What IsCall Attribution?

It grants insight into digital campaigns and enables businesses to measure their marketing ROI (return on investment) with precision. Performance marketers use this conversion tracking technology to learn which online channels generate the most calls from customers. 

How Does Call Attribution Work?

Phone call attribution uses dynamic number insertion (DNI) technology to tie a unique number to each channel. This technology makes use of a JavaScript snippet that sets a phone number by picking one from a list of trackable numbers. This gives marketers the ability to link phone leads to keywords, campaigns, or advertisements that they used to generate a particular engagement. 

Marketers may attribute calls at the level of sessions, campaigns, or visitors. Call attribution tracks the profile data of any user who interacts with the phone number shown on an ad or web page. The business will then integrate this data with other marketing programs to figure out what takes place online and offline, allowing them to drive call conversions. 

Who Uses Call Attribution?

Digital marketers in every business and industry make use of call attribution software. This includes the Fortune 1000 and other multinational companies where phone calls are a key aspect of customer engagement. Both internal marketing and sales teams as well as agencies generate thousands of phone calls per week via digital sources. Attributing those calls allows them to optimize their strategies. 

Types of Call Tracking Attribution

Session-Level Attribution

Call attribution at the session level shows all the touchpoints within the user session that generated a phone call. This real-time insight provides a full picture of customer activity and enables the ability to customize the parameters for tracking. It also provides sales reps with valuable caller information and context.

Pros:

• Access to granular details down to the keyword

• A clear picture of customer activity

• Ability to customize the parameters for tracking

• Scalability through DNI

Con:

• Limited view of customer engagement 

Campaign-Level Attribution

The most basic model of call tracking attribution is at the campaign level. It involves tying a phone number to search campaigns, affiliate marketing partners, agencies, event collateral, and more. Campaign-level attribution only makes sense when a business needs to see an individual campaign that results in a phone call. 

Pros: 

• Easy to set up

• Easy to measure and attribute calls

Cons:

• Limited view of customer journey

• Inconvenient when running numerous campaigns

• Lack of insight into keywords and other granular data

Visitor-Level Attribution

Call attribution at the visitor level is the most comprehensive form, tracking a visitor throughout their whole journey with a brand. This multi-touch approach grants complete visibility, which allows marketers to see how a phone call fits into the entire customer engagement. Besides accounting for all visitor touchpoints, this attribution model gives businesses the ability to use the insights in their remarketing strategies. 

Pros:

• View of entire context of visitor engagement

• Access to engagement history

Con:

• Requires integration of call tracking platform with other marketing systems 

Importance of Call Attribution

Taking Advantage of Conversions

The aim of digital marketing is to drive conversions, which include customer calls. Optimizing for what generates those calls gives businesses the opportunity to benefit from qualified leads and retain customers while doing so. Call attribution proves to be integral for marketing agencies in this regard. 

Knowing Which Landing Page Is the Most Effective

When it comes to digital marketing efforts, split testing for landing pages is a standard operation. But for split testing to be successful, a marketer must know which variations drive conversions most effectively. This means providing click-to-call CTAs on your web pages and measuring results. 

Calculating the True Return on Investment

It’s crucial to have an accurate image of how many phone calls a digital marketing campaign produces, in addition to the result and quality of those calls and the effect they have on revenue. Without it, the return on investment data may be incorrect, and the business may struggle to defend its marketing budget. 

Getting Credit for Leads and Revenue

Whether a marketer is running digital campaigns for an internal team or an agency, proving the value of their campaigns is crucial. To show the influence they have on the business, they’ll need to get credit for the calls and sales they generate through their mobile programs.