You’ve probably taken a look at your competitors’ websites to see how your peers are faring online. One thing you notice over and over again is a prominent 800 number at the top of each of your competitors’ websites. It doesn’t make sense; some of these practices don’t do business outside the city, and many are small, sole-proprietor outfits. Why would they need a toll-free listing—and does it give them an advantage over you?
What You Need to Know About Call Tracking
As all of our clients know, it is just as important to know where your customers are coming from as it is to know which marketing efforts are working. Call tracking kills both birds with one stone: it allows you to see at a glance the locations of your customers, as well as which marketing campaigns have directed them to contact you.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you should trade in your local number for a toll-free line. Using only an 800 number can hurt your local SEO results, but just focusing on a local audience can knock you down a few pages in search results—especially if you live in a large city. So what should you do?
Here are our tips to using call tracking while strengthening your law firm's local SEO:
- Check your NAP. The easiest way to protect your local search results listing is to make sure that your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent everywhere they appear online. (Note: free services such as Yext can help you make sure your listings are consistent across the board.) Listing all of your different toll-free phone numbers will confuse Google’s algorithms, negatively impacting your law firm's SEO. While you should include a trackable toll-free number with each marketing campaign, the toll-free number should never be listed as part of your local office information.
- Optimize locally. Your online presence will be much stronger if you have a local phone number (and geo-specific keywords that easily point users to your location), but augment your local presence with call tracking. Your content should have the right blend of engaging content and keywords, as well as a consistent, site-wide footer with your local phone number and address. This helps tag each page of your site with consistent NAP information, reinforcing your local presence in Google results.
- Set up multiple offline tracking numbers. If you are running print ads, TV or radio campaigns, or are renting billboard space, you should have a different tracking number for each source that is worth tracking. This allows you to see which particular ad led to each client inquiry—and since the phone numbers are not listed online, your local SEO will not be affected.
Find Out If Your Marketing Is Working Against You With a Free Website Analysis
If call tracking is used correctly, it can be a huge boon to your business, and help you decide where your marketing dollars are best spent. However, if you haven’t seen a return on your investment, we can help you find out why.
Is Your Law Firm Or Medical Practice Website Getting Enough Exposure? Foster Web Marketing Can Help With Our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Services
Are you concerned that your website isn't pulling in enough traffic to keep you swimming in leads? Do you need help with SEO for your legal or medical website? If so, Foster Web Marketing can help! Please contact us online or call our office directly at 866.497.6199 to schedule your free consultation with our experienced marketing team. We have been helping clients throughout the United States and internationally since 1998 and are confident we can help you not only reach, but exceed your goals.
