I work for an advertising agency and have many clients that request we
put their local phone numbers in their ad copy... I'm talking about
REGULAR text ads... NOT print, audio, radio etc...
I've searched through google's help sections endlessly to try and find
any official guidelines on this but everything is very vague and
confusing.
Can someone please give me a final answer on this subject.
I want to to know if Google will allow us to place local phone numbers
in the ad copy of a REGULAR AdWords Text Ad.
> [...] Can someone please give me a final answer on this subject.
> I want to to know if Google will allow us to place local phone numbers
> in the ad copy of a REGULAR AdWords Text Ad.
Happy to give you a final answer. Yes, you may use telephone numbers
in AdWords text ads. It is not against AdWords policy.
Whether it is a good idea to do so is a different question, of course
- but it's an important question to answer. I would make sure to track
the results of such ads to make sure they are performing well. Perhaps
consider an 'A/B' test, with two ads in the same ad group - one having
the phone number, and the other without.
In my opinion, most folks seeing a AdWords ad know that they are one
click away from visiting the advertiser's site, where they can find a
lot of information without having to actually talk to anyone. I think
they would be unlikely to pick up a phone and call instead of click
with the mouse that is already in their hand.
However, I have heard some advertisers report very good results. I'd
guess that 'your results may vary' - which is why I suggest testing to
see how it actually works in your particular situation.
> I work for an advertising agency and have many clients that request we
> put their local phone numbers in their ad copy... I'm talking about
> REGULAR text ads... NOT print, audio, radio etc...
> I've searched through google's help sections endlessly to try and find
> any official guidelines on this but everything is very vague and
> confusing.
> Can someone please give me a final answer on this subject.
> I want to to know if Google will allow us to place local phone numbers
> in the ad copy of a REGULAR AdWords Text Ad.
I'm definitely on the same page with the effectiveness of this
strategy. Personally I would not waste ad space with a phone number...
searchers are in "click mode" not "call mode" when they are searching.
But we gotta give clients what they want, you know what I mean? ;)
> > [...] Can someone please give me a final answer on this subject.
> > I want to to know if Google will allow us to place local phone numbers
> > in the ad copy of a REGULAR AdWords Text Ad.
> Happy to give you a final answer. Yes, you may use telephone numbers
> in AdWords text ads. It is not against AdWords policy.
> Whether it is a good idea to do so is a different question, of course
> - but it's an important question to answer. I would make sure to track
> the results of such ads to make sure they are performing well. Perhaps
> consider an 'A/B' test, with two ads in the same ad group - one having
> the phone number, and the other without.
> In my opinion, most folks seeing a AdWords ad know that they are one
> click away from visiting the advertiser's site, where they can find a
> lot of information without having to actually talk to anyone. I think
> they would be unlikely to pick up a phone and call instead of click
> with the mouse that is already in their hand.
> However, I have heard some advertisers report very good results. I'd
> guess that 'your results may vary' - which is why I suggest testing to
> see how it actually works in your particular situation.
> AdWordsPro
> On Dec 5, 7:10 am, ddcseth wrote:
> > I work for an advertising agency and have many clients that request we
> > put their local phone numbers in their ad copy... I'm talking about
> > REGULAR text ads... NOT print, audio, radio etc...
> > I've searched through google's help sections endlessly to try and find
> > any official guidelines on this but everything is very vague and
> > confusing.
> > Can someone please give me a final answer on this subject.
> > I want to to know if Google will allow us to place local phone numbers
> > in the ad copy of a REGULAR AdWords Text Ad.
FYI, using a phone number in an ad can be an effective way to
emphasize a company is local when ads are displayed for both local and
national companies. Don't use an 800 number. Use a number with the
local area code. If the ads are not local in nature, including a
phone number probably isn't going to help.
Don't delete the ads you have in place. Simply add a new text ad that
uses the phone number. Track both the CTR and the conversion rate
going forward. Then you'll find out if it's effective for your
clients.
BTW, for future reference, if you use this tactic of testing new ads
in conjunction with existing ads already in rotation, you don't need
to worry if your text changes will violate policy. Simply add the new
text ad and see if it works. If it is disapproved, you'll find out
shortly and you won't have any downtime for your keywords.
> I'm definitely on the same page with the effectiveness of this
> strategy. Personally I would not waste ad space with a phone number...
> searchers are in "click mode" not "call mode" when they are searching.
