Although it might surprise some, the answer is actually NO. Vanity numbers are an excellent marketing optimization tool to be used in virtually all off-line advertising mediums. When it comes to the Internet, however, using a vanity number online provides very little added benefit to your company. The potential customer looking at your website already has all the necessary information should he or she decide to either make a purchase or call you directly.
Online, using tracking numbers is really the way to go. As a matter of fact, Dial800 can provide dynamically inserted toll-free tracking numbers into a website, thereby enabling the company to know exactly which search engine the call came from and which keyword the user entered.
Used correctly, this information is marketing gold for an online marketer. Why? Well, if you know where your new customers are coming from, (as well as what they're looking for from the keywords they use), then you can market to other people just like them. You'll save a lot of money in your advertising efforts by NOT going after the wrong people or using the wrong terms.
For instance, if you sell hardwood floors, and learn from your tracking number data that most people calling you from your Google Adwords account are searching for "great floors" rather than "hardwood floors", you can optimize your advertising efforts by using "great floors" in your ads and increase your sales as well!
When it comes to online marketing, the best thing advertisers can do is really try to get into the mindset of their customers and find out what they're looking for. Using tracking numbers accomplishes these goals and more. So remember, use vanity numbers for all other mediums, but online, tracking numbers are the ticket to seeing increased sales.