IT Marketing Archives - Pronto Marketing

MSP SEO Guide to Ranking Higher on Google and Getting More Leads + Bonus AI Tips

Chris Thomson — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 13:35:00 +0000

Search engine optimization is incredibly important for MSPs to attract the right type of leads that are not only looking for the specific type of IT services you offer but also are located within the areas you serve.

That first page of Google results is the ultimate billboard for your services but getting on it and staying there is an inherently complicated process that has become significantly messier in recent years.

Just about everyone now claims to be an SEO expert, touting some secret sauce recipe that only they can use to push your site to the top of the listings. Don’t fall for the trap. A few back-end tweaks to your website won’t get you to the first page of search results. Advancements in the algorithms that power the search engines have put the power in the hands of the searcher. To rank well, your site must offer tangible value to the people who are searching for your services.

There are hundreds of factors that influence search rankings, but when boiled down, there are three important categories to focus on: on-site SEO, content creation, off-site SEO .

In this article, we’ll not only share MSP SEO best practices but also how you can win at local SEO by optimizing your Google My Business profile and a real world case study on how to get more traffic and leads.

What is MSP SEO

MSP SEO, or search engine optimization tailored for Managed Service Providers (MSPs), is a crucial marketing technique to enhance online visibility and attract targeted leads. SEO involves optimizing websites and digital content to rank higher in search engine results, particularly by focusing on relevant keywords that align with the services offered by MSPs. Some important strategies for MSP SEO are:

Keyword Research: Selecting the right keywords is crucial for attracting relevant traffic and leads. Location-specific terms can improve search rankings and audience targeting for MSPs
On-Page Optimization: Making sure your pages have the right elements and keyword density will help maximize the page’s chance of ranking for the target keyword.
Local SEO: For MSPs, a focus on local SEO is a must. This includes anything from increasing the number of local reviews to posting on Google Business Profile.
Link Building: one of the strongest ranking factors Google uses when ranking websites is looking at how many links on other websites are pointing to your website.

Importance of SEO for MSPs

SEO plays a vital role in driving sustainable growth for MSPs by increasing online visibility, attracting local business leaders, and generating qualified leads. It offers lasting results, regardless of economic conditions or marketing budget cuts, providing organic lead generation that future-proofs marketing efforts.

Organic Audience Growth: SEO helps in growing an audience and generating leads organically, attracting more qualified traffic over time.
Revenue Impact: Even a few new clients acquired through SEO each month can significantly impact revenue in the long term.
Targeting Multiple Customer Segments: SEO allows MSPs to target various customer segments effectively, expanding visibility and lead generation across different sectors and locations.

On-Site SEO for MSPs

So, what does good on-site SEO look like for an MSP?

There are six key areas, and some important considerations for each:

Copywriting – Every page of your site should provide optimal value for your visitors. That means high quality writing that is focused on specific pain points of your target personas, and how your company can resolve them. Don’t blindly follow the guidance of SEO tools that may recommend stuffing your site with keywords. To provide value to your site’s visitors, it’s most important to be clear, focused, and relatable in your copywriting.
Service Pages – At the same time, no matter how good your copywriting is, if you don’t have a page on your site dedicated to a specific service, it’s unlikely you will rank for that term in the search engines. If you provide IT Consulting, make sure there is a page on your site titled “IT Consulting,” that explains exactly what you offer.
Industry Pages – If you target a specific industry, create a page on your site that explains how you serve that industry. For example, if you’re targeting medical offices, you may mention that you’re HIPAA compliant and include testimonials of your happy medical office customers. This can benefit your MSP SEO and it can also be useful to your sales team.
Location Focus – Ranking on the first page of results for something like “IT Support USA” is nearly impossible unless you’re a large corporation with a huge budget for SEO. However, ranking on the first page for something like “IT Support Portland” is a much more achievable goal. Once you’ve identified your local region target, include it in your site’s title tags.
Title Tags – Title Tags are HTML elements that define the name of each page of your site. Your title tags should accurately and concisely describe the content on the page. For example, a good title tag for your IT Consulting page might be “IT Consulting – Portland | Company Name.” A search engine can easily understand the content of the page so it’s more likely to show in the search results if someone in Portland searches for “IT Consulting.”
Crawlability – On the technical side, you need to ensure that search engines can crawl and index all the pages on your site that you want to be shown in search results. Likewise, you should make sure that search engines can’t access pages that shouldn’t be included in search results (e.g., the backend of your website or landing pages that you’ve duplicated for various marketing campaigns).

