April 2008

Click-to-Call on Landing Pages for Better First Impressions

Just like your mother used to tell you: You only have one chance to make a first impression and first impressions count. On the Web, that first impression is your landing page.

Ifbyphone Analytics in the Press

We've not been shy of discussing the ways Ifbyphone's smart analytics can help you know more about the way your business works and how customers interact with you and your web site. In an article posted to SmallBizTechnology, Ifbyphone is mentioned as one new company that finds a way to comfortably add a Web presence to your telephony needs. The use of Phone Mashups and the integration of the Web with the old-fashioned telephone can provide a healthy boost to any small or medium-sized business. Read more here on the blog about how Ifbyphone can work for you.

Click-to-Call's Personal Touch

Imagine you went to a hair salon that was running a glitzy advertising campaign and the owner handed you a pair of scissors to cut your own hair. Ridiculous?

But that's just the case with many business websites. They spare no cost or effort in creating trendy graphics and keyword advertising to attract visitors. But once customers find their way to the site they're on their own.

It's the familiar human tendency to strain out gnats and swallow camels.

A few days ago the UK-based Retail Bulletin took a look at luxury retail sites and found many lacking in exactly the personal attention that is one of high-end retailers' central value propositions.

It's not just high end retailers who miss the importance of the interaction with customers in their website designs. Few of the millions of business websites out there give it much more than a standard "contact us" link. 

But when site visitors get to the point of clicking on that link, they probably want an answer now – I know I do. And instead of sending an email or navigating a voicemail menu, they'll probably just drop it or click over to the competition – like I do.

Click-to-call keeps those visitors connected and engaged by bringing back the personal touch. Connecting the phone call is just the first step. A click-to-call can also provide a lot of information for delivering calls efficiently – instead of to voice menu purgatory.

For example, IfByPhone click-to-calls and 800 numbers can be routed based on the webpage and even the keyword customers are calling from. And before the call is connected, IfByPhone can 'whisper' information about it to the service representative, like: "You have a call about the Mothers Day promotion offer."

Someone once said, "Systems work best when they roll down hill." That goes for online business as well. When you make it effortless for customers to connect personally with you and get the help they need, conversions and return visits will snowball as well -- instead of your search advertising budget.

Track Your Calls, From Keyword to Sale

Paying for quality Search Engine Optimization isn't cheap. Keywords cost money, pay-per-clicks are expensive, and making your way to the top of organic search results can take quite a bit of time. There's no disputing that these costs are worth it, because they give your business an online presence that is key in driving up sales and recognition. But once you've spent the bucks on SEO work, how do you know what's effective in actually bringing in more sales and revenue? You might know what keywords bring people to your site but do you know what keywords bring paying customers there?

Ifbyphone has recently introduced Keyword and Referral Domain Tracking to work in conjunction with our Smart Click-to-Call feature. Now, Ifbyphone's analytics will tell you what referral URL a web visitor came from before they entered in their number to call you via a click-to-call. If that URL was a page where they typed in keywords - a search engine like Yahoo! or Google - our analytics will track that keyword for you and tell you what it was and the telephone number, date, and time associated with it. The information is valuable because it lets you know where your best potential customers - the ones who want to speak with you - came from and how they found you.

The implementation process is simple; Ifbyphone will automatically generate the tracking code you need for you. More useful analytics are only a phone call away. Click here to speak to an Ifbyphone sales agent now.

Introducing: Phone Mashups

At EComm 2008 our CEO, Irv Shapiro announced our new initiative aimed at allowing developers easy access to our technology (see mentions at Information Week, MacWorld, Thomas Howe, Read full post