Calling versus buying online is no longer an either/or proposition. When it comes to complicated purchases like insurance, healthcare, and mortgages, the need for human help is even more pronounced.

Over half of consumers prefer to talk to an agent on the phone in these high-stakes situations.

However, if you’re finding that your business line isn’t ringing quite as often as you’d like it to, here are some surefire ways to optimize your search ads to drive more high-value phone calls.

Ideas to optimize your paid search ads for more phone calls

·         Let your audience know you’re ready to take their call — and that a real person will answer

If you’re waiting for the phone to ring, make sure your audiences know that you’re ready to take their call. In the days of landlines, if customers wanted a service, they simply took out the yellow pages and thumbed through the business listings until they found the service they were looking for.

These days, your audience is much more likely to find you online, either through search engines or social media. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking for a human to answer their questions.

·         Cater to the more than half of users that will likely be on mobile

If your customer found your landing page via search, there’s a majority percent chance they’re on a mobile device. That’s great news for businesses looking to boost calls, since mobile users obviously already have their phone in hand.

However, forcing users to dig up a pen in order to write down your business number only to put it back into their phone adds an unnecessary extra step that could make some users think twice about calling.

·         Use location-specific targeting

Mobile search is by nature local, and vice versa. If your customer is searching for businesses hoping to make a call and speak to a representative, chances are, they need some sort of local services.

For example, if your car breaks down, you’ll probably search for local auto shops, click a few ads, and make a couple of calls. It would be incredibly frustrating if each of those calls ended up being to a business in another state.

·         Track calls made from ads and landing pages

Keeping up with where your calls are coming from in the physical world is important, but tracking where they’re coming from on the web is just as critical.

Understanding which of your calls are coming from ads as well as which are coming from landing pages is an important part of optimizing paid search.

Using a call tracking and analytics solution alongside Google Ads can help give a more complete picture of your call data.

Short conclusion

The good old-fashioned phone call for business can now drive conversions and sales even in this age of technology. Provide the best possible experience to your customers when they call you and when they click on your ad, seize retargeting opportunities.

Remember, more calls mean more opportunities for revenue for your business.