This isn’t a fully inclusive list for on-site MSP SEO, but it’s a good starting point and will help build your SEO foundation. If you decide to build your MSP Website with Pronto, on-site SEO optimization is included. Pronto’s Search & Advertising team conducts on-site optimization when your site goes live and will gladly answer any questions that you have along the way.

Once you’ve got your on-site SEO taken care of, it’s time to start thinking about how you can stand out from your competitors. If your competitors have their site optimized with good copywriting, service pages, location focus, etc., why should the search engine rank your site higher than theirs?

Search engines are trying to deliver the best search results to the searcher. So the question becomes, what can you do to make your site the best search result? This is what I’ll be covering the the following sections.

MSP Keyword Research

All SEO content must start with keyword research. Without this step, you risk creating a page for a term no one is searching for or a keyword that is too competitive for your website, and so you stand little chance of appearing in the top 10. If you’ve never done keyword research before, what I’m going to tell you next will save you hours of work.

What is a Keyword?

A keyword is a term or phrase added to content to improve its search engine rankings for those specific terms. Keywords are important for SEO because they help search engines understand the relevance and context of a web page, making it more likely to appear in search results when users search for those keywords or phrases. A “target keyword” is the main keyword you want a page to rank for.

Locally Targeted Keyword

Keywords that target your local area is a must for every MSP. Even if your business operates state-wide, you can target local keywords across the country. Not only do local keywords have good search volume, but they tend to be easier to rank for than national keywords.

The Local Keyword Formula for MSPs

If there’s anything to take away from this keyword section, this is it! Something we’ll talk about later is creating “location pages”. These are pages targeting different cities that you serve. To find the target keywords for these pages, you can use the keyword research tool of your choice, or this free tool by Ahrefs will do the job, too.

There are some nuances and techniques an SEO expert can use, but the basics of finding target keywords for MSPs is to check the Ahref keyword research tool for one of the below services plus the city you want to target.

managed it services + city
it consulting + city
it support + city

These are by far the best terms to try. You can also try other common MSP services like “cloud services + city” or “cybersecurity services + city”, but depending on the size of the city, there may not be enough search volume to spend time creating a service page for.

Now, you want to compare the KD (keyword difficulty) with the volume. KD is primarily based on how many websites link back to the websites appearing in the top 10 for the keyword. So, if you have no plans on building backlinks to your website, avoid any KD above 15. In our example, “managed it services tampa florida” is a great keyword to go after because of its low keyword difficulty but relatively high search volume. Once you’ve decided on the local keyword(s), we can go on to creating a location page.

Location Pages for MSP SEO

If you haven’t heard of the term “location page” in local SEO, then you are missing out on one of the best opportunities to get highly relevant traffic to your website. This is especially important for service area businesses, exactly like Managed Services Providers.

Because most MSPs have either one physical office or are completely remote yet service multiple areas within your local area or state, creating location pages to target each area you cover is essential for local SEO.

What Are Location Pages

Location pages are essentially landing pages designed to appear in search results for “service name + location” searches, for example, “it support tampa.” Your office location might not be in Tampa, but you may still cover this city. By creating a dedicated page about IT support services in Tampa, you stand a chance of Google showing your page in search results to potential customers.

Ranking a Location Page

Most best practices that go into ranking other keywords also apply to ranking a location page. There are some extremely helpful tools that can aid with page content creation for SEO, like Surfer SEO, but if you follow these tips, you stand a good chance of ranking your location page.

