Web Analytics Now Expands to Include Offline Phone Call Tracking

Web analytics users can now track offline phone calls from within their web analytics package of choice with a new service from Mongoose Metrics. Analytics integration support includes such vendors as Google Analytics, Omniture, ClickTracks, WebTrends, Coremetrics, IndexTools, and any other web analytics package that makes use of on-page tagging.  It’s important to note that Mongoose Metrics is not a click to call service, nor is it an ad network which has control over the publishing and marketing of the tracking numbers. Instead, Mongoose Metrics serves as a bridge between offline phone calls and online web analytics packages, where Mongoose Metrics users are responsible for publishing their tracking numbers online or offline throughout their campaigns as they would normally with regular phone numbers.

The technology works by taking advantage of the user’s own page tagging code, which they previously inserted onto their web pages during their web analytics package setup.  An example is the Google Analytics ga.js/urchin.js tracking snippet, which is pasted right above the user’s  tag. Since Mongoose Metrics piggy-backs on the user’s already established web analytics set-up, there are no further technical steps required in order to integrate phone call tracking with a web analytics package other than provisioning and configuring tracking numbers.

As an overview of the tracking phone number provisioning and configuration process, a web analytics user logs into the Mongoose Metrics service to provision phone numbers. Next, the user maps the tracking numbers to a real destination phone number, and finally the user assigns a URL to the tracking number.  The URL will point to the user’s own web page which contains their on-page tagging code.

When the tracking number is dialed, the call is connected to the destination phone number and the Mongoose Metrics phone server places an automated browser visit to the user’s assigned URL. In this way, an offline phone call is represented inside the user’s web analytics package as a unique visit.  The injection of the phone call event is completely automated and does not require the phone call recipient asking the caller for tracking codes.  It’s a normal phone call experience in every way except that the phone call event is injected into a web analytics package.  

While not required, advanced configuration options are also available. This includes dynamically inserting into the user’s assigned URL the call detail report, such as call time duration, incoming phone number, destination number, incoming phone number billing address, and more.  This allows all the details of the call to pushed forward into any third-party web analytics or software package, where the information can be further manipulated and analyzed.

Phone Call Tracking with Web Analytics Integration Advantages

• Web analytics users have a single source of measurement of both online web activity and offline phone calls
• PPC Managers gain offline phone call conversion insights, which can be used to better adjust keyword bidding campaigns
• Online marketing campaigns, such as paid search, can now specifically serve customers who traditionally require offline phone call conversions while still enjoying web analytics measurement of campaign ROI
• SEOs/SEMs can now better understand the full results of their work by measuring offline phone call activity alongside online web activity
• Since the URL the phone server will visit is defined by the user, a variety of URL tagging techniques can be used to easily associate the phone call with a particular marketing campaign in ways similar to tracking of outside email marketing, banner ads, and other custom campaigns

To learn more about Mongoose Metrics’ solution to offline phone call tracking for web analytics users, please visit www.MongooseMetrics.com, where you can trial the service for free with a $10 coupon code.  The entire process of provisioning and configuration of tracking phone numbers takes only a few minutes. Phone call tracking numbers are ready for live use in campaigns instantly.  It pays to go SEOmoz Pro as well–Pro Content members can take advantage of a $125 Mongoose Metrics discount code; details are found here in the SEOmoz Discount Store.