The Value of Pay Per Call in 2021

With the pandemic came a shift in methods used to connect with consumers. As businesses flooded online, the need for human connection became even more prominent. The use of Pay Per Call continues to be a valuable method for businesses to connect with high intent consumers. As affiliate marketing shifts to focus more on one-to-one consumer engagement, Pay Per Call has unlimited potential for both businesses and affiliates to take their business to new heights.

How Does Pay Per Call Work?

Pay Per Call is a performance-based marketing strategy, where publishers (or affiliates) generate calls that lead to the purchase of a product or a service. The affiliates create ads, or blog and social media content that encourage customers to call for service, or leave their phone number for a call back. When a customer calls, the call center staff can go on to make a sale. The business then pays the affiliate a commission for directing call leads directly to them. The publishers who drive call traffic are compensated depending on the number callers that complete the desired action.

People Want to Talk on the Phone

Especially relevant to the rise of digital over the past year, consumers are craving a personal connection. A survey done by BrightLocal found that 60% of people preferred to contact the business over the phone after finding them online. It’s clear that there is value in providing a more personal connection through the power of a phone call. Pay Per Call makes it easy for customers to connect to the services they need most, and helps businesses convert shoppers into buyers.

Read More: Why Phone Calls are Important to the Customer Journey 

High Intent Leads = More Chance to Earn

The benefit found in Pay Per Call and versus other types of digital advertising is that there is a greater change over making a sale over the phone than there is over the computer. Picking up the phone shows higher intent than submitting an email address or clicking a URL. Thus, higher value is placed on a call than a web lead. Users can click on and exit out of a website in a matter of seconds, but when a customer taps on their smartphone to make a call, it shows they have a genuine interest in purchasing a product or service. They’ve done their research, identified your product/service as fitting their need, and just need to confirm before converting from searcher to buyer.

Businesses are looking for help in getting consumers on the phone, and are willing to pay a higher price for it.  As a result, Pay Per Call offers higher payouts than a click or data lead campaign. Picking up the phone to speak to a business means there’s a high level of purchase intent, giving more value than just contact information helps to better enable businesses to make the sale.

Read More: Why Pay Per Call is Still Relevant

Tracking the Lead Source is Easier

In Pay Per Call, publishers (or affiliates) are usually assigned a specific phone number for the customer to use to contact the business. This makes tracking to see the source of the lead even easier, and enables businesses to tweak their campaign to ensure they are gaining leads from the right audience. By using Pay Per Call, businesses and publishers alike can get access to real-time data and analytics to optimize bids and enhance conversions.

Target Audiences on a Variety of Platforms

Depending on the type of calls you are hoping to generate, you need to go where the target audience is. The beauty of Pay Per Call is that it can be used almost anywhere. Whether that is in online search ads, in a Facebook lookalike audience, or a popular blog, your ads should be tailored to your platform and your ideal customer.

Search

Going to where people are actively looking for answers to questions is one of the most highly used strategies when it comes to Pay Per Call. Google’s Call Only and Call Extension ad formats are specially designed for driving phone calls to business, and if used properly, are very cost-effective. For marketers, it is also a very valuable tool since the results are highly analytical and trackable.

Social

Social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Pinterest can all be used to drive call traffic, especially when it comes to mobile-focused campaigns. The click-to-call functionally of mobile enables a seamless consumer experience for running Pay Per Call ads. This, coupled with a high level of audience segmentation and user data, makes social channels great at leading users down a path to conversion. The key to success on these platforms is being able to provide value for the users. Consumers are smart, and know when they are just being directed to make a sale. Your ad needs to be engaging and inspire the user to take action. However, “clickbait-y” ad copy could get your ads disapproved. Striking this balance leads to high volume and low cost conversions for your campaign.

Though these two are the most popular lead generation methods, Pay Per Call can be worked into a variety of different promotion methods and traffic sources. Choose something that you know, and go from there. As long as you’re willing to shift and adapt, Pay Per Call is a great opportunity to earn in 2021 and beyond.

Read More: How to Get Started With Pay Per Call