eVision Online Marketing Blog |

The 8-Step Instagram Checklist to Put Your Business on Google’s Radar

2025-09-19T10:13:13Z

Google has made a subtle but important change: Instagram content is now showing up more frequently in search results. That’s right — your posts, profiles, and even engagement signals on Instagram are becoming part of your business’s searchable footprint.

For business owners, this signals a clear message: Google’s algorithm is always evolving, and staying visible is no longer just about your website. If you want to remain competitive, you need to align your social media strategy with search visibility.

Why the Instagram-Google Update Matters

Instagram content is now more visible in search. Google is actively crawling and indexing public Instagram posts, especially for businesses and professionals.

It enhances your digital presence. While not a direct ranking factor, these signals strengthen trust, authority, and relevance in Google’s eyes.

Search is becoming more blended. Google isn’t relying on websites alone — it’s integrating content from multiple platforms to deliver what users find useful.

The 8-Step Instagram Checklist for Better Search Visibility

>Use business + location in your bio – Example: “Joe Smith Container Storage.”
>Write captions as client answers – Turn posts into solutions for common customer questions.
>Add alt text to every post – Use your business type + city for indexing (e.g., “Chicago Container Storage”).
>Tag your office location – Consistent geotagging increases visibility in Instagram Places search.
>Mix local + niche hashtags – Blend broad and specific hashtags (#DallasContainerStorage).
>Post with consistency – A steady schedule builds trust with both Google and Instagram.
>Cross-link to your website – Add your site link in your bio and captions to drive traffic.
>Update your Facebook Places listing – Instagram pulls location data from Facebook, so ensure your business info is accurate.

How eVision Can Help

At eVision, we don’t just monitor SEO trends — we help businesses act on them. Whether it’s adapting to Google algorithm changes or leveraging Instagram’s growing visibility, our team ensures you stay ahead of the curve.

Whether you’re already a client or considering your first SEO campaign, our goal is simple: put your business where it matters most — at the top of search results.

Let’s Talk
Curious about where your site stands? Get a no-commitment SEO and PPC review. We’ll highlight strengths, uncover opportunities, and outline how to stay ahead of your competitors — with or without Instagram.

Book a Free Consultation

The post The 8-Step Instagram Checklist to Put Your Business on Google’s Radar appeared first on eVision Online Marketing.

Is Your SEO Strategy Ready for Google’s AI Overviews?

2025-09-19T11:40:22Z

Google has officially rolled out AI Overviews, a major shift that places AI-generated summaries at the very top of search results. These answers are pulled from credible, well-structured web pages—and if your site isn’t optimized, you could be missing out on valuable visibility.

How We’re Optimizing Content for AI Overviews

> Monitoring Search rankings and AI Overview appearances
> Rewriting headings into natural, question-based formats
> Placing direct, concise answers at the top of key pages
> Implementing schema markup for structured clarity
> Strengthening internal links across related content
> Updating meta titles and descriptions with search intent in mind

Why This Matters

AI Overviews appear most often for long-tail, informational queries—the kinds of searches potential customers and clients use every day. To be featured, your content must:

> Provide clear answers right at the top
> Use clean formatting with headers, bullets, and short sections
> Align with real search intent
> Demonstrate expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T)
> Include schema markup for enhanced visibility

Where SEO Strategy Is Focused Next

> Mobile responsiveness and site speed improvements
>Technical SEO fixes for redirects, 404s, and structure
> Strengthening topical authority with smart internal linking
> Ongoing keyword tracking and intent alignment
> Monitoring visibility in both AI Overviews and organic rankings

Let’s Make Your SEO Strategy Future-Ready

The search landscape is changing fast, and businesses that adapt will lead the way. At eVision, we ensure your SEO strategy evolves with Google’s updates so you never fall behind.

Visit www.evisionsem.com to talk strategy or request a free audit today.

Call us at 888-576-5115

The post Is Your SEO Strategy Ready for Google’s AI Overviews? appeared first on eVision Online Marketing.