Keyword research: It’s important to choose a keyword that has a good search volume and isn’t too competitive. For a free tool, you can use this keyword generator by Ahrefs. Type in either IT Support, Managed IT Services, or IT Consulting, followed by a city. Look for keywords under 15 KD (Keyword Difficulty) and above 20 in monthly search volume. These will be fairly easy keywords to rank for.
Target keyword placement: A rule of thumb is that the target keyword should be placed on the page around 3 times. These locations are in:
- The title tag
- The meta description
- The page H1 tag
Content length: Depending on how competitive the keyword is can depend on how much content you should write. To get an idea, put your target keyword into Google and click on other competitor location pages. Be sure to find like-for-like pages and not something like a local directory, then take a look at how long the page content is. You should be writing around the same length of content.
Page content: You can think of location pages similar to regular service pages. So you should still be writing about the service, customer pain points, and how you solve them, but you can also include local-specific information. This can be testimonials from local clients in that city or tech issues specific to that area. If your office is not too far from the target city, then you can also include an embedded Google Map on your page.
Backlinks: This is a whole new SEO field in itself, but the more competitive a keyword is, the more important building backlinks to your page becomes. Backlinks to your location page from other websites act as a vote of confidence, elevating the authority of your page in Google’s search engine ranking algorithm. Your competitors are almost certainly doing this, so to have a chance at competing with them, you should too.

On-Page Optimization

On-Page Optimization, also known as On-Page SEO (Search Engine Optimization), is a crucial aspect of digital marketing that focuses on optimizing individual web pages to improve search engine rankings and attract organic traffic. This process involves ensuring that the content on a webpage is relevant, user-friendly, and structured in a way that search engines can easily understand and index it. By implementing On-Page Optimization techniques, websites can rank higher in search results and drive more relevant traffic to their pages

The Basics of On-Page Optimization

We’ll get into how we optimize pages with a specific tool designed for the job, but if you want to do it yourself without any additional tools, follow these best practices

Content Structure – Look at what type of content is appearing in search results. Google is fantastic at understanding the searcher’s intent. So if the top ten usually include a list, it’s a signal that searchers want to see a list, if the top ten are generally picture heavy, you need pictures, etc.
Content length – Look at your competitors’ ranking for your target keyword and how much they have written. Try to aim for around that amount.
Target keyword placement – You typically want to mention your target keyword in 4 key areas: title tag, meta description, H1, and body text
Add a map and local information – If you’re creating a locally targeted page, and you have an office nearby, add a map to the page. If you have testimonials from nearby clients, add those too.

On-Page Optimization With Surfer SEO

Our go-to tool to aid on-page optimization is Surfer SEO. What Surfer basically does is compare the top-ranking websites for your target keyword, then tell you, based on their content what you need to add to yours. Google has selected these top-ranking websites for a reason, so if there are any similarities in keywords used, you want to have this on your own page, too.

The import step to take first is to go to the settings cog and select like-for-like competitor pages. So, if you’re writing for a blog post, choose other blog posts. If you’re writing a location pages, choose other location pages.

Once you’ve selected pages you want to compete against, you’ll have a list of keywords to include in your content, as well as the number of suggested headings and images. Then start writing as normal. It’s best not to try to fill in keywords per paragraph but to write as you normally would. Once you’ve finished, then come back to see which keywords are missing and where they could fit naturally. Keep going until your content score is in the green.

Local SEO for MSPs

Clutch, Google, and Online Reviews for MSPs

MSPs take note. There are some websites that you will have a hard time outranking, and one of them is likely Clutch.co. If you haven’t noticed them before, try going to Google right now and typing in “managed it services” plus a local city, for example, “managed it services orlando”.

If you don’t see Clutch, then you’re likely to see similar websites like Cloudtango, Expertise, or UpCity, and they are there for a reason. Through Google’s constant A/B testing of search results, they’ve found that these websites help users a lot. Google’s results are not only showing you results users are visiting but also where you should be promoting yourself.

Ranking on Clutch, Cloudtango, or UpCity

Unlike ranking on Google, ranking on Clutch is almost entirely based on reviews. If your website is new, it naturally takes months or years to rank for competitive keywords, but if you have a good-sized client base that is happy to leave you a review, ranking in one of these websites’ top ten can take much less time. Just bear in mind that you don’t want to spread your efforts too thinly across multiple review websites, as it’s much better to appear on page 1 of one website than to appear on page 2 of three.

Social Proof

Getting Clutch reviews is not only a powerful way to rank and gain more exposure on their website. The reviews you gain on Clutch (or similar websites) can also be used as social proof on your own website via their widget. In fact, if you have a good number of reviews on any 3rd party website, it’s essential to show them off. If you’re not sold already on why reviews are important, I’ll try to hit this home for you.

