Google’s latest move in testing clickable phone numbers is just another indication of how many people are using mobile devices for search these days. Although click-to-call has been an option for AdWords campaigns for years, users have recently reported seeing click-to-call phone numbers in their organic search results.
The numbers seem to be appearing below the 160 character page description with a small phone icon next to it. This is a game changer for those who don’t have an AdWords campaign already established.
The Impact of Organic Click-to-Call
Google makes the majority of the money from their famed AdWords campaigns. These campaigns are beneficial for those in competitive industries such as car repair, law, restaurants and contractors and many companies shell out a pretty penny to make sure their brand name is visible above the ten organic links.
With this bold move by Google, more companies will have a shot at better conversion rates without having to spend extra with an ad campaign. From the looks of the screenshots from Search Engine Land, the clickable phone numbers on the results page don’t seem to discriminate between mobile and non-mobile friendly websites. This gives companies without mobile sites a chance to capture some revenue without users needing to navigate through the website.
Is This the End of AdWords?
Don’t count on it! AdWords will still play an integral part as far as making revenue for businesses is concerned. After Google made the switch to include four ads at the top of search results as opposed to the right hand side of the screen, companies reaped the benefit of more clicks and visibility. Even though a business may have a clickable phone number in the organic results, this doesn’t mean they will be on the first page.
Of course, this is just Google testing another possibility to seek out ways to better improve their service — so there’s no guarantee this change will stick. For now, be sure to optimize your mobile website with click-to-call contact information in the header so users don’t have to scroll very far down the page.