AdWords Call Only Campaigns: Who do They Benefit?

Google previously created Enhanced Campaigns back in 2013 to help with customers’ pay-per-click (PPC) campaign management. The idea behind the new option for Google AdWords was to merge campaigns together between desktop, smartphone and tablet users.

Google AdWords

In theory this made it easier to manage advertising campaigns, but what Google perhaps forgot was that some advertisers wanted to specifically target either smartphone or tablet users (sometimes both at the same time). Some fancy workarounds were needed in order to resolve this issue by underbidding on desktop ads and way overbidding on mobile ones. It was messy. Then this year Google came out with call only campaigns.

What Are Call Only Campaigns?

Call only campaigns were recently introduced by Google. They go some way towards resolving the issue.

The new feature adjusted a text-based ad on one of the Google search sites with a phone number instead of a title. This has the disadvantage of losing some eye-catching and keyword-rich sales copy to grab attention, but it has the advantage of creating a call to action for the phone.

The call only campaigns still allow space to write up ad copy which displays below the phone number. The phone number is shown first, followed by a yellow and white “Ad” graphic with the website advertising next to it, and then the textual content of the ad follows below. To the right is now a “Call” button which smartphone users can tap to initiate a phone call.

AdWords call only campaign setup
image credit: Google
AdWords call only example
image credit: Google

Improvements for Sales Targeting

Previously, businesses were able to fit a phone number into their AdWords campaign, but they could not control the timing of the ads being issued when displayed on mobile devices. This was a problem because in the case of small businesses, they do not necessarily have round-the-clock sales staff. The new call only campaigns allow more granular control on not only mobile only phone-based ads, but also the timing of when they are displayed which can coincide to times when the sales office is open.

What Type of Businesses Can Benefit the Most?

A business that can provide a separate phone number for ad-based calls would be ideal. This way the sales staff can tailor their message to the offer made in the advert. For businesses on a smaller budget, they can still have people responding to calls on their main phone number but calls are less likely to convert as effectively that way.

More Accurate Cost Analysis

The advertising model for call only ads changes the profitability from a pay-per-click to a pay-per-call model for users with smartphones. This will make it easier for companies to determine the real response rate and conversions inside the sales office from those phone calls. This is far more accurate than when desktop and mobile users were all bundled together with less control.

Learning More About Call Only Campaigns

Google call only campaigns are pretty new. To help with understanding the benefits more clearly, take a look at the linked infographic above to learn more.

The latest advertising innovation by Google is a significant step forward for any business that wants to make their mobile advertising more track-able. Whilst it would be nice to be able to split out tablet from smartphone users, this could be a future update from the search giant.