Affiliate marketers face the unique challenge of identifying and capitalizing on outstanding sources of consumer engagement. In the pay-per-call space, affiliates (also known as “publishers”) generate call traffic using a variety of advertising methods – web-based, offline, carriers, and call centers. In the age of digital marketing, some of the most common methods for call-based lead generation include paid search, organic search (SEO), social media, and display ads. However, that’s not to say that other sources aren’t of value in driving call traffic.

When you understand which of your call sources drive the most traffic, you can improve performance and maximize your earnings by allocating more of your time and budget to the highest-performing campaign or advertising channel. One way to get this valuable insight is by tracking calls back to their original sub-campaign or source using tracking numbers

A tracking number is a unique phone number that you can assign to an ad, campaign, or channel so you can later identify where your call traffic comes from.

For example, if you’re planning to generate calls using a social media campaign, a paid search campaign, and a print advertisement, you will need three tracking numbers to accurately track the sources of your calls. In this example, the first tracking number could be named “Social Media Campaign,” and then it would be the number you advertise through social. That way, when someone sees your social media ad and calls the number, you will see that the call came in from the first tracking number and know your social media campaign generated the call.

Tracking numbers not only help you determine the ads or channels that generate the most call traffic, but they can also help you identify the sources that are generating the most valuable calls – and the most money. For example, you may notice that the most calls come into your tracking number for your social media campaign, but those calls only meet duration requirements half the time. If the tracking number for your paid search campaign generates more calls that meet duration requirements, you’ll know that your paid search campaign is more valuable to you and you can adjust your budget accordingly.

CallThread gives publishers the tools to assign unique tracking numbers to individual offers, so that you know which sources generate the most traffic for a particular offer.

Here are four quick steps to track calls and optimize performance with CallThread:

1. Assign a tracking number to your offer.

Go to the Accepted Offers tab and click Assign a Tracking Number next to the offer you want to track. You can sort the available tracking numbers by toll free numbers, area code, zip code, and by city and state. Select the number you want to use.

2. Give your tracking number a name.

Use a name that reflects the source or sub-campaign the number will be used in. For example, if you plan on using the number in a paid search campaign, you might want to name it ‘Paid Search’. If you are using the same call source to generate calls for multiple offers, you can label the number by offer as well. For example, ‘Paid Search for Dental Services’.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to add a tracking number to your offer for each unique source or sub-campaign you want to track.

4. Monitor and optimize performance.

To monitor the performance of each call source, navigate to CallThread’s reporting dashboard and use the ‘Filter’ tool to filter the data by tracking number. To maximize call traffic, you can choose to pause campaigns that aren’t performing, and increase ad spend where there are high levels of consumer engagement.

Selling calls is a quick and easy way to earn money. Choose an offer, generate a call, and get paid for performance – it’s that simple. If you’re an affiliate marketer that is new to the pay-per-call space, learn how to get started here: 4 Steps for Selling Calls

Why CallThread

CallThread is one of the largest pay-per-call networks in North America, providing access to offers across hundreds of business categories. Our core verticals include Insurance, Pest Control, Home Services, Medical, Debt, Auto, Travel and Legal.

Our team of dedicated affiliate managers is committed to helping you succeed. It is our goal to provide you with the tools and support you need to optimize performance and operate at scale.