Google Call Forwarding has been released in Australia. This free AdWords feature allows Calls to be tracked as Conversions, which will help you evaluate the Return On Investment from your ads.
Previously only available to advertisers in the USA, UK and a few other countries this is a great feature for businesses that generate telephone calls from their advertisements.
What are AdWords Call Extensions?
Before jumping straight into Google Call Forwarding, you need to understand how the the Call Extensions feature within AdWords works. For a while now it’s been possible to include your business’ telephone number as part of your ad. This is called a Call Extension.
For ads displayed on mobile phones people can click the Call Extension and directly call the number. In this situation the advertiser would be charged with a click, in the same way as if the person searching had clicked on the ad.
Where ads are displayed on desktop computers and tablets the Call Extension is still shown, but the person searching has to manually dial the number. In this case there is no cost to the advertiser, unless the person searching still clicks the ad.
What Is Google Call Forwarding?
Google Call Forwarding is an enhancement to Call Extensions. By selecting Call Forwarding Google assigns a unique telephone number to your ads. This number forwards calls to the business telephone number that you specify.
For businesses with caller ID the telephone number of the person making the call is still displayed even though the call is diverted through Google.
As with standard Call Extensions if someone on a mobile clicks on the telephone number they will automatically make the call and the advertiser will be charged as though they clicked on the ad. If someone manually enters the number and dials without clicking the ad or the call extension then there is no cost to the advertiser.
Why is Google Call Forwarding Good for your Business?
- First of all the service is provided by Google at no charge.
- The AdWords cost is the same as with standard Call Extensions. The advertiser only pays if someone on a mobile device clicks the Call Extension.
- This feature allows you to obtain information available about the calls that are made. With this data it is straightforward to identify how effective AdWords ads are at generating calls from potential customers.
- Calls are tracked as Conversions and this data, in addition to your other Conversion data, can be used to optimise your campaigns
Information Available in Google Call Forwarding Reports
The following information is available with Google Call Forwarding:
- Call start time
- Call end time
- Call duration
- Call status (answered or missed)
- Caller area code
- Call type (mobile click to call or manually dialled)
This data makes it easy to see how many calls are being generated from your AdWords campaigns and ad groups. Meaning budget can be allocated to the campaigns that can be proved to generate the best results.
Also read Google Support’s information about Call Forwarding.
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Melinda aka Mel is a Google Partner, Google Ads & Consultant, Speaker and Trainer and co-owner of Click-Winning Content.
Mel provides results-driven services to organisations around the world and is committed to never using an acronym without explaining it first. She also likes greyhounds as pets, grand slam tennis, cracked pepper and Melbourne sunsets.
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