AdWords

Google Call Tracking: The Pros and Cons of Free Analytics

Using Google call tracking and other free features makes sense for businesses just starting out with AdWords campaigns. However, they'll only take you so far. Find out what call tracking brings to the table that other programs lack.


Google is kind of a big deal these days; it doesn’t quite rule the world yet, but it’s getting there. Nevertheless, any business that wants to make a big impact online needs to understand how Google works, and how to get the most from Google’s services –– particularly Google Ads. Though Google offers some free call tracking support features that can help businesses get started measuring their ads’ effectiveness, many companies need more than these relatively basic measures. Here then are the pros and cons associated with Google Ads analytics –– and what you’ll be missing out on if you don’t complement AdWords with advanced call tracking tech

Why Call Tracking for Google Ads is Important 

Google AdWords matters a heck of a lot to businesses that utilize it. However, it also carries a lot of weight for Google itself. Indeed, Google brings in roughly 90% of its revenue through advertising, and AdWords plays a major role in that. In other words, AdWords is the prize pig on the Google farm; it’s the flagship product –– the Big Mac on the Google menu. Therefore it makes plenty of sense why Google would want to make AdWords accessible and effective. And it’s easy to understand why call tracking features are important for companies that use AdWords. After all, if you’re not able to accurately monitor calls and conversions made offline as a result of online ads, you’ll always struggle to attribute value to your marketing efforts. Not to mention, you’ll never be able to create better ads in the future (other than through sheer dumb luck, of course). 

Benefits of Free Google Services 

Taking advantage of phone call conversion tracking from Google is a smart thing for business owners to do –– particularly if you’ve just started an AdWords account. In fact, there is a lot to like about Google call tracking. For one, it’s free –– so it makes sense from that angle. Secondly, it’s relatively simple to set up and understand. And lastly, it provides business owners with rudimentary information about their ad performance. If nothing else, Google call tracking offers many companies a small way to measure their ads’ effectiveness. 

Why Every Business Needs Call Tracking

As stated previously, Google conversion tracking is a good place to start because it’s simple; however, that also means it’s limited in what it can do. The big problem in regard to Google conversion tracking is that it can’t really accurately measure conversions. Yes, it can provide information in relation to how long a call lasted, but it won’t tell you which calls from ads ended in sales and which ones didn’t bring in any revenue. Additionally, you can only designate one Google tracking number per web page; what’s more, Google conversion tracking doesn’t offer call recordings or session-level metrics. Lastly, Google AdWords analytics is just that –– restricted to AdWords (specifically click-to-call ads, or ads with call extensions). Of course that means you won’t be able to determine the effectiveness of social media ads, organic content (like blogs), or track sales made from online referrals. Only call tracking can help you do all of that.

Contact the Pros

There’s nothing wrong with maximizing your use of free Google analytics. However, any business that wants to 1) accurately calculate ROI, 2) create more effective ads, 3) customize how they track content performance, 4) improve the way their marketing and sales teams operate, and 5) SAVE MONEY on ad spend eventually needs to integrate call tracking software into their plans. Contact the Advocado team today if you’re ready to take the next step and get the extra intel you need to outshine the competition. Also, make sure to download our free case study and see how call tracking can make a difference for a business like yours!

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