking is not powerful. Deep call analytics—conversation analysis—are extremely powerful. That’s where the power of phone calls truly lies.
No local numbers, only toll-free numbers are available. This is a problem for small businesses and enterprises with a local presence.
No telephone features like call routing, scheduled routing, IVR, and geo-routing. These features matter to businesses.
Are Call Tracking Providers in Trouble?No. Call tracking providers who provide more data than merely basic call tracking are going to be just fine.
Analyzing call conversations is and always has been far more powerful than simply telling you if someone called a phone number or not. That’s rather rudimentary stuff.
Will there be some small prospects or agencies that decide to use Google’s AdWords call tracking? Absolutely. But, will they simply ignore the call data generated by their other marketing efforts? Certainly not.
To quote a prominent marketer I had an email exchange with:
Who Should Use Google’s AdWords Call Tracking?If I was a small business spending $800/month on AdWords, and that was my only marketing spend, I would recommend using AdWords call tracking. It’s free. My call tracking vendor brethren might disagree with that statement. But, why wouldn’t you use it for that limited amount of data?
Google provides basic call tracking for free for AdWords. If I’m a small business owner I likely don’t need all of the deep data, recordings, IVR, and routing capabilities provided by LogMyCalls and some other call tracking companies. Instead, I just need to know if a call was made.
Small businesses—if they’re marketing exclusively on AdWords—should use Google’s call tracking platform.
Who Shouldn’t Use Google’s AdWords Call Tracking?In the days since Google’s call tracking release a consensus has started to build, marketers with a small AdWords budget could significantly benefit from Google’s AdWords call tracking. Agencies our company works with—and the blogs of agencies we don’t work with—are saying they will encourage their smaller clients to use Google’s AdWords call tracking. The data is basic, the information is simple, it is relatively easy to implement.
But, for medium-sized clients and enterprises, agencies will encourage them to remain with a third-party call tracking provider. As one agency exec told me last week:
“The data Google’s call tracking provides is just so basic. Sophisticated marketers want more data than that.”
Perhaps Acquisio’s blog says it best:
“Thanks to Google’s call tracking limitations, current call tracking vendors can rest easy. The limited scope of Google’s call tracking solution (Adwords only) means that multi-publisher and multi-channel call tracking will continue to thrive. In fact, call tracking vendors will even work with Google to generate phone numbers, so it seems Google’s release is more of a friendly pairing than an industry disturbing rival for call tracking providers.”
So, specifically, what types of companies should not use Google’s call tracking solution for AdWords?
Agencies: Agencies that want to use Google call tracking for small clients and a third-party call tracking provider for larger clients are going to find themselves in a mess of data, reports, and analytics. Don’t use two platforms when you can only use one. It makes life harder.
SMBs Doing More Than AdWords: Earlier we used the example of a small business spending $800 on AdWords as someone who should use Google’s call tracking tool. That is true – if that small business is ONLY spending money on AdWords.
Why?
Because Google can’t provide call tracking for any of those sources. Their tool ONLY works for AdWords.
Enterprises: Obviously sophisticated marketers at enterprises need more data than Google is providing on AdWords. Every enterprise exec we’ve talked to knows this.
Basically, any company that wants deep analytics or even basic telephony features simply shouldn’t use Google call tracking.
What Does All This Mean for Marketers?Calls are now mainstream for marketers. If Google cares about something, everybody cares about that something.
Google’s foray into call tracking validates the call analytics world. Google now believes that calls matter. The rest of the marketing world will follow Google’s lead and start caring about calls too. Call data and call intelligence are mission-critical for leading businesses. The exciting thing for the call tracking industry is that now, with the entrance of Google, there is a known entity that cares about phone calls. Google cares about calls!
In short: Google might take a piece of the call tracking pie, but they will also increase the size of the pie dramatically. More pie is always good for everyone.
Q&A: What You Need To Know About Google’s Call Tracking Offering
Last Monday Google announced the launch of their basic call tracking solution for AdWords. Since then, my company has received hundreds of questions about Google call tracking from media, clients, prospects, competitors, and random people on Twitter. Google is calling their version of AdWords call tracking ”Website Call Conversions”.
