There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to AdWords campaigns. What works for one company might not work for others. That being said, there are certain tricks anyone can use to achieve specific goals; such as increasing phone call leads. Our pay per click and SEO account managers know AdWords campaign backwards and forwards. So when we asked them to tell us what some of the best ways to optimize AdWords campaigns to receive more phone calls were, this is what they had to say.
#1: Configure Geographical Targeting
AdWords, like most platforms, has a list of default settings that cover a wide range. One of these settings covers geographical targeting. If left unconfigured, your AdWords campaign will default to target everyone in the U.S. and Canada. And unless you are an e-commerce company that ships to both the U.S. and Canada, this setting can do more harm than good.
It will do your campaign no favors to be served to consumers outside your reasonable geographical location. For example, if you run a dentist office in Golden Valley, MN, then we recommend only targeting consumers within a 10-mile radius around your office because not many people will drive farther than this to seek your services. If you sell cars, on the other hand, you can increase your geo-targeting to encompass a 20-40 mile radius because consumers will be more willing to drive further out of their way to seek your inventory.
When leaving your geo-targeting blank, you may receive more calls, but those callers will be of a lower quality; meaning that they will be less likely to convert. Once someone hears that you don’t service their area, or that you’re too far away, you’ll have wasted both your time.
#2: Configure Ads Scheduling
As you can see, taking the time to configure and customize your AdWords campaign is essential. Another one of those pesky default settings in AdWords is 24-hour scheduling for your ads. While this may sound great on the surface; (your ads will be seen by so many people!) it can actually lead to a serious waster of ad spending.
If the goal of your ad is to prompt someone to call your business, then you want, at the very least, for your business to be open when they call. And while you may have a very nice answering machine, consumers are highly unlikely to interact with it. When was the last time you left a voicemail for someone? You don’t want to be paying for calls that aren’t getting answered. A possible solution for those looking to keep normal hours but show ads outside of those set hours is to implement an answering service for your business. But if you’re not ready to take that step, then we recommend simply setting your AdWords campaign’s ad display hours to match that of your normal business hours.
#3: Optimize for Local Business
Outside of the geo-targeting we discussed above, another way to receive highly qualified leads is thorough optimizing for local business. You can achieve this by utilizing local long tail keywords. These keywords are referred to as geo-modifiers and can increase your call quality exponentially. While your competitor may go after long hanging keywords like roofing company, dentist, or contractor; you can take your strategy a step further by targeting such phrases as Minneapolis roofing companies, Madison, WI dentists, or Waterloo, IA contractors.
By using geo-modifiers for your business, you eliminate a full step of the buyer journey. When a consumer types “Saint Paul, MN dog groomer” into a search bar and your website comes up, they already know that you service their area. Thus eliminating the need for them to verify this information.
To take this approach a step further, our PPC manager recommends utilizing the same geo-modifier wording in your ad copy. Try making the change from “The Best Carpenters in the Midwest” to “ The best carpenters in Minneapolis, MN” or “Saint Paul Roofers.”
#4: Make Your Copy Attractive
Speaking of copy; writing ad copy that proclaims bland call to actions (CTAs) like “call now” or “call today” doesn’t promise any reward for readers. While true that you do indeed want people to call now, why should they? Instead of these generic statements try dropping an incentive in your copy. CTAs like “call today for a free quote, or call now for a complimentary consultation” incentive callers to engage with your ads. It might seem like a small thing, but just ask our copywriters, they can tell you that compelling copy makes all the difference.
#5: Implement Call Tracking
It’s as simple as this; if your business needs to survive through phone calls, then you need to track phone calls. You’re probably familiar with attribution for SEO and social pursuits, but did you know that you can receive the same level of analytics for a phone call that you would with a Facebook ad? With call tracking, you can pinpoint every aspect of your call performance, from which ads are prompting the most calls, to which forms on your website are yielding the best results. With dynamic multi-channel call attribution, a good call tracking service will be invaluable to your business.
#6: Optimize Your Website for Phone Calls
You’d be surprised how many business owners can’t tell you where their phone number is listed on their website. There are numerous ways that you can position your website content and design to yield a greater call volume. Some of those optimizations include:
Having your phone number displayed in either the header or footer
Tailoring your website CTAs to match that of your ad CTAs. For example, if your AdWords campaigns say “call today for a free quote” then your website CTAs should as well.
Craft your home page, or ad landing page to have a built-in conversion funnel on the page.
Understanding AdWords with Snap
We could fill a book with all we know about AdWords. Actually, that’s not a bad idea; but one for a later date. We hope that this introductory blog to AdWords call conversion has helped you gain a better understanding of some of the nuances of AdWords and what it has to offer. Still feeling confused? Not to fear; send us a message, and we’d be happy to walk you through the entire PPC and AdWords process.