AI-Powered SEO: How Portable Storage Businesses Can Stay Ahead in 2025

2025-02-25T12:35:57Z

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing search engine optimization (SEO), and businesses that embrace these changes will gain a competitive advantage. With Google’s Gemini 2.0 update, Bing’s AI-powered search, and conversational AI tools like ChatGPT influencing search results, the focus on high-quality, user-centric content has never been greater. For portable storage and shipping container companies, adapting to these AI-driven SEO trends is crucial to maintaining visibility, generating leads, and increasing conversions.

The Impact of AI on SEO for Portable Storage Companies

AI is reshaping how search engines process queries, rank websites, and deliver results. Here’s what portable storage businesses need to focus on in 2025:

1. Create Authoritative and Relevant Content

AI-powered search engines prioritize authoritative content that addresses users’ needs. For portable storage companies, this means producing in-depth articles, guides, and FAQs that cover key customer concerns such as:

Security Measures: How secure are portable storage units?
Pricing Transparency: What factors influence the cost of a storage container?
Storage Flexibility: Can units be customized for specific needs?
Delivery and Pickup Services: How convenient is the rental or purchase process?

A strong content strategy that answers these questions will establish credibility and improve rankings in AI-enhanced search results.

2. Optimize for AI Search

With AI tools influencing search rankings, businesses must structure their websites for optimal discoverability. Key strategies include:

Schema Markup Implementation: Helps AI understand and categorize website content.
Conversational Keywords: Optimize for natural language queries, as AI search relies on user intent rather than exact keyword matching.
Structured Data: Ensures search engines can easily extract important information like pricing, locations, and service details.

3. Strengthen Local SEO for Maximum Visibility

Portable storage businesses rely heavily on local customers, making Google Business Profile (GBP) optimization essential. To enhance local SEO:

Keep GBP Updated: Ensure accurate business information, service areas, and operational hours.
Encourage Customer Reviews: Positive feedback increases trust and search rankings.
Utilize Location-Based Keywords: Incorporate terms like “portable storage in [City]” or “shipping container rentals near me.”

4. Enhance Mobile Performance

With over 60% of searches happening on mobile devices, a mobile-friendly website is a must. AI-driven search algorithms prioritize sites with:

Fast Loading Speeds: Compress images, use a content delivery network (CDN), and minimize redirects.
Intuitive Navigation: Ensure a seamless user experience across all devices.
Responsive Design: Adapt your website layout to different screen sizes.

The Future of SEO for Portable Storage Businesses

As AI continues to refine search algorithms, prioritizing user experience, technical SEO, and well-structured content will be essential for success. Portable storage businesses that invest in AI-friendly SEO strategies will stand out from the competition and attract high-intent customers.

Stay Ahead with AI-Optimized SEO

The digital landscape is evolving rapidly, and adapting to AI-powered search trends will determine your business’s online success. If you’re ready to future-proof your SEO strategy, our team at eVisionSEM is here to help. Call 888-576-5115 now.

The post AI-Powered SEO: How Portable Storage Businesses Can Stay Ahead in 2025 appeared first on eVision Online Marketing.

Actionable Steps to Improve Your Website Design

2024-08-29T02:52:56Z

Staying current with Google’s algorithm updates is crucial for maintaining and improving your website’s search engine ranking. Recent insights into Google’s ranking features have highlighted several factors that significantly impact websites, especially those with outdated designs.

A leaked document, “14k Google Ranking Features,” reveals key areas where web design influences ranking. It emphasizes the importance of content quality and structure, user experience, technical aspects, and security. Key points include ensuring readability and accuracy of content, enhancing user notifications, optimizing responsiveness and load times, and maintaining robust security protocols.

By addressing these areas, you can better align your website with Google’s criteria and improve its search engine performance.

Actionable Steps to Improve Your Website Design

A. Enhance Content Quality

Regularly update your content to ensure it is relevant and accurate.
Use clear and concise language, and avoid unnecessary bolding or formatting that can disrupt readability.

