Local Call Tracking Numbers are the most suitable choice in case you want to attract local customers. Many people prefer to purchase products or services from their local market. So, selecting a tracking number with a familiar prefix will give your business a head start.
*Toll-Free Call Tracking Numbers, on the other hand, are free for your customers. They are preferred to demonstrate a national or a global perspective for your business, without charging your customers with the hefty price tag of long-distance fees. *(Note: In 2022 and beyond you really do NOT need toll free for your clients/customers to dial. Long Distance is a non-factor today. It was a major factor just 10 years ago.)
How many numbers do I need?
The answer to this question depends on which mediums you want to measure and to what extent. If, for example, you want to track only the broad marketing channels such as Google Ads, Facebook Advertising, or LinkedIn you may only need a relatively small pool of numbers.
But supposing you want to track at a more granular level, looking at particular ad groups and campaigns, then you should use enough phone numbers to assign a unique identifier for each. For keyword-level tracking, you will need to base the size of the pool on the maximum number of concurrent visitors from Google Ads on your website.
In Google Analytics navigate to “Audience – Overview”, select hourly from the drop-down on the right side, Users from the drop-down on the left side and Segment with paid traffic only. From this report you should note the peak and the average session duration. If for instance your peak is 200 users and the average session duration is 3 minutes the pool of tracking numbers needed is 200/(60/3) = 10 tracking numbers. (This is our estimate and in no way should be considered absolute to your needs. They may differ and this is our rule of thumb scale.)
When a visitor arrives on your website, they will see a number from the pool. This number is uniquely assigned to that visitor for the duration of their session. When the visitor is no longer active, the number is returned to the pool so it can be used by another visitor. When a call is received, your call tracking software knows which user viewed the number and can attribute the call to the user’s session. Along with the session you can attribute the call back to the campaign or search keyword that generated the call.