How to Track Calls on your Website from the Google Business Profile
When it comes to tracking for local SEO, we’re usually talking about keyword rank tracking. However, one of the best metrics to report on for your local campaigns is the amount of leads that came in. For that, you will need a robust call tracking setup. Call tracking has come a long way in the last few years and maybe you didn’t realize that you can do a lot more than you thought with tracking on your Google listing. So let’s go through a complete call tracking number setup for your Google Business Profile (GBP), formerly known as GMB, so you can track and attribute all those leads properly.
Basic Call Tracking Setup
The first step is to go to your business listing dashboard and find the phone number field located on the Info tab.
Then, move your original phone number into the additional phone number field and add your tracking number as the primary.
But What About NAP Consistency?
Even though your Google listing will be displaying a different number than your main number, by keeping your original number in the additional phone number field, Google can match that number across from your website, directories, and citations.
For the most part, this is where people think they are finished and move on to other tasks. But there is lots more that can be done…
Tracking Onsite Google Business Listing Phone Calls
At this point, let’s make some terminology clear. What we’ve set up above by adding a tracking number to the GBP fields is an offsite number. That is, a static number that lives on a third-party site but if someone clicks from the listing to the website, the website still shows the original number everywhere. This means that someone who discovered your business through the GBP profile, and continues through to your website, and then calls you, will not be tracked properly.
Instead, what we need to do is set up an onsite number, which is a number that changes on the website depending on where the visitor came from. This way if someone clicks to the website from the GBP listing, the number from the GBP listing will automatically update on the website for that visitor.
Each call tracking software will have a different setup for this. The following are instructions for Call Tracking Metrics, but the idea is the same… we need to make the website phone numbers swap on an entry from the business profile but at the same time distinguish that between an entry to your website from a Google organic result and an entry from your Google listing.
Adding UTM Tracking Parameters
First thing you’ll need to do is to setup utm tracking parameters on your GBP.
You’ll wind up with a website url that looks something like this:
https://www.example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=website
Do this for both the website and appointment fields in your business profile.
Setting Up An Onsite Tracking Number
When you purchase a new tracking number, designate it as an onsite number. A tracking code will need to be installed on your site for this to work, which is standard for call tracking software.
Once you’ve done that, you will need to update the Conditions section for your number to swap on. In the landing URL tab, enter the UTM code that we previously added to the GBP website and appointment fields.
Now when someone clicks through to the website from the GBP listing, the phone number will change on the website to match the number you have added to your GBP field.
Note that, specifically for Call Tracking Metrics, if you have tracking for both a Google organic number and a Google Business Profile number you will need to set the Position of the GBP number lower than the organic number. This will distinguish an entry between the GPB listing and an organic result.
GBP Tracking Summary
I omitted some basic call tracking setup steps in the above paragraphs to focus on the important parts but here’s a breakdown of all the things that would need to be done:
- Purchase a new tracking number and designate it as an Onsite number
- Add call tracking code to the website
- Add the new tracking number as the primary number in GBP and move the original number to the additional field
- Add UTM tracking parameters to your website GBP and appointment fields
- Add the UTM parameters in the Conditions area
- Set the Position as low as possible if a Google organic call tracking is being used.
Contact Sterling Sky Inc.
If you’re a local business that needs help with your Google My Business listing, review strategy, or online presence on Google and other search engines, at Sterling Sky we can help. We offer SEO audits, consulting, or monthly local SEO services. Contact our office today for more information.
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Sorry Yann, but what you’ve described here has nothing to do with proper lead tracking. Depending on the business you will mostly be tracking calls from existing customers who have clicked through from GBP or an organic result following a brand search. Onsite call tracking for SEO does not make sense as long as there is no way to filter out the brand queries.