Local Listings Management: A Guide To Call Tracking for Local SEO
We often come across companies that want to use call tracking numbers. While we understand the importance of being able to track where your leads are coming from, this could cause problems with consistency, especially if you are using different numbers for different sites across the web. When it comes to Local Listings Management, consistency is extremely important because it makes up almost 50% of ranking algorithms.
We realize the importance of call tracking, so this is the proper way to implement it without adversely affecting your Local SEO.
Potential Gains
- ROI: Measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
- Conversion Insight: Discover where your customers are finding you.
- Advanced Features: A brief greeting can reduce the amount of time employees are on the phone and call recording features help businesses identify training opportunities.
Potential Problems
- NAP Inconsistency: Accurate and consistent listing information, particularly store name, address, and phone number, is one of the most important factors for ranking well in local search. For more information on the effects of listing accuracy on rankings, visit our blog! When using a call tracking number, Google cannot match that number with local listings and, therefore, cannot give credit for a citation. This could really hurt local search rankings.
- Ownership: Many businesses do not own the call tracking numbers they use. Frequently, they are loaned to the business for the duration of the contract and then put back into use for a different business. If you stop using that provider, you’d have to go and update all your listings again. They reuse those numbers, so if a customer is trying to call that location, they will get a wrong number.
5 Steps to Effectively Using Call Tracking for Local Search
1. Get a call-tracking enabled phone number: One way to do this is to port your existing business phone number over to a call tracking provider. This option is great for established businesses that have already done a lot of work on NAP consistency across the web. Another way to do this is to choose a phone number with a local area code from a call tracking provider. This option is great for new businesses or businesses that already have messy NAP data across the web.
2. Forward all calls from your call tracking number to your business line: Add a “destination number,” which is the receiving line that the call will get passed to. This should be your business line.
3. Use this phone number everywhere online, except paid campaigns: This includes your website, online directories (Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc.), and citations.
4. Use the call data coming in to measure campaign performance: Ideally, call tracking will give you an idea of how many calls are coming in each day and how many of those are first-time callers. First time callers are especially important for analyzing how callers are finding your business online.
5. Go beyond simple call tracking to get the maximum benefit: Take advantage of advanced features to customize your call tracking experience.