> But we gotta give clients what they want, you know what I mean? ;)
> Thanks again.
> Seth
> On Dec 5, 1:06 pm, AdWordsPro wrote:
> > Hello ddcseth,
> > > [...] Can someone please give me a final answer on this subject.
> > > I want to to know if Google will allow us to place local phone numbers
> > > in the ad copy of a REGULAR AdWords Text Ad.
> > Happy to give you a final answer. Yes, you may use telephone numbers
> > in AdWords text ads. It is not against AdWords policy.
> > Whether it is a good idea to do so is a different question, of course
> > - but it's an important question to answer. I would make sure to track
> > the results of such ads to make sure they are performing well. Perhaps
> > consider an 'A/B' test, with two ads in the same ad group - one having
> > the phone number, and the other without.
> > In my opinion, most folks seeing a AdWords ad know that they are one
> > click away from visiting the advertiser's site, where they can find a
> > lot of information without having to actually talk to anyone. I think
> > they would be unlikely to pick up a phone and call instead of click
> > with the mouse that is already in their hand.
> > However, I have heard some advertisers report very good results. I'd
> > guess that 'your results may vary' - which is why I suggest testing to
> > see how it actually works in your particular situation.
> > AdWordsPro
> > On Dec 5, 7:10 am, ddcseth wrote:
> > > I work for an advertising agency and have many clients that request we
> > > put their local phone numbers in their ad copy... I'm talking about
> > > REGULAR text ads... NOT print, audio, radio etc...
> > > I've searched through google's help sections endlessly to try and find
> > > any official guidelines on this but everything is very vague and
> > > confusing.
> > > Can someone please give me a final answer on this subject.
> > > I want to to know if Google will allow us to place local phone numbers
> > > in the ad copy of a REGULAR AdWords Text Ad.
We use our phone number in every ad on Adwords. Phone orders usually
out number Adwords generated orders but don't tell Google.
The conversation always starts with something similar to "I found you
online and I have a question."
The answers of course are referenced in the website in multiple places
but the consumers want to cut through the search and talk to a live
person.
Take Adwords tech support as an example. Most of the answers to any
question are online, but it sure is nice to actually talk or text with
a real (?) person. That's one reason why "Adwords Pro" exists.
Analytics data doesn't include the phone order sales so conversion
rates end up being skewed, we have a lot more sales than our
conversion rate indicates. Last week our Adwords account showed 18
conversions. We sold 128 units, all of them generated by our Adwords
account at one time or another. Sure, some were repeat customers, but
all of them were initially generated by Adwords.
Some web based companies hide behind a website and a Post Office Box.
It's more automated that way, but I'm more than glad to talk to
somebody for five minutes to make my $30.
I agree that phone #s in ads can be very effective - I've often found
them to get higher CTRs (YES, CTR!s!) than other ads. It also conveys
to people that this is a real business with real people ready to
answer the phone if you call.
I'm surprised it hasn't been brought up - but phone numbers in ads
decrease earnings for the adsense publishers displaying them.
Something that you might want to consider. Decreased adsense earnings
= lower adword real estate.
---
http://www.outsource2documaker.com Managing outsourced projects ranging from fine artwork and business
graphics to website design and maintenance.
> I work for an advertising agency and have many clients that request we
> put their local phone numbers in their ad copy... I'm talking about
> REGULAR text ads... NOT print, audio, radio etc...
> I've searched through google's help sections endlessly to try and find
> any official guidelines on this but everything is very vague and
> confusing.
> Can someone please give me a final answer on this subject.
> I want to to know if Google will allow us to place local phone numbers
> in the ad copy of a REGULAR AdWords Text Ad.
You can use phone numbers in your ads. If you clients are savvy
marketers, set up a unique 1-800 phone number used ONLY in the Google
text ads so you can measure not only their effectiveness, but average
cost per lead and/or average cost per sale. If you're able to do
this, you can determine what ad (one with or one without the phone
number) drives a higher ROI.
> I work for an advertising agency and have many clients that request we
> put their local phone numbers in their ad copy... I'm talking about
> REGULAR text ads... NOT print, audio, radio etc...
> I've searched through google's help sections endlessly to try and find
> any official guidelines on this but everything is very vague and
> confusing.
> Can someone please give me a final answer on this subject.
> I want to to know if Google will allow us to place local phone numbers
> in the ad copy of a REGULAR AdWords Text Ad.
