Hi, this is my first post--apologies if I'm asking novice questions.

I am trying to figure out the options to get customers to pick up the phone & call. For complicated products/services, a call seems like a better approach to convert prospective buyers, and it seems like even if search engines are great at driving qualified clicks, they fall short of driving call volume, right?

Do you have any advice on how one can make a phone number more visible to users on the web, and drive call volume & conversions that way? Should one advertise a phone number directly in the text of the search ad? Are the business directories (citysearch, yelp, yellow-page?) good options, do they have traffic, how much do they cost, is the ROI worth it? How can the phone number get more views on Google organic search results?

I would love some tips and tricks that have worked for others? Thanks in advance! SP

First things first - you need to give them a compelling reason to call. If you're getting a decent number of qualified clicks but few calls then your message needs to be stronger.

It's basic sales - don't sell the steak sell the sizzle. Ignite their curiosity by promoting the result of what your product/service delivers.

Think about the title of a book that's been on the best-seller list for close to a year - "The 4 Hour Work Week" - you are almost driven to find out more.

Some examples from everyday advertising include:

Do you want to -

Look younger?
Lose weight?
Earn $ from home?
Get better gas mileage?
Retire early and not have to worry about money?
Meet your soul mate?
Have better sex?
Get a good night's sleep?

Etc. etc.

Then, yes - you need to give multiple contact options (phone, email, click through etc). Make it easy for them to find you. Highlight your telephone number (better be a toll-free one). Try to incorporate your company or product name into the phone number (1-800-PICKUPS or 1-800 GOFEDEX for example). That makes it easy for insertion into a text ad.

I'm not sold on the city-search type of directories unless your business is geographically confined to a metropolitan location.

Good Luck,

Steve Patrick