Toll Free Numbers

[ChiSkyline]

Really going back and forth on this one and would appreciate any insight.

Is it still advised to drop a toll-free number into a graphic on the top of a page rather than having it set up as a click to call with mobile being as huge as it is now?

Thanks in advance!

 

[JoyHawkins]

Why would you want it in an image? Is the local phone number already set up as a click-to-call on the page?

 

[ChiSkyline]

Hi Joy,

I saw a post back from 2014 where Linda stated that dropping a toll-free number into a graphic was the ideal solution. I know - old post, and everything is eons different now. I was curious to know what the best practice was for this type of situation. Yes, both the local number and toll free number are currently set up as click to call.

Thanks for your help.

 

[JoyHawkins]

There's nothing wrong with a toll-free number being visible on the page. The only thing that I've really seen that can hurt ranking is when the local number is not visible or crawl-able on the site or if you use a toll-free number as the primary phone number on GMB.

 

[ChiSkyline]

Thanks, Joy. That makes sense - I'll leave them as is. I appreciate your insight!

 

[Linda Buquet]

Back in the 'old' days when I wrote that, having an extra # could sometimes cause NAP confusion or even cause Google to create a dupe. (Back when she easily got confused and it ended up in dupes or merges.) But she's soooo much smarter now.

One question though... if they are a local business why do they need an 800?
Is it multi-location and all listings are using that same 800 # or? Just curious.

 

[ChiSkyline]

Hi Linda,

Thanks for your reply! The business is a cruise line - they have one main location, and another location only used only for boarding. Both the local and toll free numbers ring in the main office. Seems to me that could eliminate that toll free number and be just fine. Correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[MiriamEllis]

Joy's comment raises something important: are folks here still seeing toll free numbers have a demonstrable negative impact on pack rankings? Google has supported them for some time now, and all of the partners Moz Local pushes to now support toll free. I haven't see talk of toll free vs. local numbers in regards to citation building in some time. Curious if this still appears to you guys to be a ranking influence.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Joy's comment raises something important: are folks here still seeing toll free numbers have a demonstrable negative impact on pack rankings?

Hi Miriam. No he said he was referring to an old, old post of mine where I made that suggestion to someone.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Linda,

Thanks for your reply! The business is a cruise line - they have one main location, and another location only used only for boarding. Both the local and toll free numbers ring in the main office. Seems to me that could eliminate that toll free number and be just fine. Correct me if I'm wrong...

Since it's that type of business, seems like people could be calling from elsewhere in state or out of state. So in this case seems 800# on the site would be a good thing.