Nowadays people use variety of devices to make purchases; however, a live person talking to the customer has not lost its uniqueness. Even today people do use phones as a channel to research and make purchases. In fact a new research has shown that almost 70 percent shoppers call a business directly from the search results. This fact is corroborated by the data that shows more than 40 million calls are made by customers, thanks to Google Ads. In today’s world businesses need to understand the importance and the relevance of the ‘click to call’ feature.
In a survey conducted, researchers collected data from more than 3000 mobile searchers that made a call directly from the search result. The calls were made either from organic or paid search. In some cases the call was directly made from the phone number featuring in the search result which underlines the significance of having your phone number show up in search results.
Why you should take note of this fact?
The research showed that ‘click to call’ feature was used by mobile searchers across all verticals like Restaurant, Travel, Auto, Retail, Local Services, Technology, and Finance. People used the convenience of the click to call feature to make purchases in all the above mentioned sectors.
Here are some interesting statistics from the research:
- Close to 76% people used this feature to make an appointment for a local service
- About 62% people searching for auto parts and allied services were likely to use the click to call feature
- Almost 57% people used the feature to compare products and prices
- More than 60% people searching for financial services on their mobile devices are likely to use the click to call feature
Detailed breakdown
In the research phase 52% ranked the ability to make a call directly from the search result as very important. While in the purchase phase the number grew to 61%. This clearly underlines the importance consumers attach to having such a feature when making a purchase.
How valuable are these calls and what is the average duration of each call?
According to the research close to 90% respondents indicated that length of the call is very important to them. Close to 75% calls originating from search results lasted for half a minute and calls originating from search ads lasted for six minutes on an average. This finding shows that calls originating from search ads are more significant and are transactional in nature. This data points to the fact that it is extremely desirable to have a ‘click to call’ feature to boost the efficacy of your advertisement.
The presence of a call feature in search results improves a brand’s perception. The research showed that lack or absence of a call feature in the search results increased customer frustration and such customer are more likely to turn to other brands.
The research findings highlight the importance for businesses to have call extensions on their search ads. Call feature in organic search depends on a number of factors; however, advertisers that use paid ads can schedule when and under what circumstances their call feature will show up in the search ads. They can also view reports about call extension to refine and modify their advertisement campaign.
To know more about call extensions and to learn how to use it effectively, visit the Think with Google site.