Australians are using their mobiles to search for businesses and services more and more. Google has revealed how brands can capitalise on this insight.
Through a study of 2000 Australians, Google has found that nine out of 10 participants believe it’s important to be able to call a business directly from an Internet search.
Brands can gain a competitive edge by being accessible in search results. Google Fowarding Numbers is a recently released feature, accessible in the Google AdWords interface – and once installed, will show a clickable “call” button in an ad allowing for customers to call the business directly from a search result. Google research has found that online searches are the “most popular way Australian’s find a local business number.”
Customers expressed that the “call” function left them feeling positive about the interaction they had with the company because of its usefulness. But for most businesses, the call function doesn’t exist and customers said the feature wasn’t “available when they needed it most.” This is especially true for retail and technology brands, the research has shown.
Energy consumption comparison site, Electricity Wizard saw the launch of Google Forwarding Numbers as an opportunity to measure the actual value of their search strategy. With more data, they could optimise and deliver a bolstered ROI.
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According to Alan Belkin, CEO of Electricity Wizard the technology measures “how many people are calling, what the call duration was, the call outcome; whether it was converted into a sale or a valuable lead. What we can do with these new metrics is find out which ads are performing and which are not,” He says.
According to Google’s research, “adding a phone number to mobile search ads results in an average click through rate increase of 8%.”
“It’s a huge advancement moving forward for companies who make sales or have communication with people over the phone, they can now track how many interactions are made with their ad and how long they’re there for,” explains Belkin.
Google’s research found that 44% of customers admitted they’d look for alternate brands if a phone number isn’t available – which is damaging to a brand if they lose out on a potential sale.
42 % of participants said they felt frustrated and annoyed with a brand if the call function wasn’t available.
And 33% felt disappointed in the brand.
Belkin describes Google Forwarding Numbers as a “pay per click campaign” which allows you to rank your business high up in search result based on key words relevant to your brand. “It’s a good way to drive new traffic into your business,” says Belkin, “every time a person dials a number Google charge you per click. Online is the only place you can track your marketing spend and how many clicks and conversions you’ve had,” He adds.
“Having access to more data enables you to optimise your spend and therefore make more dollars for your brand,” explains Belkin.
“Those businesses that get on fastest will benefit the most, He says. “There’s not really any additional risk, it’s just a matter of clicking a couple of buttons in Google AdWords. I think it’s gap in the market that’s finally being filled,” says Belkin.
