Toll-Free Vanity Numbers and Domain Names

Just when I thought it was safe to come out.

Google slaps me down.

Let’s be real. My goal is to get people to call me. Calls Close.

So I prefer to have a rather “shallow” - aka…Thin - web site that does not bore people with lots of detailed prose. They know what they want.

My goal it to give them the cheapest price - fast. At the lowest customer aquisition cost. The way I do that is to get a toll free URL and use it in my ad Title/Description.

So people will see the phone number and call without clicking.

But now I am dealing with Google Quality Scores. And that makes us all work harder……

Be sure your site includes:

A Privacy Policy
An About Us page
A Contact Us Page - with an address and phone number. If you can’t put your phone number on your site you should not be in business.
Some press releases
And a few pages of fluff

That should get you by until Google slaps us again

So you’ve uncovered the perfect Vanity Number and now it’s yours.

What do you do first?

Put it on your business cards, letterhead and envelopes……yes envelopes……Is there some archiac business commandment that says “No Phone Numbers on Envelopes?“. I can’t tell you how many times I have received a check in the mail and I can’t figure out what it’s for. You know the drill, - you go to Google, type in the company name, surf for a half an hour because they are using some bizarre URL that doesn’t match the company name……..All you want to do is call them…QUICKLY….

So, go to whoever creates the graphics for your business papergoods and begin to explain to them that they need to put your new Vanity Number in a BIG font size, where everyone can see it.

They will rebel, in fact they will threaten to quit when you tell them that you also want them to dump the light grey font color and the 6 point type. They will whine and gnash their teeth about how ugly it looks. Hold your ground

To test if the you have the right placement and size, strap your Graphic Artist into their Prius, point them to the freeway at 4:30pm. Tell them they are 15 minutes late for a reallllllly important meeting. As they bob and weave to avoid traffic, pass them your cell phone and business card. Ask them to call the customer and tell them you will be 5 minute late. Then sit back with an air of superiority as they squint at the tiny font trying to find the tiny phone number. As they are busy memorizing 10 numbers while downshifting during ABS chatter, ask them if they think a TINY GREY 1-800-356-9377 is WAY easier to memorize than BIG BLACK 1-800-Flowers.

The moral of the story. Unless you are passing out our business cards to 14 year olds with 20/10 vision, do yourself a huge favor, MAKE YOUR VANITY NUMBER READABLE - and MEMORABLE. And don’t forget Pay Per Call……..It’s the future