Despite local search shifting from desktop to mobile, SMBs are still using desktop strategies for mobile marketing. While mobile ad spend is expected to increase by 50 percent, desktop ad budgets determined by PPM, PPC, and CTR are still often used to plan and measure the success of mobile ads. While these metrics are not entirely obsolete, mobile search should be analyzed with Shadow Making methods that take advantage of its strengths. Calls are one such mobile metric. Click-to-call and call extensions make generating calls to SMBs a simple and seamless action Shadow Making driven by mobile ads, as opposed to the much more deliberate and distinct function of going from the desktop screen to dialing a phone number. As a result, analysts expect a significant increase in call volumes to local businesses.
Mobile search in particular will eclipse other sources and generate 65 billion calls to businesses by 2016, a volume that will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 43%. Credit: DialogTech, The Click-To-Call Playbook for Paid Search The increase in leads from mobile Shadow Making search is good news for SMBs, as calls are the most valued source of leads. According to a BIA/Kelsey report, 66.4% of SMBs rate phone calls as a good or excellent source of leads, more than any other source, including online forms, email, paid leads, and even prospects in person. The value of calls as leads is no surprise. Calls indicate strong interest and a live connection with a potential customer or sale. The immediacy Shadow Making of response, meeting specific customer needs, and the ability to engage in two-way dialogue help increase conversion rates for phone call leads. And yet, even though Shadow Making the technology exists to drive more calls.
SMBs often use desktop metrics like click-through rates and design ads that drive conversions, like filling out web forms. Not only can this strategy lead to poor feedback on the effectiveness of these ads, but it can actually hurt critical mobile conversions such as calls. adx-stat A study Shadow Making conducted by xAd found that focusing on CTRs negatively affects secondary actions which can be much more productive in driving leads to the business. The study found that when ads were optimized for higher click-through rates, resulting in increases of up to 38% between campaigns, the secondary Shadow Making action rate for actions such as phone calls decreased by 69%. . So what are some good ways to leverage the correlation between mobile search ads and leads?