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The phone number, and whether anyone can tap it

Somebody searching for a business like yours on a phone is usually near the end of deciding, not the beginning. They want to call. Everything between that intention and the call ringing is friction you control — and the most common piece of it is a number printed as plain text, which on a phone means memorise, leave, open the keypad, type.

Local High at worst 2 findings covered

High

No phone number on the site

What SEOPert detected

No phone number was found on any page we checked.

What this means

Somebody searching for a business like yours on a phone is usually ready to call. If the number is not there, they call whoever is next in the results.

How to fix it

  1. Put your phone number in the header or footer of every page, so it is on screen wherever somebody lands.
  2. Make it a link, not plain text, so tapping it starts the call.
  3. Use the same number everywhere, including on your Google Business Profile and any directory listings.
On WordPress
  1. Appearance → Customize → Widgets (or Site Editor → Footer) and add the number to the footer.
  2. Most themes also have a header “contact info” or “top bar” setting where it can go.
  3. Write it as a link: in the block editor, select the number and press Ctrl+K, then enter tel:+15551234567.
On Shopify
  1. Online Store → Themes → Customize → Footer, and add the number.
  2. Many themes have an announcement bar that can carry it at the top of every page.
On Wix
  1. Add a text element to the header or footer, then use the link button and choose “Phone number”.

If you are handing this to a developer

Put the number in the site header/footer partial as <a href="tel:+E164NUMBER">, and in the LocalBusiness JSON-LD as "telephone".

Check it worked. Open your homepage on a phone: the number should be visible without scrolling far, and tapping it should start a call.

Medium

The number is there but not tappable

What SEOPert detected

A phone number appears as plain text rather than as a link somebody can tap to call.

What this means

The number is there, but on a phone it is just text: the visitor has to memorise it, leave your site, open the keypad and type it. Most people will not. Making it tappable is the single cheapest improvement on this list.

How to fix it

  1. Turn each phone number on the page into a link.
  2. The link address is the word tel: followed by the number with no spaces or brackets, ideally with the country code — for example tel:+15125550143.
  3. Keep the visible text formatted the way people read it: (512) 555-0143. Only the link address needs to be plain.
On WordPress
  1. Edit the page, select the number, press Ctrl+K (or the link button), and type tel:+15125550143 as the destination.
  2. For a number in a widget or theme option, use the HTML view: <a href="tel:+15125550143">(512) 555-0143</a>.
On Shopify
  1. In the theme editor the phone field usually links itself. If yours is in a rich-text block, switch to the HTML view and wrap it in <a href="tel:...">.
On Wix
  1. Select the text, click the link icon, and choose “Phone number” rather than “Web address”.
On Squarespace
  1. Select the number, press Ctrl+K, and enter tel:+15125550143 as the link.

If you are handing this to a developer

Wrap every rendered phone number in <a href="tel:+E164"> — including in the header, footer and contact templates.

Check it worked. Open the page on a phone and tap the number: it should offer to call. On a desktop, view the source and search for “tel:”.

Make a phone number tappable A 30-second exercise. One line is the problem — see whether you would catch it.

Guides

Guides that cover this

Related

Read next

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