I’ve been promising a few of you for awhile now that I would revisit this very practical topic.
I’m talking about using a tracking number in your Google My Business (GMB) listing.
Tracking numbers allow you to figure out how many phone calls you are actually generating specifically from your Google My Business listing.
In the past, it was a big no-no to use a tracking number on your Google listing. The local algorithm expected that you’d have your actual local number listed, and that the same number would be listed on your site. Any mismatch was a negative factor.
Thankfully, Google realised that tons of businesses want to track how many calls they get from their Google listing.
The rules have finally changed!
Now, it’s perfectly OK to use a tracking number on your Google My Business profile.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Head over to google.com/business and log in. Find your location and click on it. Then, click the “info” link on the left side to see the business information.
2. Click the little pencil next to your phone number and you’ll see this pop up:
3. Type your tracking number into the top field that’s labelled “primary phone”.
4. And then type your actual local number into the next field labelled “additional phone” – and make sure that local number is also present on the page that you’re linking to from your Google profile. Typically, that’s your home page.
That way, Google’s algorithm will see the local number listed as your secondary number, and then see that same number on your site, and you’ll satisfy the local number consistency factor – and you’ll still have your tracking number displayed as the contact number on Google.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Jason
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