In ongoing coverage of call monetization, one thing we’ve examined is the ability to influence large considered purchases. Humans’ biologically predisposed need to talk to each other isn’t going away… even in a digital era. That’s especially true for big-ticket items.

One pricey vertical where this concept prevails is autos. Google reports the average dollar amounts where a phone call is likely to happen, and autos top the list at $1,195. This makes sense as the purchase size requires careful consideration and hand-holding.

So what does all of this mean for local media companies, publishers, search engines and app developers? The size of these purchases and the prevalence of phone calls within the path to purchase, means that phone leads can likewise carry a premium.

And it’s not just about driving calls, but practicing good call analytics to better track those calls for ROI and attribution metrics. Taking that a step further, it’s about analyzing and optimizing the upstream campaigns (i.e. search) that drive the highest-value calls.

We discussed all of this in a webcast last week, co-hosted by Marchex. It included BIA/Kelsey data and insights, as well as examples and best practices from Marchex and CDK Global. It was filled with straight-talk about opportunities and tactics.

If you missed the live webinar, you can watch the streaming video replay (slides and voiceover) here. The slides are also there for download. Enjoy.