What Is Call Tracking And How Does It Work?
What Is Call Tracking?
Call tracking is the process of determining how callers found your law firm when they use the phone to contact you. Marketing teams use call tracking software to attribute phone calls to the specific marketing channels that led people to call your firm, such as organic (SEO), paid ads, social media, etc. By knowing what makes your phone ring, you can measure the success of specific campaigns and optimize future marketing strategy.
Why Call Tracking Is Important
Law firms take and make calls daily, but without call tracking, you gain little more than who’s calling and why. While some businesses still ask the classic question of “How did you hear about us?” to see how the caller discovered their company, the caller isn’t likely to give you their first true interaction with the business. This can lead to misinformation in tracking marketing results, and ultimately hurt strategy.
By using call tracking software, your firm can benefit by being able to tie inbound calls directly to the marketing channels and campaigns that the caller interacted with before dialing your phone number.
How Does Call Tracking Work?
Modern call tracking works using cookies and dynamic number insertion to track online activity and campaign level call tracking to assign each offline marketing piece its own tracking number. Phone calls that come from these unique call tracking numbers will forward to your main business line.
In addition to tracking the source of the call, you’ll also gain access to call metadata such as:
- Caller’s name, number, and location
- Call recordings
- Call transcriptions
- Visitor timeline (timeline of every interaction the caller had with your site and marketing efforts)
Where Should You Use Call Tracking?
Call tracking can be used anywhere customers may see your marketing, including online sources such as:
- Google Ads
- Google LSAs
- Organic search (on the website)
- Online directories, like Google Business Profiles
- Social media pages
As well as offline sources, such as:
- Direct mail
- Print ads
- TV and radio commercials
- Flyers & brochures
- Billboards
Q&A
Q: Does call tracking capture every inbound call?
A: It will capture the majority of them, but not all! Although anyone visiting your website or anyone calling from your Google Business Profiles will come in on call tracking numbers, there are sources that will always be outside of the system, like:
- Directories other than GBP/Google, which require your direct phone number.
- People who use the phone number in your email signature to call your phones directly.
- Existing clients or referrals who may have your direct number.
Q: Does call tracking hurt my SEO?
A: In short, no. Call tracking numbers do not affect local SEO and NAP consistency. It's a common misconception that call tracking can undo all your local SEO wins. However, if done incorrectly, it can interfere with your NAP consistency.
Q: Will potential clients notice that my number is different?
A: In 99.9% of cases, no, people just don't pay attention to phone numbers. We select numbers that are in the same area code, and as close as possible to your existing phone number. If you are asked, we recommend telling them why - that your website uses a group of phone numbers to track marketing results, and it may display a different local number than what they expect.