B. Improve User Experience

Simplify navigation and ensure that all pages serve a clear purpose.
Avoid intrusive notifications and ensure that any user alerts are relevant and helpful.

C. Optimize Technical Performance

Ensure your website is fully responsive and performs well on all devices.
Implement efficient text compression and other optimization techniques to improve load times.

D. Ensure Security and Compliance

Regularly review and update your security protocols.
Ensure compliance with regional regulations and properly configure geo-restrictions.

Staying informed about Google’s algorithm updates and understanding their implications on web design is essential for maintaining a competitive edge. By focusing on content quality, user experience, technical performance, and security, you can mitigate the negative impacts of poor web design and improve your website’s ranking.

The post Actionable Steps to Improve Your Website Design appeared first on eVision Online Marketing.

Google’s Algorithm Leak

2024-08-21T07:17:39Z

When it comes to digital marketing, staying abreast of Google’s algorithm updates is important for maintaining and improving your website’s search engine ranking. Recent insights into Google’s ranking features reveal several aspects that can significantly impact websites, particularly those with a poor or outdated web design. This newsletter aims to shed light on these updates and provide actionable advice to ensure your website remains competitive.

Understanding Google’s Ranking Features

A recently leaked document, “14k Google Ranking Features,” provides a comprehensive list of modules and their descriptions related to Google’s ranking system. While the document is extensive and somewhat repetitive, it highlights key areas where web design can influence your site’s ranking.

Key Areas of Concern

A. Content Quality and Structure

QualitySnippetsTruncationSnippetBoldedRange: Google’s algorithm evaluates the quality of snippets and their readability. Poorly structured content with excessive bolding or truncation can negatively impact your ranking.
QualityTimebasedDateUnreliability: Unreliable date signals on your content can harm your credibility. Ensure that all dates on your site are accurate and up-to-date.

B. User Experience (UX)

AbuseiamUserNotification: Google’s system considers user notifications and their relevance. Irrelevant or intrusive notifications can lead to a poor user experience, affecting your ranking.
QualityTimebasedPageType: The type and quality of pages on your site are crucial. Pages that do not serve a clear purpose or are difficult to navigate can be detrimental.

C. Technical Aspects

ScreenWidthPx: Google’s algorithm takes into account the responsiveness of your website. Ensure your site is mobile-friendly and adapts to various screen sizes.
textCompressionMethod: Efficient text compression methods can improve load times, which is a critical factor in Google’s ranking.

D. Security and Trust

AbuseiamGeoRestriction: Properly configured geo-restrictions and compliance with regional regulations are essential. Non-compliance can lead to penalties.
AbuseiamHash: Secure hashing methods for data protection are vital. Ensure your site uses robust security protocols to protect user data.

In summary, keeping up with the nuances of Google’s ranking features is crucial for any business aiming to maintain a strong online presence. By focusing on content quality, enhancing user experience, optimizing technical aspects, and ensuring robust security measures, your website can better align with Google’s criteria and improve its search engine performance. At eVisionSEM, we’re committed to helping you navigate these complexities and stay ahead in the digital landscape. Should you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out.

Together, we can ensure your website remains a competitive and effective tool for attracting and retaining clients.

The post Google’s Algorithm Leak appeared first on eVision Online Marketing.

Omnichannel Marketing: Advertising For The Future In Portable Container Storage

2023-03-08T18:34:48Z

Omnichannel Marketing

What Is Omnichannel Marketing?

Omnichannel marketing allows customers to access content across different channels. Omnichannel focuses on providing customers with an integrated, consistent, and seamless experience through a variety of mediums such as online search, online display, mobile, print, signage, radio, and television. Omnichannel encompasses all the different methods marketers use to communicate with potential customers before, through, and after the purchase process. The goal is to create satisfactory and engaging customer experiences. Successful Omnichannel marketing usually leads to repeated customers and sales.

Why Is Omnichannel Marketing The Future Of Advertising?

The world has changed dramatically in recent years, becoming digitally driven in terms of how we shop, interact, and research products and services. To remain competitive, businesses must embrace new forms of marketing in order to meet their goals. The portable storage industry has grown over the last few years but some of the ways that ads and messaging come across have not.

