“Clickable Phone Numbers” In Google Mobile Search Ads

Here’s how the numbers will appear in search ads:

As an owner of a Motorola Droid on the Verizon network, I can say that having clickable phone numbers is one of my favorite features of the phone.  I upgraded from a Blackberry, from Sprints “Fastest 3G Network, my ass” to this phone.  Being able to click the search button, say the name of the business and city… then watch the search populate, with the number and directions is truly magical.  Now, Google is offering you the opportunity to add your phone number to your Adwords campaigns.  For the price of one click, you now get a phone call.

In other words a phone number appears as part of the ad copy and consumer-users can simply tap the number to initiate a call.

The functionality is easily activated; it’s really part of AdWords local extensions. Here’s what you need to do to turn it on (per Google):

1. Set up location extensions and add your business phone number. Customers will be able to click to call your business location nearest to them (as determined by the phone’s location awareness technologies, GPS, triangulation).
2. Check that you’ve chosen to show your ads on iPhones and other mobile devices with full Internet browsers in your campaign settings.

According to Paul Feng, Google’s Group Product Manager for Mobile Ads, he has stated that the tests that they have done so far, with the phone numbers in the ads, has dramatically increased the clickability of the ads.  He said that some advertisers in Google’s tests had seen improved CTRs of up to 30% vs. comparable ads on the PC.

The phone number also visually stands out in the way that the location line does on traditional PC ads.

Advertisers can create mobile-only campaigns with mobile-specific ad copy by opting out of Google’s PC distribution. Over time advertisers could start to more aggressively bid for calls using mobile only campaigns and raise the price of mobile keywords intended to generate phone calls. We’ll see if something like that happens.

Google is stepping up its online offerings and becoming more innovative in the mobile space.  With key acquisitions like DoubleClick and AdMob, more features and services like this  are sure to roll out over the next few months and years.  With the explosion of smartphones, just one phone contract away for most people, focus on mobile advertising will begin to move to the forefront.