I have a client who recently asked about putting a phone number in their Google ad. I initially had a lot of reservations about putting a phone number into the ad - it kind of seems like gaming the system. I didn't want to run afoul of the AdWords advertising policies. Even though such a practice wasn't explicity forbidden, this seemed to be right on the edge.
I ended up incorporating the phone number, and it actually had a very high clickthrough rate - comparable to the other ads that I was running. There wasn't a noticeably lower CTR in favor of making a phone call as I had expected. I also suspect that having the local phone number area code in the ad drives home the fact that it was a local Denver business - which most likely helped with clicks and phone calls.
For a fair comparison, you really have to look at the conversions that arrive from the ad (both from phone and form contacts). I believe that the conversion rate was comparable to my other ads.
Prior to incorporating the phone number into the ad, I did a little analysis of the pros and cons of having a phone number in an AdWords ad. That top level analysis is presented below.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Phone Numbers in Ads
Advantages of having a phone number in an ad:
- Less Ad Spend - Advertisers could pay less if they call instead of clicking
- Local Advantage - If you're a local business, the local area code could help to differentiate you to the local site visitor
Disadvantages of Phone Numbers in Ads
- Less Clicks = Lower Quality Score - if users call instead of click, this can lower your clickthorugh rate (CTR) and in turn your quality score - resulting in a higher price to maintain ad position
- Less Text - If you use a phone number in your AdWords ad, you have even less available characters to get your marketing message across. Approximately 20% of your ad text will be used for the phone number.
Google Experiment: Adwords Phone Numbers
To my surprise, I recently found this post on Search Engine Land which discusses Google testing the use of phone numbers in AdWords ads. A screen shot is included in the referenced article, and Google allows space just below the title for the business phone number. If Google does allow space for phone numbers in ads, this would be a huge benefit for Denver advertisers - especially when competing against advertisers on a national level. The phone number could serve as a way to further differentiate local advertisers versus national advertisers for the same products or services.
How Does This Help Me Market My Denver Small Business?
Denver small business owners who are active in online advertising should be excited by this development. If Google moves forward with the phone number feature, it will allow local businesses to better differentiate the fact that they are local versus some of their national competitors.