A popular legal firm partner in Silom recently admitted his biggest headache wasn’t legal strategy, but basic marketing: “I spend money on my website and Google Maps. When the phone rings, where should I take the credit?” This attribution mystery is common among established Bangkok businesses. Here is a simple, two-number strategy to solve the puzzle instantly without upsetting Google.
Is your marketing actually making the phone ring? It’s a simple question every business owner in Bangkok asks. You spend time and money on your website and your Google Maps listing, but when a new customer calls, it’s a total mystery how they found you.
Was it the beautiful photos on your website? Or was it the five-star reviews on your Google profile? If you don’t know, you can’t decide where to focus your efforts. Here’s a straightforward way to get the answer without needing a degree in computer science.
The Simple Two-Number Strategy
The cleanest way to solve this mystery is to use two different phone numbers. Before you worry, this is simpler than it sounds and, if done correctly, perfectly safe for your Google ranking. The goal is to assign one number to your Google listing and another to your website. When a call comes in, you’ll know its source instantly.
Here is the exact setup my most successful clients use:
- Your Main Number: This is your real, official business phone number. It should be on your business cards, in your email signature, and listed as the primary number on your Google Business Profile. Never change this. This is the number for Google to trust.
- Your Tracking Number: Get a second phone number from a simple online provider. This new number will be forwarded to your main line, so you won’t miss any calls. You will place this tracking number in two key places: as the secondary phone number on your Google Business Profile and as the main contact number on your website.
With this setup, the mystery is solved. A call to your main number is likely a repeat customer or referral. A call to your tracking number came from a new customer who found you online, either through your Google listing’s secondary number or your website. Now you have a much clearer picture.
A Reality Check: What Google Shows You (And What It Hides)
Some business owners rely on the free performance reports inside their Google Business Profile dashboard. Google does provide a chart that shows how many people clicked the “Call” button directly from your listing on Google Maps or Search. This is a helpful starting point, but it’s far from the full story.
The problem is that this built-in tool misses two huge groups of customers. It doesn’t count people who see your number on Google and decide to dial it manually from their phone. More importantly, it doesn’t track the customer who clicks from your Google profile to your website to learn more, and then decides to call. Since Google discontinued its detailed call history feature a couple of years back, relying solely on their basic reports means you’re still guessing where most of your calls truly originate.
The Trap: Don’t Replace Your Main Business Number
In an effort to track everything, some businesses make a critical mistake: they replace their real, primary phone number on their Google listing with a tracking number. This is a dangerous trap. Google’s trust in your business is built on consistency. It looks at your business Name, Address, and Phone number across the internet, and it wants to see the same information everywhere.
When you put a tracking number in the primary slot, you create a mismatch with other online directories and even your own website. This inconsistency can confuse Google’s algorithm, potentially hurting your visibility in the local map results. According to Google’s own guidelines, your core business information should be accurate and consistent. Always keep your true phone number as your primary contact and use tracking numbers only as a secondary option.
Putting It All Together
I was recently with the owner of a popular aesthetic clinic in Thonglor. She was frustrated because she’d invested in a beautiful new website but had no idea if it was bringing in more bookings than her well-established Google Maps listing.
The solution was the simple strategy we just discussed. We kept her main clinic number as the primary one on her Google profile for consistency. Then, we added a new tracking number as the secondary option on her Google listing and also made it the main number on her website. Within a month, she could clearly see which channel was driving valuable calls for high-end treatment packages. This clarity gave her the confidence to know exactly where her marketing budget should go next. Managing these details can feel like another task on an already long list, which is why we use tools like OnEveryMap to manage all business information, including primary and additional phone numbers, from one place, ensuring everything is correct and optimized without the manual headache.
