'Net Features : pay per call

The Cost of Incoming Sales Calls

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 03:50:00 GMT

The cost of generating an incoming sales call from Google Adwords is nearly twice as expense as compared to similar advertisements on the YP Local Ad Network according to a new study from Altman Vilandrie & Co.

The study revealed that ads from YP (formerly known as AT&T Interactive and AT&T Advertising Solutions) had an average cost-per-call of $46 compared to $88 for AdWords. In addition, of the 56 companies receiving calls from both YP ads and Google ads, 77% realized better value (lower cost-per-call) from YP ads. The Altman Vilandrie study also compared how various types of businesses fare used both a YP ad and Google ad. Of the 20 categories studied, 17 showed better cost-per-call value through the YP ads.

"Advertising and search experts have theorized that location-based search websites deliver better cost-per-call value than general search for small businesses but no one had ever seriously studied the issue," said Altman Vilandrie & Company Director Jonathan Hurd, who oversaw the survey. "While there are a variety of other factors that small businesses need to consider before developing a local advertising strategy, the study shows a clear potential for better value by including YP ads in an overall campaign."

Pay-Per-Call at Marchex via Skype

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Marchex and Skype are hoping to bring pay-per-call advertising to a completely new level or at least give it some renewed legitimacy.

Click & Call Advertising from Marchex enables customers to make free phone calls to participating businesses using Skype. Advertisers opting into the program will see graphically-enhanced advertising listings appear on search engines and review sites in the Marchex network. Since Skype has over 500 million users this could be immensely attractive to advertisers.

Advertisers will need to agree to pay a fixed amount per call (rates are determined based on advertising categories), and set a budget (advertisers only need to pay for completed phone calls). Call volumes are tracked by Marchex so advertisers can monitor campaign results and detailed call analytics.

The downside of course is that the whole program relies on users having Skype software installed on their PC (Click & Call Advertising is currently not available on Mac or mobile versions of Skype software). The other obvious question is whether users will actually call advertisers through the system – something which based on my experience has been none too successful with other pay-per-call programs.

“We believe advertisers have a strong demand for generating inbound phone calls and Skype is a promising customer acquisition channel that offers a large base of users who are typically familiar with making calls from a PC,” said Pete Christothoulou, Chief Operating Officer at Marchex. “Today, we are seeing a shift in the way consumers find phone numbers, the way they place calls and how those calls are paid for. As a result, coupling Skype’s reach with Marchex’s call advertising technology, sales team and service, we believe we can offer a high quality solution to large and small advertisers.”

Can You Profit From Pay-Per-Call?

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:30:00 GMT

Display advertising is on the ropes, search engines frown upon text links and the FCC has a few choice words about sponsored posts. Why is everyone trying to keep affiliates down? They aren’t… really. What you as an affiliate do have going for you is that networks and merchants are innovating, and looking beyond traditional affiliate models towards solutions like Pay-Per-Call. But how can you leverage that as an affiliate to turn a profit?

Affiliate Networks are jumping on the Pay-Per-Call bandwagon left and right. Back in early August, WM reported that Linkshare opened its Pay-Per-Call service. Commission Junction followed suit and now also offers a similar program. Just today, ShareASale is the latest to formally provide a Pay-Per-Call program and is doing so for all of its 2500 merchants (after an exclusive beta).

“Pay-per-call offers a great new revenue opportunity for both merchants and affiliates,” said ShareASale CEO Brian Littleton in a press release issued earlier. “Affiliate marketing is no longer just online. Consumers who were more difficult to reach in a purely online environment are now a new audience for affiliates to target. The system is simple to set up, easy to use, and integrates with a merchant’s traditional online initiatives.”

But therein lies the problem; how does a traditionally online affiliate move offline and monetize their efforts through Pay-Per-Call programs? While there might be opportunity in offline thanks to less competition, you’ve invested heavily in the Web realm – so why not make the most of it.

The ShareASale Pay-Per-Call program (powered by RingRevenue - the same vendor powering CJ) already features more than 30 pay-per-call campaigns available to affiliates (some with commissions as high as $50.00 per-call). Clearly the merchants are hungry for the traction and are willing to pay a premium to get new customers. What is often missing for affiliates is how they might actually use Pay-Per-Call to generate profit online. Why does no one really discuss best practices when it comes to the Pay-Per-Call model? Because it’s so much more complicated than placing a few banners on your website.

Let’s slow down a bit and discuss how Pay-Per-Call works. Advertisers create pay-per-call campaigns, then approved publishers are provisioned phone numbers that they can use in both online and offline campaign ads. When a consumer calls the provisioned number, the call is routed, connected, and tracked by the pay-per-call system. Phone call activity and payouts are then reported in the respective advertiser and publisher accounts.

In any successful advertiser/publisher relationship you need two things – an advertiser looking to acquire a lead/sale and an entity (an affiliate) to provide that lead. Perhaps the best idea for leveraging the surge of Pay-Per-Call activity is through local online directories. Since a significant share of advertisers and merchants in the ranks of Pay-Per-Call are local merchants – from attorneys to plumbers – it only makes sense that a local Web portal or directory would be a good fit. But where should you begin – or should you begin at all?

Pay-per-call for as long as I can remember has been called the next evolution of lead generation. In reality, it’s never, ever taken off. But what’s behind the influx of networks adopting providers like RingRevenue – is there hope for that business and advertising model yet? Don’t hold your breath. As in all things – affiliates (publishers) drive traffic and unless you buy in the whole idea may just be hot air.

Is Pay-Per-Call the next big thing for affiliate marketers?
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LinkShare Opens Pay-Per-Call, Turns Heads

Mike Phillips — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:36:00 GMT

LinkShare has a long, productive history in the affiliate space, and the latest LinkShare innovation is already turning heads. Pay-per-call gives publishers and affiliates a new way to earn - both online and offline. LinkShare provides custom, individual phone numbers for affiliates to connect consumers with advertisers. The advertiser gets a qualified lead, and the publisher has the opportunity to earn on each call placed to the advertiser.

"This whole new platform with pay-per-call allows our publishers to get commissions in ways they never could before," says Russ Pechman, VP of Linkshare Lead Advantage. "Online or offline, this opens publishers and advertisers to a new world of opportunity."

Once a phone number is established, publishers can promote it on their website, flyers, billboards, banners behind airplanes - just about anywhere. Advertisers can speak directly with their prospects, whether for lead generation or closing a sale on a product.

The program is leading off with lead generation, an area where advertisers can learn a great deal about their prospective audience. More advertisers -- including retailers -- will be signing up over time. Pechman notes that pay-per-call could be an ideal solution for advertisers who rely on human interaction during the sales process. For example, high-cost items, financial services, real-estate, insurance and much more. What's more, certain demographics are more comfortable with a phone call than a click. This solution opens up an important channel perhaps previously unavailable.

There are, of course, controls. Advertisers can set the requirements for a commission, such as length of call, interaction within the call (press '1' for more information) and more. And LinkShare provides terms and conditions, just like online, as well as measures to prevent fraud. "We make sure we're working with the right publishers, just as we would online," says Pechman. Also, the human element of a phone call can give advertisers the ability to detect a genuine lead from an unqualified lead.

This is certainly an exciting development for LinkShare, publishers and advertisers. It's further proof of the online world blending in offline and making e-commerce accessible away from the desktop. Using the vast network available through LinkShare, new lines will be opened. "It's going to be great to see a whole new person emerge who has never had the technical savvy to try something through a website but is good at promoting things in their own way," says Pechman.