Having a Google AdWords campaign is one thing – having a well optimized and successful Google AdWords campaign tends to be something else entirely. Google AdWords provides marketers with a huge number of different tools that they can use to track leads, measure conversions and more – you just have to know how to make proper use of them for the best possible results. One of the most promising features of for advertisers is AdWords Call extension for call tracking, which allows you to integrate a unique and trackable phone number into your Adwords campaign.

Call Extensions

To integrate a unique tracking phone number into your AdWords campaign, you need to enable a call extension within the campaign itself. From the “Ad Extensions” tab, select the option labeled “Add call extension.” You can then choose how your ads will display on all devices, on only smartphones and more. The window on screen will also give you the most important option of all: the ability to specify the unique phone number that you want to use with your campaign.

The phone number that you provide will then show up in your text based ads in search results across a huge number of different devices including tablets, computers and the increasingly important smart phones. Because smart phone usage is up across the board, the likelihood that a potential customer would see your number in a text ad and immediately use it to place a call is equally high.

Call Reporting

The real benefit of utilizing Google AdWords call tracking comes by way of the huge number of call reporting features that become available at the same time. Information about call activity from your forwarded number is stored in the “Dimensions” tab in the “Call Details” view.

This feature presents a unique and incredible opportunity when it comes to learning more about the people who are interacting with your ads and, most importantly, how. Not only can you track leads using Google AdWords, you can now measure both online and offline conversions separately.

Using the “Dimensions” tab and the “Call Details” view in Google AdWords, you can see information like the length of the call, the duration, the cost, the call type and even the originating area code of the caller in question.

Calls vs. Form Fills

Most advertisers that we work with get about 80% of their leads from phone calls and the rest are form fills. By only providing tracking on the forms an Adwords advertiser is setting themselves up for failure. You’d end up making advertising decisions based only on partial information and often times the call to action or compelling value propositions that work well for a form fill, not necessarily translate to a phone call.

Adwords Call Extensions are not the only way to track inbound phone calls, they are just a part of the process. If you are interested in learning more about phone call tracking for Adwords let us know.