As marketers, we constantly strive to maximise the performance of our Google Ads campaigns but there are certain external factors that add complications to this process. Accurate conversion tracking is a component of a Google Ads set up that is essential for efficient optimisations. With strong tracking in place, we are able to implement justified modifications to the campaigns and also suggest the use of additional features such as performance based bid adjustments or new campaign types to help maximise the return clients see from their Google Ads account.
Call tracking falls under this category of strong conversion tracking and is especially important for lead generation accounts where calls are the most common conversion action.
What Is A Call Tracking System?
A call tracking system allows us to monitor and attribute leads generated by our marketing efforts and get the comprehensive data we need to make confident marketing decisions. They use customised numbers allowing us to monitor where the call has come from, and therefore attribute it correctly to our Google Ads campaigns.
Once the new numbers have been generated, these can be added onto a clients website and used within the Google Ads for cohesive tracking across the users journey. The plug-in added to the site switches out the number for the PPC specific number for traffic that has come directly from a Google Ads campaign, allowing us to monitor the activity of calls from this. Adtrak also offers Advanced Location Dynamics (ALD) which again is added to the website and enables the numbers visible on the site to switch along with any location specific copy based on the users physical location or the location they are enquiring about.
We are also able to analyse the contents of the call to ensure the content is relevant to the business and also assess the quality to understand which converting users move forward with their inquiry. From this, we are able to gain an insight into what caused the conversion and utilise this data to make future campaign optimisations.
Having insight into the exact number of calls generated from the Google Ads campaigns allows us to explore the origins of these calls to determine which elements of the Google Ads set up and campaigns drive the best conversion rate.
How A Call Tracking System Adds Value To Our Campaigns Performance
Effective call tracking is vital for the success of your Google Ads campaign because it allows you to report on all conversions on the account accurately. This gives you an insight into the performance of your ads which can relate directly to the success of the business. On accounts with conversion tracking in place, as marketers we are able to identify which ads, keywords or campaigns drive the most valuable actions allowing us to optimise key features of the account set up such as the ad spend, ensuring the budget is used effectively in the areas that are driving strong return for the client.
A large part of optimising Google Ads campaigns is related to monitoring conversion metrics and identifying where performance is strongest. From this, we are able to assess the most valuable keywords, to identify the audience that is most likely to convert and analyse which periods during the day drive the most traffic. We are also able to prioritise the budget accordingly to ensure that the client receives the best return on investment and that the ads run with a low cost per lead to allow us to maximise value for money and also revenue that the business generates.
The Impact Of Limited Conversion Tracking
As marketers we are regularly asked what the impact is on account performance when accurate conversion tracking is not implemented. The answer is pretty simple and is that we lose insight into valuable conversion metrics. Many accounts use a range of conversion actions such as purchases, forms and also calls. With inaccurate call tracking in place it affects the accuracy of the overall conversion metrics, meaning that when we report key factors such as conversion rate or cost per conversion, we have limited optimisations we are able to make as not all of the data is visible to us. Losing this insight reduces our ability to evaluate the success of a campaign and also the ability to identify areas for improvement to help the account continue to grow.
It can also impact a client's ability to use justified results when amending their targeting options or product lineup. This is because all recommendations made will be, by default, using traffic based metrics such as clicks and click through rate to identify success. Although these metrics provide a great analysis of elements of the campaigns structure that are working well to drive traffic towards the site, they do not always align with traffic that is converting and we are less able to determine whether the traffic generated is of a good quality.
Financially, this can have an impact because as marketers we have less control over monitoring the return on ad spend and optimising towards its growth to ensure that a client is getting the best results for their investment.
Summary
In summary, effective call tracking using a call tracking system is vital for the success of your Google Ads campaigns. It may be a more expensive solution than alternative options however the insights it allows us to access are incomparable. To maximise the return from your Google Ads campaign it is essential that you are provided with an accurate analysis of the leads you are generating in order to further progress the performance of the campaigns. Data analysis is such a key part of digital marketing with PPC campaigns the more data the better to ensure the money you are pushing into Google Ads is generating the results you wish for.
