Static vs Dynamic Phone Numbers: What’s the Difference?

Call tracking software allows marketers to utilize dynamic phone numbers on their web assets, which takes analytics and segmentation to a whole other level.

What is a Dynamic Phone Number?

A dynamic number is a number displayed on a website or landing page that changes depending on the source of the incoming traffic. For instance, if a user found your site via organic search, they would see Phone Number A; if they clicked through an ad, they would see phone number B. The process of substituting these numbers live on-site is called Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI). A static phone number is a number that doesn’t have any of the functionality previously mentioned. It’s just regular text, the same as the rest of your website.

Why is a Dynamic Phone Number better than a static number?

There are a number of reasons why a marketer would (and should) choose to apply dynamic phone numbers over regular static ones:

Attribution, tracking ads and emails can deliver great analytics when prospects click through and are taken to your website, but you lose tracked data when they call a static phone number listed on your homepage. Dynamic phone numbers allow you to use the same website or landing page for different ads without sacrificing the metrics you get with a campaign-specific phone number. This is perfect for campaigns that need to be tracked separately but share the same messaging.

Localization Local businesses (or businesses that have a local presence) can be more attractive to certain customers, which is why many businesses list multiple static numbers on their contact page. But this can be messy and confusing to the casual browser. You can use dynamic phone numbers to automatically present phone numbers from a prospect’s geographical area instead. It’s much more efficient and scalable than juggling dozens of phone numbers and landing pages.

Number Recycling

One little-known benefit of dynamic phone numbers is how it can help you manage and recycle unused phone numbers. Marketers that use call tracking software to generate campaign-specific phone numbers tend to get carried away and create more than they need—or create a large volume of numbers, use them once, and forget about them. Some dynamic number insertion systems allow marketers to pool and recycle available numbers and reintroduce them into new campaigns. This saves you from buying new numbers and keeps the inventory of phone numbers more manageable.

Want to explore dynamic phone numbers in more detail? Contact us and find out how to maximize your call tracking software resources.