In this post, we’ll answer a few of the questions we’ve received and explain who should use Google’s call tracking, and who shouldn’t.
What did Google Just Release?Google will now display unique phone numbers on AdWords landing pages dependent on the visitor’s session. In other words, every visitor will see a different phone number on the AdWords landing page. Google is essentially offering session-based call tracking for AdWords only. It is free and, again, it is only for AdWords.
It does not work for Google organic search.
It does not work for the Google Display Network.
It does not work for any lead source anywhere on the web, except AdWords.
From the Google AdWords blog:
What are the Pros of Google’s AdWords Call Tracking Service?
It’s free. Free is free is free.
It works perfectly with AdWords. It is automatically integrated with AdWords and UA.
It is relatively easy to set up…not necessarily easier than a third-party call tracking number, but simple.
Keyword level call tracking for AdWords
Phone number appearance can be formatted to match the website design
What are the Cons of Google’s AdWords Call Tracking Service?Again, this list of cons comes from agency blogs, industry experts, and the limitations of Google’s AdWords call tracking platform:
It only works for AdWords. Most marketers use AdWords as only a part of their broader marketing mix. If calls result from a Google organic search, Google’s display network or ANY other source, Google call tracking simply won’t track that call.
No call recording.
No in-depth call analytics. This is the big one for our company. Basic call tracking is not powerful. Deep call analytics—conversation analysis—are extremely powerful. That’s where the power of phone calls truly lies.
No local numbers, only toll-free numbers are available. This is a problem for small businesses and enterprises with a local presence.
No telephone features like call routing, scheduled routing, IVR, and geo-routing. These features matter to businesses.
Are Call Tracking Providers in Trouble?No. Call tracking providers who provide more data than merely basic call tracking are going to be just fine.
Analyzing call conversations is and always has been far more powerful than simply telling you if someone called a phone number or not. That’s rather rudimentary stuff.
Will there be some small prospects or agencies that decide to use Google’s AdWords call tracking? Absolutely. But, will they simply ignore the call data generated by their other marketing efforts? Certainly not.
To quote a prominent marketer I had an email exchange with:
Who Should Use Google’s AdWords Call Tracking?If I was a small business spending $800/month on AdWords, and that was my only marketing spend, I would recommend using AdWords call tracking. It’s free. My call tracking vendor brethren might disagree with that statement. But, why wouldn’t you use it for that limited amount of data?
Google provides basic call tracking for free for AdWords. If I’m a small business owner I likely don’t need all of the deep data, recordings, IVR, and routing capabilities provided by LogMyCalls and some other call tracking companies. Instead, I just need to know if a call was made.
Small businesses—if they’re marketing exclusively on AdWords—should use Google’s call tracking platform.
Who Shouldn’t Use Google’s AdWords Call Tracking?In the days since Google’s call tracking release a consensus has started to build, marketers with a small AdWords budget could significantly benefit from Google’s AdWords call tracking. Agencies our company works with—and the blogs of agencies we don’t work with—are saying they will encourage their smaller clients to use Google’s AdWords call tracking. The data is basic, the information is simple, it is relatively easy to implement.
But, for medium-sized clients and enterprises, agencies will encourage them to remain with a third-party call tracking provider. As one agency exec told me last week:
“The data Google’s call tracking provides is just so basic. Sophisticated marketers want more data than that.”
Perhaps Acquisio’s blog says it best:
“Thanks to Google’s call tracking limitations, current call tracking vendors can rest easy. The limited scope of Google’s call tracking solution (Adwords only) means that multi-publisher and multi-channel call tracking will continue to thrive. In fact, call tracking vendors will even work with Google to generate phone numbers, so it seems Google’s release is more of a friendly pairing than an industry disturbing rival for call tracking providers.”
So, specifically, what types of companies should not use Google’s call tracking solution for AdWords?
Agencies: Agencies that want to use Google call tracking for small clients and a third-party call tracking provider for larger clients are going to find themselves in a mess of data, reports, and analytics. Don’t use two platforms when you can only use one. It makes life harder.
