Remember our post on having your phone number easily found? Well, it’s still important. Here’s why. Last year, Google engaged Ipsos to conduct a study on click to call within organic and mobile search results. They found some pretty interesting information that can help your small business.

Ipsos asked smartphone users between the ages of 18-74 to answer an online survey. Participants were required to have made a purchase in one of seven categories in the past six months: travel, restaurant, finance, retail, technology, local services, and auto. Three thousand participants gave their feedback.

Findings

Key findings included:

• Click to call was one of the most used features on the mobile search engine results page with more than 70% of mobile searchers having used it to connect with a company directly.
• Click to call was most important during the purchase phase of the shopping process, in particular, for local services.
• Nearly 50% of searchers were likely to consider another business, while being frustrated and annoyed, if the search results did not have a phone number readily available.
• More than 50% of consumers surveyed called a business directly from a search to schedule an appointment or make a reservation. The same was true for calling for business hours. (Access the full report here.)

Why are customers calling instead of using a website? The top three reasons cited in the study were to:

• Quickly get an answer or accomplish a goal.
• Talk to a real person.
• Gather more information than the website could provide. (Findings from The Role of Click to Call in the Path to Purchase, September 2013, by Google and Ipsos.)

Calls driven by search ads had these very interesting characteristics – more than 70% of calls made from a mobile search ad call button lasted more than 30 seconds with the average length of the call being six minutes.

Capitalize on this Opportunity

Having conversations with consumers who are mostly in the purchase phase that last six minutes is priceless to your business! Make sure to capitalize on all of your search results by making your phone number readily available and using multiple direct-inward-dial (DID) lines.

With an easy accessible phone number and one-click calling, customers are less likely to get frustrated and move on to a competitor. With multiple DID numbers, you can track where callers are finding your information and which type of searches are giving you the most bang for your buck. To set up this type of tracking, you can use one number for your main website and different numbers for each of your search ads. On a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, this will provide the data needed to review which ads are most effective or help decide if you should implement more organic search optimization techniques.

Whether you need multiple lines, help handling the call volume, or tools that can support excellent customer service, Halloo is here for you! For a personal consultation, give us a call today at (888) 238-3822.