• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, May 10, 2010

Traditional pay-per-click platforms have allowed advertisers to drive leads through Internet ads for years, but with the uptick in mobile search, the percentage of advertisers tapping into the pay-per-call strategy continues to rise. Here are some tips on how to take advantage of this trend.

It may sound simple, but Telmetrics President Bill Dinan says to ensure call quality, confirm the click-to-call numbers don't have stray traffic or noise on the line. Do this by double-checking the line has been "quarantined" for three to four months to prevent misdials. Advertisers paying for the call coming in from the ad-mobile, PC or billboards need to confirm no company used the number in the prior month.

Advertisers should only pay for legitimate calls, so Telmetrics, which owns a bank of about 2 million phone numbers, scans algorithms looking for normal and abnormal patterns in the responses gained from ads. Some of those patterns identify telemarketers collecting numbers and recalling consumers or employees at businesses who click and call through ads. The algorithms look for patterns across cities, states and country. If the platform identifies a telemarketer, Telmetrics will block the telemarketer from calling the number.

Depending on the media type, season and advertiser category, telemarketer activity can account for up to 40% of all call volume. In fact, Telmetrics' call analysis showed a 61% increase in telemarketer activity in January through February 2010, compared with the year-ago months. Dinan attributes the uptick to an increase in outbound marketing during the economic downturn and the impact of the Do Not Call Registry, as telemarketers shift their focus to businesses.

Google enabled < a href="http://adwords.blogspot.com/2010/01/introducing-click-to-call-phone-numbers.html ">click-to-call phone numbers on mobile for AdWords campaigns in January. The ads are generated based on location, so ads for companies with more than one location serve up with the phone number to the closest location.

Dinan put together a checklist for advertisers tapping into pay-per-call campaigns. He says these best practices should provide a focus on call quality to maintain program integrity and drive revenue.

Dinan says local advertisers should use local phone numbers in ad campaigns rather than toll-free lines. Consumers are four times more likely to call an advertiser with a local phone number. Also, use an automated tool to filter and block invalid calls so that advertisers receive real and valid leads and aren't bothered by nuisance calls.

Automation is more efficient and accurate than report-filtering and significantly reduces administration and customer service costs. And, once a phone number is used in an ad campaign, continue ongoing quality assurance testing.