What are the best practices for tracking phone call conversions in Bing Ads?

Tracking phone call conversions in Bing Ads (now Microsoft Advertising) is an essential step for businesses that rely on phone calls for lead generation or sales. Microsoft Advertising offers several tools to help advertisers track and optimize phone call conversions, and there are several best practices to ensure that you get accurate and actionable insights.

Here are the best practices for tracking phone call conversions in Bing Ads:

1. Use Call Extensions
Call Extensions allow you to include your business phone number directly in your ads, making it easy for users to call you directly from the ad.

How to set up:
Add Call Extensions: In your Bing Ads campaign, go to the Ad Extensions tab, select Call Extensions, and add your phone number. You can choose to show your business number on all ads or only for specific devices (like mobile).

Track Call Clicks: When users click the phone number in the ad, it triggers a phone call. Bing Ads automatically tracks these clicks as interactions, so you can see how many users called your business after clicking the ad.

Best Practice:
Optimize for Mobile Devices: Phone calls are most common on mobile devices, so ensure your call extensions are enabled for mobile users. You can tailor your bids to prioritize mobile traffic, as calls tend to convert better on mobile.

2. Use Call Conversion Tracking with Microsoft Advertising Call Tracking
Microsoft Advertising offers Call Conversion Tracking to track phone calls that result from clicks on your ads, even if the calls are placed outside of the ad itself. With this feature, you can track both click-to-call interactions (on mobile devices) and call forwarding (where a unique number is shown in your ads to track phone calls).

How to set up Call Conversion Tracking:
Enable Call Tracking: First, you need to set up Call Tracking within your Microsoft Advertising account.

Go to Tools > Measurement > Call Tracking.

Set up a unique phone number that will be displayed in your ad. When a user calls this number, the call is logged and attributed to the corresponding ad click.

Set Call Duration: You can specify a minimum call duration (e.g., 30 seconds or 1 minute) that counts as a conversion. For example, if the call lasts longer than the set duration, it can be counted as a successful conversion, indicating the call was meaningful.

Track Phone Call Conversions: Once call tracking is set up, you'll see phone call conversion data in your Microsoft Advertising reports. You can track the number of calls, call duration, and other relevant metrics.

Best Practice:
Adjust Call Duration Based on Business Goals: Set a minimum call duration that makes sense for your business. For example, a sales inquiry might require a longer call than a simple service question.

3. Use Dynamic Number Insertion for Tracking Phone Calls
If you want to track the exact source of phone calls (e.g., which keywords, campaigns, or ads drove the call), you can use Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI). With DNI, a unique phone number is displayed to each user based on the keyword or ad they clicked. This allows you to track the exact source of the phone call.

How to set up Dynamic Number Insertion:
Set Up DNI: Work with your website's tracking system or a third-party provider to integrate Dynamic Number Insertion. This involves displaying a different phone number on your website based on the user's ad click.

Integrate with UET: If you're using UET tags to track other conversions (like form submissions or purchases), make sure to integrate the DNI solution with your UET setup to track phone calls as conversions alongside other actions.

Link to Call Extensions: When users click on the call extension and call the displayed number, the tracking system can capture which ad or keyword triggered the phone call, giving you detailed data on your phone call sources.

Best Practice:
Test DNI Setup Regularly: Ensure that the dynamic phone number is appearing correctly based on the user's interaction with your ads. Misconfigured DNI can lead to missed or inaccurate call tracking.

4. Use Offline Conversion Tracking for Phone Call Conversions
If your business uses a call center or records sales conversations, you can use Offline Conversion Tracking to upload phone call data into Microsoft Advertising. This allows you to track phone call conversions that may not directly be tracked through the platform but still contribute to your overall ROI.

How to set up Offline Conversion Tracking:
Capture Call Data: Capture call data from your CRM, call center software, or phone system, such as call date, duration, and outcome (e.g., lead, sale, or inquiry).

Upload Data to Microsoft Advertising: After capturing phone call details, you can upload the data into Microsoft Advertising using the Offline Conversion Tracking feature. You can associate the calls with the corresponding ad clicks (using the Click ID or Transaction ID) for more accurate attribution.

Match Offline Calls to Ad Clicks: Ensure that the data you upload contains sufficient information to match offline calls to specific ads or campaigns. This may require you to integrate your CRM with Microsoft Advertising for automatic data uploads.

Best Practice:
Upload Offline Data Regularly: If you track phone calls outside of Microsoft Advertising, make sure to upload data at least once a week to maintain accurate attribution and reporting.

5. Create Call-Only Campaigns
If your primary business objective is to drive phone calls (e.g., appointment bookings, customer service inquiries), consider creating Call-Only Campaigns. These campaigns are optimized to only show your phone number, ensuring that users can click to call directly from the ad.

How to set up Call-Only Campaigns:
Create a Call-Only Campaign: When creating a new campaign, select the Call-Only campaign type. This format will ensure that users see the phone number directly and can call without visiting your website.

Set Up Call Extensions: If you're running a Call-Only campaign, make sure to use call extensions for mobile devices to ensure maximum visibility and ease of call interaction.

Optimize for Call Conversions: Set up your bidding strategy (e.g., Target CPA or Maximize Conversions) to optimize for phone call conversions. This helps Microsoft Advertising prioritize users who are most likely to call your business.

Best Practice:
Use Call-Only Campaigns for Call-Conversions: When your goal is to drive phone calls, Call-Only Campaigns are ideal because they limit the user's actions to only calling your business, reducing friction in the process.

6. Monitor Call Performance and Optimize
To ensure you're maximizing phone call conversions, continuously monitor your call performance and optimize your campaigns accordingly.

Key Metrics to Monitor:
Call Duration: Track the average duration of calls to ensure they are meaningful and align with your business goals.

Call Conversion Rate: Track how many phone calls are being converted based on your set criteria (e.g., minimum duration).

Cost per Call: Monitor the cost of each phone call generated from your ads to ensure you're getting a good return on your investment.

Best Practice:
Analyze Call Data: Use reports in Microsoft Advertising to see which keywords, ads, or campaigns are driving phone calls. This will help you refine your targeting and bidding strategies.

Summary of Best Practices:
Use Call Extensions to make it easy for users to call directly from the ad.

Enable Call Conversion Tracking to track the phone calls that result from clicks on your ads.

Implement Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI) to track the source of the call.

Leverage Offline Conversion Tracking to include phone calls tracked outside of Microsoft Advertising.

Create Call-Only Campaigns to directly encourage phone calls.

Monitor Call Performance to continually optimize for higher-quality phone call conversions.

By following these best practices, you can track phone call conversions in Bing Ads effectively, optimize your campaigns for call generation, and ensure that your ad spend is driving valuable phone calls for your business.