PhoneCall tracking is not new. People have been using local and toll-free numbers to track TV ads and yellow page ads for years. However, call tracking with online sources is rather new, easy-to-implement technology that can help you determine which landing pages and advertisements are driving traffic and in-bound calls.

How does call tracking work?

Basically, call tracking provides unique, pass-through phone numbers to visitors that come from distinct sources (e.g. a different phone number for people clicking through from Yahoo vs. Google vs. Facebook vs. MerchantCircle, etc.). 

Then, the backend system documents the number of calls, the length of each call, the conversation and many other statistics enabling you to easily determine which ads are generating in-bound calls, and the quality of those calls based on comprehensive data.

Pricing

Call tracking is affordable, too. Rates range from $10-$20 per month per phone number. While there are minimum monthly spending requirements ($50-$100 per month) that can hold small companies back, agencies will often meet the spending requirements because they deploy call tracking for many small and medium-sized companies. There are also costs per minute on the telephone lines, but these costs are rather low ( ~ $0.03 – $0.10 per minute), and get lower as the agency adds more lines for customers.  

Call-Tracking Vendors

Below are a few companies that offer call-tracking services.

Marchex

IfByPhone

Dial800

This article was originally featured in Relevante Marketing's internet marketing newsletter. You can subscribe here.