For example, there is a heavy reliance on Google AdWords, with most companies having yet to hear of NLP (Natural Language Processing) advertising which is more tailored to the types of platforms the consumer may visit or subscribe to. Or SMS Marketing which relies on the ability to text a potential customer to communicate conveniently via text, who hasn’t reached back out or forgot to follow up.

Using Omnichannel To Reach Customers In Portable Container Storage

Portable container storage solutions are becoming increasingly popular among businesses as they provide accessible and secure storage solutions and even customized container options.

Omnichannel advertising provides an innovative way for businesses to connect with customers who may not have been reached through traditional methods such as print media or TV commercials. Omnichannel advertising allows companies to target their audiences more accurately, while also providing them with the opportunity to deliver a more personalized message.

Examples Of Omnichannel Advertising and Marketing

Paid Search Marketing (PPC): PPC is an ideal addition to omnichannel marketing because it allows businesses to target specific demographics and tailor campaigns to the exact needs of the customer. Done correctly, PPC is cost-effective and offers detailed tracking of results so that businesses can determine the effectiveness of their campaigns.

SMS Marketing: This form of marketing allows brands to create tailored messages and send them directly to customers’ phones. As it is a direct form of communication, brands can be sure that their message will reach the right audience quickly and efficiently.

SMS can be integrated into a website allowing the consumer to text message the business directly and opt-in to receive a call-back, a form, or a link.

Email Marketing: Email marketing is an essential part of any omnichannel strategy. Email marketing allows for a more personalized approach to a larger target audience, allows for easy tracking of data with immersive insight into the consumer journey, and is an affordable option with a great return on investment.

You’re probably already using landing pages so, Incorporating email marketing is not a stretch.

Social Media Ads – Social Media makes it possible for brands to create and distribute ads through various platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, and more. These ads can be targeted at a specific audience, allowing brands to reach their desired customers easily and efficiently.

Retargeting – Retargeting is a form of advertising that allows brands to target customers who have visited their website but haven’t completed an action. This type of ad uses different techniques such as cookies and tracking pixels to follow customers around the web, allowing brands to deliver personalized ads to customers who are more likely to convert.

Native Ads- Native Ads are another growing form of digital advertising. They are non-intrusive, contextually relevant ads that appear in the natural flow of content on websites. This allows brands to reach their desired audience without disrupting the user experience.

QR Codes: QR codes have quickly become an invaluable part of omnichannel strategies for businesses. Here are just a few of the advantages of incorporating QR codes into both your online and physical presence. QR codes are easy to set up and can be added to your website and even onto your physical containers.

Imagine someone needing a container and being able to see one of the QR codes on your container (in any territory you cover where a container is visible) and instantly be able to pull up your site and container options.

In Conclusion

By utilizing omnichannel marketing and advertising, businesses can create a comprehensive approach to engaging with their audience in multiple ways. By leveraging the right channels, they can create a seamless customer experience that encourages more engagement and conversions. Ultimately, omnichannel marketing is an incredibly effective way to reach customers and make sure that their message is seen by the right people, in the right places, at the right time.

Casey Marte, Sr. Manager of Operation & Marketing

eVisionSEM

https://www.evisionsem.com/seo/

Casey@evisionsem.com

The post Omnichannel Marketing: Advertising For The Future In Portable Container Storage appeared first on eVision Online Marketing.

Local SEO & Your Sales: What You Need To Know

2024-08-05T16:49:26Z

First, it should be said that most people assume Local SEO and Organic SEO are one and the same. They are not. It’s important to understand the different elements of SEO before we connect the dots as to WHY Local SEO can have an impact on sales and rentals.

So what is Local SEO?

Local SEO refers to the optimization of your business locations, i.e., Google Maps, Apple Maps, Bing, etc., and the results that populate for a given query.

To provide you with a better understanding of what Local SEO looks like, take a look at the search return below. This image is a search result showing the top three businesses on Google (Map Pack) and their ratings. Below that is where you begin to see the Organic Search results.

