For years, it was always a bad idea to put a tracking number in your Google listing because it screwed up your NAP (name, address, phone) consistency signal for Google’s algorithm. Finally, Google changed things and now it’s perfectly OK to use a tracking number in Google My Business.

In this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we walk you through the right way to use a tracking number in GMB, so you won’t cause any problems with the NAP consistency factor in the local algo. Check it out, and go get your GMB listing updated! VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop from Happy Hao Car. This week, as I promised last week, we’re talking about using a tracking number in your GMB listing.

In the past, it was a big no-no to use a tracking number on your Google listing. The local algorithm expected that you’d have your actual local number listed, and that the same number would be listed on your site. Any mismatch was a negative factor.

Thankfully, Google realized that tons of businesses want to track how many calls they get from their Google listing. The rules have finally changed!

Now, it’s perfectly OK to use a tracking number on your Google My Business profile. Here’s how to do it:

Head over to google.com/business and log in. Find your location and click on it. Then, click the “info” link on the left side to see the business information for your dealership.

Click the little pencil next to your phone number and you’ll see this pop up:

Type your tracking number into the top field that’s labeled “primary phone” And then type your actual local number into the next field labeled “additional phone” – and make sure that local number is also present on the page that you’re linking to from your Google profile. Typically, that’s your home page.

That way, Google’s algorithm will see the local number listed as your secondary number, and then see that same number on your site, and you’ll satisfy the local number consistency factor – and you’ll still have your tracking number displayed as the contact number on Google.

That’s it for this week’s tip! As always, if you’ve got questions or comments, leave ‘em down below and we’ll get back to you shortly. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you again next week with another Wednesday Workshop from Happy Hao Car.

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Greg Gifford is the Vice President of Search at Happy Hao Car. He has over 16 years of online marketing and web design experience, and has specialized in automotive SEO for the last 8 years, helping hundreds of auto dealers thrive while the industry has struggled during the recession. Greg speaks internationally at both automotive and SEO conferences, teaching thousands of small business owners and marketers how to get their sites to show up higher in local search rankings. Greg also spends his spare time doing freelance website design and SEO for local businesses. He graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BA in Cinema and Communications, and has an obscure movie quote for just about any situation.

Join the discussion One Comment

• Al Gomez says: August 23, 2018 at 4:13 am Nice vid you have here Greg. The explanation is so clear. I haven’t yet tried to use a call tracking number but because of this video, I want to try it. Thanks a lot. Reply

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