Last week, I tried to pay attention to all of the advertising that I was exposed to. Between the ads I saw on the subway to and from work, the ads I encountered on various websites and search engines, the billboards I saw walking around New York City, and the television commercials I saw because I still watch live TV from time to time, I realized that I’m exposed to lots of it. As are most people these days.

One thing that I noticed is that many of these ads were missing one key element – a phone number.

Sometimes there was a URL or a way to click on the ad. Sometimes there was a call to “search” something online. And sometimes there was no contact information given at all. And while I don’t necessarily think that every ad needs a phone number, more often than not a phone number will help you.

Having a phone number in your ads…

• Instills confidence that a real person can answer my questions
• Allows me to take action immediately if I’m on the go
• Allows you to track calls coming from an ad

The bottom line is, if you want someone to take action when they see an ad, you had better include an easy way to do that. And the best option you have is, include a phone number.