SMBs Doing More Than AdWords: Earlier we used the example of a small business spending $800 on AdWords as someone who should use Google’s call tracking tool. That is true – if that small business is ONLY spending money on AdWords.
Why?
Because Google can’t provide call tracking for any of those sources. Their tool ONLY works for AdWords.
Enterprises: Obviously sophisticated marketers at enterprises need more data than Google is providing on AdWords. Every enterprise exec we’ve talked to knows this.
Basically, any company that wants deep analytics or even basic telephony features simply shouldn’t use Google call tracking.
What Does All This Mean for Marketers?Calls are now mainstream for marketers. If Google cares about something, everybody cares about that something.
Google’s foray into call tracking validates the call analytics world. Google now believes that calls matter. The rest of the marketing world will follow Google’s lead and start caring about calls too. Call data and call intelligence are mission-critical for leading businesses. The exciting thing for the call tracking industry is that now, with the entrance of Google, there is a known entity that cares about phone calls. Google cares about calls!
In short: Google might take a piece of the call tracking pie, but they will also increase the size of the pie dramatically. More pie is always good for everyone.
Q&A: What You Need To Know About Google’s Call Tracking Offering
Last Monday Google announced the launch of their basic call tracking solution for AdWords. Since then, my company has received hundreds of questions about Google call tracking from media, clients, prospects, competitors, and random people on Twitter. Google is calling their version of AdWords call tracking ”Website Call Conversions”.
In this post, we’ll answer a few of the questions we’ve received and explain who should use Google’s call tracking, and who shouldn’t.
What did Google Just Release?Google will now display unique phone numbers on AdWords landing pages dependent on the visitor’s session. In other words, every visitor will see a different phone number on the AdWords landing page. Google is essentially offering session-based call tracking for AdWords only. It is free and, again, it is only for AdWords.
It does not work for Google organic search.
It does not work for the Google Display Network.
It does not work for any lead source anywhere on the web, except AdWords.
From the Google AdWords blog:
What are the Pros of Google’s AdWords Call Tracking Service?
It’s free. Free is free is free.
It works perfectly with AdWords. It is automatically integrated with AdWords and UA.
It is relatively easy to set up…not necessarily easier than a third-party call tracking number, but simple.
Keyword level call tracking for AdWords
Phone number appearance can be formatted to match the website design
What are the Cons of Google’s AdWords Call Tracking Service?Again, this list of cons comes from agency blogs, industry experts, and the limitations of Google’s AdWords call tracking platform:
It only works for AdWords. Most marketers use AdWords as only a part of their broader marketing mix. If calls result from a Google organic search, Google’s display network or ANY other source, Google call tracking simply won’t track that call.
No call recording.
No in-depth call analytics. This is the big one for our company. Basic call tracking is not powerful. Deep call analytics—conversation analysis—are extremely powerful. That’s where the power of phone calls truly lies.
No local numbers, only toll-free numbers are available. This is a problem for small businesses and enterprises with a local presence.
No telephone features like call routing, scheduled routing, IVR, and geo-routing. These features matter to businesses.
Are Call Tracking Providers in Trouble?No. Call tracking providers who provide more data than merely basic call tracking are going to be just fine.
Analyzing call conversations is and always has been far more powerful than simply telling you if someone called a phone number or not. That’s rather rudimentary stuff.
Will there be some small prospects or agencies that decide to use Google’s AdWords call tracking? Absolutely. But, will they simply ignore the call data generated by their other marketing efforts? Certainly not.
To quote a prominent marketer I had an email exchange with:
Who Should Use Google’s AdWords Call Tracking?If I was a small business spending $800/month on AdWords, and that was my only marketing spend, I would recommend using AdWords call tracking. It’s free. My call tracking vendor brethren might disagree with that statement. But, why wouldn’t you use it for that limited amount of data?
Google provides basic call tracking for free for AdWords. If I’m a small business owner I likely don’t need all of the deep data, recordings, IVR, and routing capabilities provided by LogMyCalls and some other call tracking companies. Instead, I just need to know if a call was made.