As you can see, there are two different types of SEO at play here – Local SEO and Organic SEO.

So, what’s the difference between Organic and Local SEO?

The main difference between Local SEO and Organic SEO, especially as it relates to Google is that Local SEO is geared toward getting your business to show up in the Maps, one of the most vital being the Google Maps pack.

Organic SEO’s goal is geared toward getting your website to rank highly in the organic search results (above for below maps) for both Mobile and Desktop. Organic SEO requires various elements of SEO work that include both onsite and offsite SEO, pages, posts, meta, titles, schema, and more.

How Can SEO Affect My Sales?

SEO and your sales are connected in more ways than you might think. Here’s a look at how that state of your site’s SEO can affect your sales.

When it comes to Organic SEO, there are a few key factors that can affect your Container sales or rentals, we’ll cover the two major ones here.

Website Ranking

One is your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). If you’re not appearing on the first page for relevant searches, potential customers may never even find you.

Design & User Experience

Your website’s design and user experience (UX) are also important. If your website is hard to navigate or doesn’t provide the information people are looking for, they’re likely to click away and look elsewhere. The speed at which your site loads is also vital as, the slower your site loads, the more likely a user is to leave and find another provider whose site loads faster.

The two items listed above are married to organic SEO. A large and vital piece of Local SEO is Google Maps. This is the third leg we will focus on below.

Google Maps

An important factor that relates to Local SEO is online reviews. People trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations, so if you have positive reviews from past customers, that can go a long way in enticing new ones. On the other hand, negative reviews can deter people from doing business with you.

Google Maps Algorithm Changes

There may have been a time when you got a ton of traffic and engagement on the map, maybe even a large number of sales and rentals, if you’ve seen that drop, you can thank algorithm updates at Google Maps. Previously, you may have been able to reach a wider radius with your listing but that may no longer be the case for many Storage Container providers.

If you google “Best Pizza”, you’re probably aware that Google Maps will give you a list of the closest Pizza Restaurants near you. That is also the case when it comes to Storage Containers. If you’ve seen volume drop from the map and/or your Google Business listing is showing you in the negative, the GMB algorithm updates may be the culprit. Of course, the fact that you’re no longer in the top 3 means that sales are not as strong as when they are if you are comfortably positioned at the top of Maps.

How Can I Climb Back Up?

There are ways to engage the larger radius again and build branches back out to those geo-coverage areas that you may have lost after the algorithm change.

Three Tips to increase your Radius in the GMB and climb your way back up

Get more GMB Reviews from customers covering those Geo Areas.
Engage with positive reviews.
Regularly post videos and images into your GMB listing.

SEO is an important part of every marketing strategy with an emphasis on Local SEO and it can have a direct impact on your sales. It’s also important to remember that you can reach customers in all of your targeted geo areas that you may have lost but it does take a dose of patience and consistency. So if you want to improve your Local SEO and boost your sales, it’s important to consider all sides of the SEO equation.

eVisionSEM

https://www.evisionsem.com/seo/

Info@evisionsem.com

The post Local SEO & Your Sales: What You Need To Know appeared first on eVision Online Marketing.

Don’t Lose New Business Leads! Regularly Test Your Online Forms or Use an Automated Form Tester

2021-10-08T14:35:04Z

It happened again recently. Another customer wasn’t receiving email notices of quote request submissions from their web site and they didn’t notice for some time.

They lost business because they didn’t get the quote requests people were submitting. For many web marketers leads they didn’t receive by email are lost forever because they have no backup of them!

Many web marketers rely on email notifications of the form submissions on their website. However, problems with form submissions can occur anytime. Something can break on the website, especially after updates, or your ISP could tighten up the spam filtering causing the submission notices to get filtered.

If you rely on online form submissions for business leads here’s what we suggest –

Make a schedule to test your website forms or use an automated forms tester. We recommend testing them at least weekly. Forms should be tested to make sure they working. But, just as important, make sure you are receiving the email notifications of the submissions if that’s what you rely on.
Create an inventory of all the important forms on your site (the ones that often include contacts that lead to potential new business like quote requests).

