There’s nothing like the ClickZLive event, and the conference in New York this week was no exception. The awesome folks at Incisive Media did a fantastic job (as they always do) to ensure a great conference experience. Stellar keynotes, amazing speakers, and sponsors including Google and Yahoo, among many others.

There was a lot of buzz around mobile at ClickZLive, and I was very fortunate enough to speak with Carlton Van Putten, senior vice president of marketing and products for LOGMyCalls, about going hard with mobile – or going home.

Whether it’s responsive design, mobile-friendly, or mobile-optimized, people using mobile devices need to have information in an easy-to-use format. Mobile landing pages need to be designed with shorter headlines, streamlined navigation, and having a strong call to action. Because the mobile experience is vastly different than desktop, having a mobile-friendly experience is key, as 45 to 50 percent of consumers won’t return to a website if it doesn’t load properly on a mobile device.

Developing a paid search campaign also requires thinking about the user experience. Ad copy needs to be optimized for mobile, and extensions can replace your second line of ad text if your extensions perform well on mobile.

The statistics are there – and Carlton and I both emphasized how important mobile is for businesses. And whether it’s B2B or B2C, phone calls are a big driver. Phone calls are the “new black” in mobile paid search, and with the announcement in February of call-only campaigns, it’s more important than ever to incorporate phone numbers within mobile paid search ads. Catching people “in the moment” while they are shopping or doing online research. And call tracking can help you determine which marketing channels are getting your customers to call.

During our discussion, Carlton asked the audience how many were using mobile-friendly landing pages, and most of the audience raised their hands. However, when asking how many were incorporating phone numbers on the landing pages, it was a rather small number.

Whether your phone number is in a paid search ad or on a landing page, it’s important to be able to track your phone calls.

And it’s not just about the call itself. Being able to analyze what takes place DURING the call – as Carlton put it, there is “a lot of gold in the phone conversation.” And new technologies are bringing call tracking to a new level. Using specialized speech recognition software and algorithms, they can track key points such as customer sentiment, competitor mentions, lead quality, and commitment to buy, among others. And marketers can to separate out potential leads, send alerts to the sales team, and develop automated processes based on the gathered data.

As mobile continues to expand, companies will continue to look to adapt and embrace mobile as a viable marketing option. With more advancements in incorporating mobile into paid search and call tracking, mobile is on its way to being the new black in marketing.