Small businesses—if they’re marketing exclusively on AdWords—should use Google’s call tracking platform.
Who Shouldn’t Use Google’s AdWords Call Tracking?In the days since Google’s call tracking release a consensus has started to build, marketers with a small AdWords budget could significantly benefit from Google’s AdWords call tracking. Agencies our company works with—and the blogs of agencies we don’t work with—are saying they will encourage their smaller clients to use Google’s AdWords call tracking. The data is basic, the information is simple, it is relatively easy to implement.
But, for medium-sized clients and enterprises, agencies will encourage them to remain with a third-party call tracking provider. As one agency exec told me last week:
“The data Google’s call tracking provides is just so basic. Sophisticated marketers want more data than that.”
Perhaps Acquisio’s blog says it best:
“Thanks to Google’s call tracking limitations, current call tracking vendors can rest easy. The limited scope of Google’s call tracking solution (Adwords only) means that multi-publisher and multi-channel call tracking will continue to thrive. In fact, call tracking vendors will even work with Google to generate phone numbers, so it seems Google’s release is more of a friendly pairing than an industry disturbing rival for call tracking providers.”
So, specifically, what types of companies should not use Google’s call tracking solution for AdWords?
Agencies: Agencies that want to use Google call tracking for small clients and a third-party call tracking provider for larger clients are going to find themselves in a mess of data, reports, and analytics. Don’t use two platforms when you can only use one. It makes life harder.
SMBs Doing More Than AdWords: Earlier we used the example of a small business spending $800 on AdWords as someone who should use Google’s call tracking tool. That is true – if that small business is ONLY spending money on AdWords.
Why?
Because Google can’t provide call tracking for any of those sources. Their tool ONLY works for AdWords.
Enterprises: Obviously sophisticated marketers at enterprises need more data than Google is providing on AdWords. Every enterprise exec we’ve talked to knows this.
Basically, any company that wants deep analytics or even basic telephony features simply shouldn’t use Google call tracking.
What Does All This Mean for Marketers?Calls are now mainstream for marketers. If Google cares about something, everybody cares about that something.
Google’s foray into call tracking validates the call analytics world. Google now believes that calls matter. The rest of the marketing world will follow Google’s lead and start caring about calls too. Call data and call intelligence are mission-critical for leading businesses. The exciting thing for the call tracking industry is that now, with the entrance of Google, there is a known entity that cares about phone calls. Google cares about calls!
In short: Google might take a piece of the call tracking pie, but they will also increase the size of the pie dramatically. More pie is always good for everyone.
Q&A: What You Need To Know About Google’s Call Tracking Offering
Last Monday Google announced the launch of their basic call tracking solution for AdWords. Since then, my company has received hundreds of questions about Google call tracking from media, clients, prospects, competitors, and random people on Twitter. Google is calling their version of AdWords call tracking ”Website Call Conversions”.
In this post, we’ll answer a few of the questions we’ve received and explain who should use Google’s call tracking, and who shouldn’t.
What did Google Just Release?Google will now display unique phone numbers on AdWords landing pages dependent on the visitor’s session. In other words, every visitor will see a different phone number on the AdWords landing page. Google is essentially offering session-based call tracking for AdWords only. It is free and, again, it is only for AdWords.
It does not work for Google organic search.
It does not work for the Google Display Network.
It does not work for any lead source anywhere on the web, except AdWords.
From the Google AdWords blog:
What are the Pros of Google’s AdWords Call Tracking Service?
It’s free. Free is free is free.
It works perfectly with AdWords. It is automatically integrated with AdWords and UA.
It is relatively easy to set up…not necessarily easier than a third-party call tracking number, but simple.
Keyword level call tracking for AdWords
Phone number appearance can be formatted to match the website design
What are the Cons of Google’s AdWords Call Tracking Service?Again, this list of cons comes from agency blogs, industry experts, and the limitations of Google’s AdWords call tracking platform:
It only works for AdWords. Most marketers use AdWords as only a part of their broader marketing mix. If calls result from a Google organic search, Google’s display network or ANY other source, Google call tracking simply won’t track that call.
No call recording.
