In the past few years mobile display ads have gone from barely a blip on the digital ad reports to one of the most significant marketing categories. This, of course, is largely due to the exposition in popularity of smart phones during this same time period. While there is no doubt that this type of advertising is effective, many people will be surprised to learn that it may be FAR more effective than previously thought.
One of the most desired actions to come from a mobile display ad is a phone call. This is why ‘click-to-call’ ads are getting so much attention over the past year. This makes sense because if you can get a user to give you a call, the chances are quite good that you can generate a sale.
Most marketers are already happy with the number of calls they are able to generate from these types of ads. According to a new report from Marchex Display Analytics, however, the number of calls being generated may be dramatically higher than anyone would have previously imagined.
This is because the traditional advertising analytics that are being used today really only count calls that are made immediately from the ad. When someone taps the phone number or call button, for example, that will count as a call generated.
The study found, however, that as many as 98% of the actual calls generated from these types of ads don’t take place until up to two weeks later! Users will often write down a phone number or save it into their contacts so that they can call at a more convenient time, or even from a more convenient phone in their home or business.
The report estimated that it takes an average of about 500,000 total impressions to generate one good quality phone call from a click-to-call display ad. When they looked at generating calls within two weeks, however, they found it only took about 8000 total impressions. If you think about the numbers here you can really see just how much more effective click-to-call may be than previously thought.
The report wrote, “display ads influence 60 times more phone calls than they do a direct click-to-call.”
While this will vary greatly depending on a number of factors, digital marketers can expect up to 60 calls for each call generated directly from a click on their mobile ad. Needless to say, this is huge.
Here at Performance Insider we’ve been talking about the power of click-to-call ads for quite some time, and this new report really shows that it is even better than previously thought. Any brand that is not using this powerful marketing strategy is missing out on huge opportunities.
To see the full report, click HERE.
