Woodrow Wilson said, “I not only use the brains I have but all those I can borrow.”
Good quote. So why wouldn’t you want to use all the brains you can borrow when it comes to measuring the responses on your web site? We are finishing a lot of web sites these days and I am surprised how few want to use tracking phone numbers on their sites.
A tracking phone number is a specially issued phone number that routes to your business phone number in 1/16th of a second. It is unnoticable to the caller and no calls are missed or dropped. The use of such a number is tracked electonically, rendering all kinds of recorded information about the call: time, date, number of rings, answered or not answered, caller ID info if possible, business call or residential call and more. You can log in online to see the results 24/7.
The best part is, by placing the number in a unique location, you get an idea of how effective that particular piece of media is For instance, we have a tracking number on the DSM web site and a different tracking number on our mailers. I can just look at the tracking number results to know how and when those numbers are being used.... and often by who.
Tracking numbers cost $480/year and we can connect you with a vendor that can issue numbers as quickly as possible. We use these numbers to evaluate advertising response rates and isolated ad buys. However, I find it very useful to have on a web site.
In many of our multi-prong marketing strategies, we have learned (by using tracking numbers) that more people respond after going to a web site, regardless of what pushed them onto the site. For instance, our clients who do direct mail see a more significant response on and through the web, than from the direct mailer that starts the search process. Understanding this part of Internet marketing helps us improve the response rate by improving content on the site, including adding video of the doctor.
Here is a real life application. We have a client that was beginning to lose faith in his web strategies late last summer. He had a Flash video web site, which featured excellent welcoming video he taped and a great, resourceful web site. His placement was good and his cost per click responses were excellent. However, the click throughs on his appointment request and wish list were not up to his expectations.
We made a few cosmetic changes to the site but the biggest change was that we got him to add a tracking phone number to the site. Immediately, we saw that about 20 calls a month were coming from the web site. Knowing this, restored this client’s faith in the web strategy and in his latest report, we see about 40 calls per month for the last few months.
So, is the web strategy working if people choose to call in after seeing the site rather than emailing or filling out a wish list? Absolutely. It is even a stronger validation of the site as these people are obviously getting the number from the site itself.
This is a perfect example of using as many brains as you can get your hands on. The way I like to think of it is: Unique Tracking Number: $480..... Knowing the exact direct response from your web site: Priceless.
Dog Star Media can connect you with a tracking number vendor. Normally, we only refer this for web sites we have designed. But, through the end of July, I will waive that requirement. If you want a tracking number for your web site, whether we designed it or now, just email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
