Telephone numbers, call tracking and Google Analytics
We've been talking a lot in the office about telephone numbers. Obviously you'd expect this from a company that sells them. But, the discussions have revolved around how people see telephone numbers differently and how differently our customers use the services we offer.
At a basic level, the telephone numbers you get from us are purely to enable your customers to call you. That's it at it's simplest level. And for some that truly is it: a point of contact that's flexible in letting you answer calls where you want to.
A simple telephone number can be so much more
But when you start to think about it, and we do, a seemingly simple telephone number can be so much more.
With all the greetings, forwarding and answering options that can be applied to a telephone number, it can quickly become part of your business image, a fundamental part of your customer experience and a source of new business.
A telephone number can also be a key part of your budget decision making.
Developing your call tracking
We've provided call tracking services for as long as we've provided telephone numbers. The call statistics you get with any number tell you exactly how many calls you've had, how long they've lasted and where they've come from.
The next step into call tracking is to assign a unique number to your website, directory listings, newspaper ads or billboards so you can then see a clear picture of what sources get the best response.
Integrating call data with Google Analytics
We can now enable you to integrate your call data from telephone numbers both online and offline and analyse it together with your web data using the one analytics tool - Google Analytics.
You'll be able to dynamically present numbers on your website to track visitors based on how they got to your site. Set up numbers to track visitors by referring domain, keyword or paid search.
This will enable you to see how your offline advertising contributed to your success alongside the online advertising.
When planning for the future you'll have a better picture of where to apply your advertising budget based on real data, proving the success of certain areas.
