Earlier this year, Google introduced click-to-calls ads for use on mobile phones. They are now touting a recent case study from Esurance that claims this new technology is proving to significantly reduce acquisition costs for advertisers.
The idea behind click-to-call ads is that the “click-through” step you take after seeing an ad is making a phone call to the advertiser. So, after being caught off-guard by a brief and thoroughly persuasive text ad, your “click-through” option is to instantly call the company on the smartphone you’re browsing with to hear more about the offer/product/service.
Esurance claims that this tactic has been incredibly successful for them, lowering their customer acquisition costs by 30% compared to their other channels. They also found that these click-to-call ads drove a response 30-35% higher than online ads, and at 5-10% lower cost per click.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. It’s new technology. People think it’s cool. It’s pretty convenient So, they’re giving it a try. It’s like back in the day when pop-up ads were actually a fun surprise. You were curious about what this cool new technology could possibly be offering. And as laughable as that is today, could click-to-call novelty wear off sooner rather than later? We’ll see. But, you can’t ignore higher conversion rates, even if they’re only temporary.