How to set up a tap-to-call button people actually use

A tap-to-call button is a link whose address starts with tel: followed by your full phone number, so one tap on a phone opens the dialer with the number already filled in. Put it in the top right corner of every page, repeat it in a bar that stays at the bottom of the screen on phones, and show the number itself where there's room. Then count the taps, knowing that a tap is not the same as a call.

That covers most of it. The rest of this article is the detail that decides whether the button gets used: how to write the link, where it goes on a phone screen, what the sticky bar should hold for your kind of business, and how to tell whether any of it brings in calls.

Write the link the right way

A phone number typed onto a page as plain text depends on the phone noticing that it's a number. Some phones do, some don't, and some website themes switch that detection off on purpose. A real link removes the guesswork.

The link's address is tel: followed by the number in international form: a plus sign, the country code 1, then the ten digits with no spaces, dashes or brackets. For the number (630) 555-0142, the address is tel:+16305550142. The words people see on the button can be written the normal way.

A few things go wrong again and again:

• The number lives inside an image. A logo or banner with the number painted on it can't be tapped, and Google can't read it either.
• The link and the text don't match. You get a new number, someone updates the visible text, and the link still dials the old line. Tap your own button after every change.
• The fax number is tappable. If you still list a fax, leave it as plain text so nobody dials it by mistake.
• Different pages show different numbers. Use one main number across the site, the same one that's on your Google Business Profile and your truck.

On a laptop, a tel: link opens whatever calling app the computer has, or a box asking which app to use. That's fine. Just make sure the number is also written out in full somewhere visible, so a desktop visitor can dial it from their own phone.

Where the number goes on a phone

The top right corner

People expect the phone number in the header, top right. On a phone there's rarely room for the full number next to your logo, so a short button that says "Call" with a small phone icon works there, as long as the full number also appears on the first screen.

Next to every request

Wherever you ask someone to do something, put the call option beside it: under the headline, next to the quote form, at the end of each service section, and in the footer. Someone who just finished reading your water heater section is ready now. They shouldn't have to scroll back to the top to find the number.

Big enough for a thumb

The W3C's accessibility guidelines set an enhanced target size of at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels for things people tap. A call button should clear that easily. Leave space between it and the buttons around it, so a thumb doesn't hit "Directions" when it meant "Call".

Say when someone answers

Put your hours right next to the number: "Mon to Sat, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m." A visitor who reads that at 9 p.m. knows to send the form instead, and doesn't land on voicemail feeling ignored. If you take calls around the clock, say so, but only if a person really picks up at 3 a.m.

Sticky call bars

A sticky bar is a strip pinned to the bottom of the phone screen that stays in place while people scroll. The bottom of the screen is where thumbs already rest, so it's the easiest place to reach with one hand.

What goes in the bar depends on the business

Keep it to two buttons, three at most, and pick the ones your customers actually use:

• Plumber, HVAC or electrician: Call, and Request a visit. The urgent caller taps the first, the person planning a replacement taps the second.
• Contractor: Call, and Get an estimate. Bigger jobs usually start with photos and a few details, so the estimate button often gets more use.
• Restaurant: Call, Directions and Menu. Takeout orders and "are you open?" questions go to the phone, everyone else wants the menu or the map.
• Salon or barber: Book, and Call. If you take online bookings, the booking button goes first. Regulars who want their usual stylist will still call.
• Shop: Directions, and Call. People mostly want to know where you are and whether you have something in stock.

Don't let it get in the way

The bar should be about one button tall. It shouldn't cover the last line of text or the form's send button. On newer iPhones, leave room at the very bottom for the home indicator, the thin line people swipe to leave the browser, or your button sits right where they swipe.

Keep chat bubbles, cookie notices and newsletter popups out of that corner. When two things fight for the bottom of the screen, the call button should win.

Label it with the number where you can

"Call now" works. "Call (630) 555-0142" on the first screen works better, because people see the number they're about to dial and can tell it's local. In the sticky bar, where space is tight, "Call" with an icon is enough.

Counting taps without fooling yourself

You'll want to know whether the button gets used. There are simple ways to see that, and one trap.

A tap is not a call

Tracking tools count when someone taps the link. They don't know whether the call connected, how long it lasted, or whether the person changed their mind at the dialer. Google's own help page on measuring phone number clicks says the feature "only tracks clicks on your phone number, not actual phone calls". Read tap counts as interest, not as booked jobs.

Simple ways to see what's working

• Your website analytics. Most analytics tools, Google Analytics included, can be set up to record each tap on a tel: link as an event. Watch the trend over weeks, not a single day.
• Your Google Business Profile. The Performance report shows how many times customers clicked the call button on your profile, and how many clicked through to your website. That's a separate door from your site, so count it separately.
• Your phone's call log. Write down the date you change something on the site, then compare the weeks before and after.
• Ask. "How did you find us?" at the start of every call is still the most honest tracking there is. Keep a tally sheet by the phone for a month.

If you run paid ads, call tracking numbers that log every call and its length are worth setting up once you're spending real money. For a site that gets most of its visitors from Google Maps and word of mouth, the four checks above tell you enough.

Test it yourself in two minutes

Open your site on your phone with Wi-Fi off. Tap the call button at the top. Scroll halfway down and tap the one in the sticky bar. Go to your contact page and tap the number there. Each one should open the dialer with the same number already filled in. Then turn the phone sideways and check that the bar still fits and doesn't cover anything.

The call button is one of several reasons a site stays quiet. The others are in why your website doesn't get calls. For people who'd rather write than talk, read how to build a contact form that gets replies. And our page on websites for plumbers shows how the call button and the request form sit together on one site.

To see what your own site does today, run our free website checker. It looks for a tap-to-call link on your home page, tells you if your number is only plain text, and runs Google's mobile speed test, all in under a minute.