Here’s what we do for the forms on our website –

Once a week we have a reminder pop up to test the forms. We have links to each form on our website so we can quickly click to them, fill them out, and make sure the forms are working ok (we use a form filler so all we need to do is click it to fill each form out)
Then the reminder pops up again the next day to remind us to check that we actually got the email notice (Very important! things can go wrong with email notices at anytime)

FormTestr: Automated Forms Tester
There is an online form tester available that some of our customers are using to automatically test their forms weekly. You can check it out here formtestr.com

Note. If you use an automated forms tester like FormTestr you still need to make sure you are receiving the email notifications if that is what you rely on.

Send your form submissions to more than one email address (Ideally have the form submissions stored online too)
Have form submissions sent to at least two email addresses, ideally one that is not a domain address (eg yourname@yourwebsite.com) in case there is a periodic problem with the server.

Ideally have the form submission data stored on the web server or elsewhere online where you can access it to check that you received notification of all leads.

Your form submission data isn’t being backed up? Very Dangerous! This means you are relying solely on the email notifications and could lose business if the email notifications get filtered. It’s time to think about changing your online form system so that they are stored online so you have a backup of them.

The post Don’t Lose New Business Leads! Regularly Test Your Online Forms or Use an Automated Form Tester appeared first on eVision Online Marketing.

18 Tips & Tools for Improving Your Sales Closing Ratio

2021-06-01T15:32:14Z

This is laundry list of strategies to help improve your sales close ratio – i.e., help you and your team close more sales. Some of these strategies help you improve the quality of your leads too. Improving the quality of your leads and increasing the percentage of good leads that turn into business helps improve the efficiency of your marketing dollars spent.

Take a look at how many of these you are actively engaged in. In some cases we can point you to tools and resources to help –

1. Track it – Do you count all leads and record their conclusion? You can’t improve something unless you know where you are! We can point you to lead tracking systems used by other customers successfully

2. Assign causes of lost business if known – Rank the root causes of sales loss so you can work on the most frequent problems.

3. Track your lead quality – are you getting the right people from the right geography, focusing on the marketing channels generating the best leads, etc? You can improve conversions by spending more time on better prospects.

4. Work on reducing the time it takes to respond to an inquiry – data shows your ability to reach a person who has called or submitted an email form goes down exponentially over time (measured in minutes!). Even Better, take steps to get prospective customers to all you and close the deal on the first call!

5. Related to #4 – make sure you have optimized your phone system and call messaging systems (including after-hours call handling).

6. Listen in to your sales people interact with prospects on the phone – there is gold in seeing how they:

a. Build rapport
b. Listen to the prospect
c. Identify their needs
d. Propose customer solutions

i. Do they know your products and services well enough?
ii. Do they properly connect benefits with customer needs?

e. Explain benefits
f. Identify and overcome objections
g. Ask for the sale!!! Closing technique skill building is essential.

Ask about our article on how call tracking and recording can help with the above

7. Sales training based on what you find in #6

8. Train your salespeople to “always be helping” prospects – today’s customers more than ever do not want to feel like they are being pressured.

9. Script your typical sales interactions and routinely monitor to make sure that scripts are:

a. Being used
b. Still relevant
c. Need to be added to and/or improved

10. Make sure each sales rep has an organized system for lead follow-up – Many leads are lost because a rep forgets or follows up too late.

11. Make sure that your sales aids (brochures, web page content, videos, etc.) are current, easily available and target the things your customers are interested in. Make sure your sales reps know how and when to introduce these sales aids.

12. Optimize your sales offer – Are you competitive? Are you identifying ways to communicate and deliver in ways other than price (payment options, guarantees, other services, loyalty programs, etc.)?

13. Run limited time specials – create deadlines for “fear of loss” to spur buying decisions.

We can help with specials using our landing pages

14. Provide “social proof” of the quality of your service – social media posts, reviews, testimonials, videos, etc. Purchasing decisions are influenced positively when people feel their risk is lowered because others have bought from you successfully.

