Are you more likely to click on adverts in your mobile browser if they display clickable geo-targeted phone numbers? According to Google, the answer is yes.

The search giant recently re-introduced its Click To Call ads feature – this time focusing on smartphone users and mobile search rather than the desktop.

The solution allows advertisers to add a location-specific business phone number to their Google ads. Searchers can then click on that number to call the business from their mobile in the same way as they click to visit a website.

The mobile ads can be served based on users' physical location, so those for businesses with multiple locations display the closest store location.

Initial feedback on Click To Call has been very encouraging according to Google's local mobile advertising product management lead, Surojit Chatterjee.

He told GPS Business News the results of a beta with advertisers has shown click-through rates on the clickable phone number on ads are 5-30% higher than in ads without it.

“So given the growth we are pretty confident that it's working pretty well,” he said. “Overall we saw that when we put a phone number on the ad people not only click on the phone number but we also saw people click more on the headline of the ad itself.

“So overall the ads become better because maybe people find it to be more useful – there's more information and maybe more trust in the ad.”

While Chatterjee said he personally spends a lot of time using mobile applications they are not what he turns to when he needs to find something: “How do I do that? Do I guess which app will give me the best results, find it and download it, do a search inside that application and if I'm not successful go a find another application? That's not the best user experience.

“Like we have seen on the desktop internet, when computing started it started with applications – games, utilities and so on were really popular. When internet came in people used search to get the right information.

“With mobile we have seen search volumes growing and with the advances with browser technology on phones there are more and more applications on the web that look very similar to native applications.

“I think a lot of these lines will blur and for people in general search is such a general utility and will continue to grow. That's what we are seeing.”

Read the complete story at GPS Business News.