No in-depth call analytics. This is the big one for our company. Basic call tracking is not powerful. Deep call analytics—conversation analysis—are extremely powerful. That’s where the power of phone calls truly lies.
No local numbers, only toll-free numbers are available. This is a problem for small businesses and enterprises with a local presence.
No telephone features like call routing, scheduled routing, IVR, and geo-routing. These features matter to businesses.
Are Call Tracking Providers in Trouble?No. Call tracking providers who provide more data than merely basic call tracking are going to be just fine.
Analyzing call conversations is and always has been far more powerful than simply telling you if someone called a phone number or not. That’s rather rudimentary stuff.
Will there be some small prospects or agencies that decide to use Google’s AdWords call tracking? Absolutely. But, will they simply ignore the call data generated by their other marketing efforts? Certainly not.
To quote a prominent marketer I had an email exchange with:
Who Should Use Google’s AdWords Call Tracking?If I was a small business spending $800/month on AdWords, and that was my only marketing spend, I would recommend using AdWords call tracking. It’s free. My call tracking vendor brethren might disagree with that statement. But, why wouldn’t you use it for that limited amount of data?
Google provides basic call tracking for free for AdWords. If I’m a small business owner I likely don’t need all of the deep data, recordings, IVR, and routing capabilities provided by LogMyCalls and some other call tracking companies. Instead, I just need to know if a call was made.
Small businesses—if they’re marketing exclusively on AdWords—should use Google’s call tracking platform.
Who Shouldn’t Use Google’s AdWords Call Tracking?In the days since Google’s call tracking release a consensus has started to build, marketers with a small AdWords budget could significantly benefit from Google’s AdWords call tracking. Agencies our company works with—and the blogs of agencies we don’t work with—are saying they will encourage their smaller clients to use Google’s AdWords call tracking. The data is basic, the information is simple, it is relatively easy to implement.
But, for medium-sized clients and enterprises, agencies will encourage them to remain with a third-party call tracking provider. As one agency exec told me last week:
“The data Google’s call tracking provides is just so basic. Sophisticated marketers want more data than that.”
Perhaps Acquisio’s blog says it best:
“Thanks to Google’s call tracking limitations, current call tracking vendors can rest easy. The limited scope of Google’s call tracking solution (Adwords only) means that multi-publisher and multi-channel call tracking will continue to thrive. In fact, call tracking vendors will even work with Google to generate phone numbers, so it seems Google’s release is more of a friendly pairing than an industry disturbing rival for call tracking providers.”
So, specifically, what types of companies should not use Google’s call tracking solution for AdWords?
Agencies: Agencies that want to use Google call tracking for small clients and a third-party call tracking provider for larger clients are going to find themselves in a mess of data, reports, and analytics. Don’t use two platforms when you can only use one. It makes life harder.
SMBs Doing More Than AdWords: Earlier we used the example of a small business spending $800 on AdWords as someone who should use Google’s call tracking tool. That is true – if that small business is ONLY spending money on AdWords.
Why?
Because Google can’t provide call tracking for any of those sources. Their tool ONLY works for AdWords.
Enterprises: Obviously sophisticated marketers at enterprises need more data than Google is providing on AdWords. Every enterprise exec we’ve talked to knows this.
Basically, any company that wants deep analytics or even basic telephony features simply shouldn’t use Google call tracking.
What Does All This Mean for Marketers?Calls are now mainstream for marketers. If Google cares about something, everybody cares about that something.
Google’s foray into call tracking validates the call analytics world. Google now believes that calls matter. The rest of the marketing world will follow Google’s lead and start caring about calls too. Call data and call intelligence are mission-critical for leading businesses. The exciting thing for the call tracking industry is that now, with the entrance of Google, there is a known entity that cares about phone calls. Google cares about calls!
In short: Google might take a piece of the call tracking pie, but they will also increase the size of the pie dramatically. More pie is always good for everyone.
Update the detailed information about Q&A: What You Need To Know About Google’s Call Tracking Offering on the Moimoishop.com website. We hope the article's content will meet your needs, and we will regularly update the information to provide you with the fastest and most accurate information. Have a great day!