Google Call Only Campaigns

Back in February, Google announced via their official BlogSpot account that they were introducing call-only campaigns to Google Adwords, where they stated that 70% of mobile searchers call a business directly from search results.

For businesses that still like to take calls (remember calls, those things we did with our phones before social media and WordPress contact forms became the trendy alternatives?), the call-only feature of an Adwords campaign could be an extremely useful feature, and it’s incredibly easy to use.

Adding the Call-Only Feature to Your Campaign

When creating an ad, you simply have to use the dropdown available and choose the call-only ad type. Once you’ve finished adding all of your other info into your ad, your ad will now drive phone calls to your business instead of traffic to your website. When a user clicks on the ad, the advertiser is charged as usual.

This cool new feature is the next step in making mobile and smartphone technology the number one way that people communicate with businesses. When users are searching for a restaurant, for example, they don’t want to find you on Google, head to the website and then book a table via the site. They want to find you and call you straight away, and the call-only feature allows them to do just that.

On the Adwords announcement, Josh Leibner, Director of Paid Search at Red Ventures, states that bypassing the need to visit a website first will improve the mobile shopping experience, adding that “They [call-only ads] provide an easy way for consumers to get the product they want by calling into our sales center directly. Better customer experience coupled with an increase in calls & sales provides a win-win for both consumers and advertisers.”

How does it look on Google?

The user will see your name, description, phone number and a bright and shiny call button when they search, and they will only have to hit that to get a hold of you. It’s such a simple and effective way of reaching a business, and you can guarantee that many Adwords users are going to be implementing it into their paid advertising strategies.

You can tailor your ads to ensure that users call you by being creative in your wording. For example, if you’re a chiropractor, your call to action could be “Speak to a specialist now” or “Call to speak to a specialist”. This will dramatically improve your call-through rate and can ultimately lead to a lot more business.

The only downside to the call-only feature is that it is naturally built for smartphone and tablet technology rather than Wall Street-style brick phones that our Grandparents use. This is only a small point to make, purely because the number of people who use this technology is dwindling more and more with every passing year, but it is still worth mentioning. However, the generation that use smartphone technology are going to engage with the new call-only feature of Adwords like nobody’s business, and it’s going to yield results for businesses everywhere.

If you value customer calls over website clicks any day of the week, but are still actively engaging in paid advertising for your business, head to Adwords and give the call-only feature a whirl, and keep track of your results. For more information, head to the Adwords Help Center.