15. Market consistently to your customer base!!! Past customers convert at much higher rates than new prospects.

16. Use Pay Per Click to increase leads exclusive to your business. Assure that your landing pages are consistent with your ad copy and are designed specifically to convert (prominent call to action, easy forms, easy access click to call phone #, etc.).

17. Don’t forget traditional public relations and brand advertising. Being known in the community increases both lead count and lead quality.

18. Make sure that non converted prospects get into your marketing database. Design specific campaigns that might entice them to try you in the future (special new customer offers).

The post 18 Tips & Tools for Improving Your Sales Closing Ratio appeared first on eVision Online Marketing.

How Phone Call Tracking & Recording Can Increase Sales

2022-11-03T17:17:43Z

One of the most valuable ways to improve marketing efficiency is by working to improve your conversion rate – i.e. the percentage of the good leads you get that you turn into closed sales.

Improving your conversion rate is pure gold, because you are working with leads that you have already paid for. If, for example, you normally need an average of 10 good leads to close a sale, but you can improve so that you only need 5 leads to close a deal, you get the revenue and profit from those extra deals with little or no extra cost of sales! The advertising cost to get those leads stays the same, but in this case you doubled the number of deals, ultimately doubling your profits.

One effective way to increase the percentage of leads you close is by using a phone call tracking and recording system. There are many phone call tracking systems available today which are affordable, or even free. They can track almost any marketing effort, such PPC, Local SEO, Craigslist, Social Media, Print, Radio etc.

How Does a Phone Call Tracking System Work?

These systems work by allowing you to set up a number of tracking phone numbers to use in a variety of ways, such as tracking calls from your website from any or all traffic sources, including PPC (pay-per-click), organic search results, or other referral sites – you can even track phone calls from social media channels and traditional marketing such as print and raid as well.

When someone calls one of your tracking numbers, they will hear a message such as “this call may be recorded” or a similar message that’s required by most states and provinces. As that message is playing the call is forwarded to the phone number of your choice. Sometimes you get to hear part of that message and what happens with your phone system before the call is even answered.

Identify Call Answering Issues

By recording phone calls you can identify common issues that may be negatively impacting your sales. Some of these include:

Too many rings or forwarding issues – When your phone system takes too long to answer, it can hurt your sales efforts because a number of people hang up before anyone even answers the call. If someone looking for a product by searching in Google hangs up before the call is answered, they will likely go back to the Google search results and call someone else.
Annoying voice system – Several voice systems either have too many or too few options, leading to customer frustration and lost leads.
After hours call handling issues – Make sure that your phones specify when it is after office hours. Otherwise, a customer may be on hold without realizing that nobody is there to answer the call.
Long hold times– Of course, people are more likely to hang up the longer they are on hold. Even if they do stay on the line, they will likely be upset about being put on hold for too long.
Ineffective greetings– If someone needs to be put on hold, it is important to make sure that the initial greeting makes the caller feel comfortable and makes it clear that they will transfer the call to someone who can help them.

Call Recording as a Sales & Marketing Management & Training Tool

You can also use call recording as a sales and marketing management and training tool in a variety of ways. This will ultimately lead to more business and happier employees.

Listen to sales calls to identify common objections– If callers often ask questions and your sales reps are struggling to convey an answer that shows value, you can identify these objections and come up with talking points for your team to use. If, for example, many people say “Just send me a quote”, you might teach your team to say something like “I’ll be happy to send a quote right over, but how about we get the (XYZ product) put on our schedule now to hold your spot?.”
Listen to the call recordings to identify training needs– This is especially important for new representatives to help them learn about your products and services and for you to develop talking points, check lists, and other training resources for all your team. When you see issues for specific reps you can listen to their sales calls together, point outÂ issues and guide them with a better sales approach.
Outbound call recording– You can also record outbound sales calls so that you can listen to the follow-up calls from your representatives. You can even record outbound sales calls placed to people who did not call you first, such as those who submitted a an online inquiry form or inquiries from other lead sources. You can also record cold call campaigns in order to evaluate them later.
Create a knowledge base of the best phone calls– You can build a “knowledge base” of good sales calls that led to closed deals. Listen for what statements were made that stimulated a positive response, and listen to these recordings with team members.
Develop Ideas for Offers –Use customer input, questions, common objections and interests to develop possible offers. As you listen to the call recordings and make note of common objections and other barriers to closing deals, consider whether you should develop offers to help close business. For example ,if delivery charges are often objected to, maybe test offering $100 off delivery if you sign up now, and take the delivery on Friday.
Team members can revisit the last call with a prospect –With the calls recorded, your reps can listen to the call again and make sure they are prepared for a follow-up call, that they remember key points they need to address, and that they took care of any agreed-upon actions.
Use Call Recordings to Mediate Disputes –Was the customer promised something that the sales rep doesn’t remember? With the calls recorded you can listen to the call or read the transcript (transcriptions will be discussed later) and see what was said.
Recognize and reinforce exemplary sales calls – While it’s important to identify training needs, you can also use call recordings as an opportunity to recognize positive achievements. Take the time to shine a spotlight on the good work your people are doing, so that their teammates can benefit from their example. This can inspire some healthy competition among the whole team, and bring out the best in everyone.

Let AI show you which marketing channels are driving the highest quality leads.

Some of these next features are available with Callrail’s call tacking system which is the one most of our customers use. If you find them valuable make sure the tracking system you choose includes a similar feature.

Call Scoring

Your team can easily mark the quality of the phone leads by selecting a simple good vs. bad check mark either during a call or after the call. However, with the calls recorded you can have CallRail’s automated call scoring system analyze the calls for you and automatically mark them good or bad using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Turn it on, then check the accuracy by checking a number of the calls marked good, and a number of the calls marked bad. With the calls scored reasonably accurately, you can see which marketing channels are giving you the highest percentage of good leads and invest more in those channels.

Call Scoring may to help you improve the percentage of good leads you get.

You may be able to use call scoring to help improve the percentage of good leads you get. You can also analyze the calls in a variety of ways:

Location– If most of your good leads are coming from specific locations, can you increase the focus of your marketing efforts in those locations? Are you getting mostly bad leads from some locations? Can you figure out why? Perhaps they’re too far away and you should back off in those locations to focus on more productive ones.
Device– Are you getting a significantly higher percentage of good leads from desktop devices and not from mobile devices? In that case, you want to look at improving the user experience on cell phones because cell phone traffic can of account for 50% or more of your website traffic.
Date– Were the leads mostly good, then something happened around certain date and now there are too many bad leads? Can you identify what changed around that time?
Time/Day– Are most good leads coming during certain days or time of the day? Can you maximize your marketing efforts on those days or times?
Keyword– for PPC (pay-per-click) ads such as Google Ads, you can see the keyword and search phrase that each caller searched on. You can sort the calls by keywords and look for any that are generating mostly bad leads.

Transcriptions

You can have the phone calls automatically transcribed, which can be faster than listening to the full recording.

However, with the calls transcribed, the CallRail system can show you phrases that are spoken the most by callers within the calls that are marked as good leads. This is called Keyword Spotting, and helps in several ways:

Pull the best leads from voicemails for immediate follow-up– Each morning, have the system show your team members the calls that include those keyword phrases from your voicemails so they can follow up on those leads first.
“Rescue” sales– Keyword spotting can help close deals that would have been lost. Sales managers can listen to a number of the calls that include these keyword phrases and possible “rescue” sales that were not closed by your reps.
Identify sales training issues– Of course is reps are not closing sales that a sales manager is able to “rescue” this highlights issues sales managers need to address with their representatives.

Phone call tracking and recording has proven to be an effective tool to increase sales by helping you learn about call answering issues hurting your sales efforts, helping your team close more of the leads you get, and learning which marketing channels are giving you the best quality leads. This ultimately leads to improving the number and quality of leads you get from your marketing efforts.

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