The power of using reviews from Clutch on your website is that 100% of their reviews are verified and consumers trust Clutch reviews because of this. So, the more reviews you can get on websites like Clutch, the better you can increase trust in future customers to do business with you. Here’s an example of one of our clients who’s added a Clutch badge to their website, showing off 41 reviews.

Finally, websites like Clutch also have the opportunity to win awards. This is another great way to be recognized as a top-performing company because it’s often not enough to tell prospects why you’re the right choice; you have to show them why other customers think you’re the right choice.

Winning at Local SEO with Google My Business (GMB)

Local SEO for MSPs is crucial if you’re looking to improve your online presence and attract more local leads. One of the key components of local SEO is optimizing your Google My Business listing (a.k.a. Google Business Profile). By claiming and optimizing your profile, you can significantly impact your rankings on Maps which appear at the top of the search engine results page.

To start, make sure you create a complete and compelling business profile on Google My Business. Provide accurate information about your services, contact details, upload photos, and choose 2-3 business categories. This ensures that potential customers can easily find and connect with you. Then once the set-up is done, encourage your satisfied customers to leave reviews on your listing. Positive reviews not only build trust with potential customers but also contribute to higher rankings on Maps. By using local SEO strategies, you can tailor your GMB profile to meet the specific needs and preferences of your target market.

When optimizing your Google My Business listing, remember to incorporate local SEO techniques. For example, focus on including relevant keywords in your business description, responses to reviews, answers to questions, and posts

Another key local SEO technique for MSPs is leveraging Google My Business posts. To send Google a positive signal that your MSP has fresh and relevant content for local searchers, you’ll need to post regularly on your GMB profile. Share special offers, product updates, and event details. These posts provide additional opportunities to engage with local searchers and drive more traffic to your website.

Learn more by watching our webinar on GMB for MSP, The Only Marketing You’ll Get for Free!

Using Automation for Local SEO

Automating some tasks can help save time for you to focus on brainstorming ideas or reviewing data to establish the next steps. For local SEO, there are a number of tools that can help you schedule Google Business Profile posts. These tools can also give you an overview of how your listings are ranking in what’s typically called a “geogrid,” which is essentially a map overlaid with a grid, with each dot on the grid representing a specific location and the position you rank there.

Scheduling Posts

It’s important to keep your listing acting. This helps Google and prospects see that you’re actively engaging with your customers, which encourages prospects to engage with you back. Two popular tools for this are Local Viking and Bright Local. Once you have your posts written, you can schedule them to be posted at a later date.

Creating Citations

Manually creating citations can be very time-consuming, but there are companies that can handle this for you and can save you hours of work that you can spend on other areas of your marketing. Popular platforms include Bright Local, Yext, and Moz Local.

Geo Grids

Unlike regular, ‘linear’ organic search results, local SEO ranking positions can also be tracked in a grid. This is because proximity to the searcher is a much greater ranking factor than other types of SEO. Local Viking and Bright Local are two popular platforms that provide geo grids where you can see the position your Google Business Profile ranks for each location around your business location, represented as a dot with the position you rank inside.

Here’s an example of how we tracked our efforts with a client not ranking at all to dominating their local area:

Before Local Optimization

After Local Optimization

Blog Content Creation for MSP SEO

The second piece to a good MSP SEO strategy is content – specifically on your blog. This is content that answers specific and common questions you receive from your clients and prospects. They will likely relate to technology but may cover topics that small business owners frequently search for, or questions they have that relate tangentially to your services.

The goal here is to have fresh, unique, and consistently published content.

Instead of competing only for high level terms like “IT support Portland”, you may show up for “how much should I pay for IT support in Portland” or “what are the most common problems when moving to the cloud”. These are called long tail keywords. If you answer these questions with blog content, you have a better chance of ranking when someone types them into a search engine.

For this strategy to be effective, you must put in time and money. The content can’t be taken from your vendor sites and it can’t be syndicated. It must be content that is only published on your website in order to get the SEO benefit. Content that is syndicated from other sources may help with user engagement on your site, but it provides no original value to your users and search engines will ignore it when indexing your site.

To select the right blog topics, start with your audience. Map out who you want to engage with and which personas you will write for. You can read more about MSP buyer personas to better understand some of the different decision makers who may read your blog. From here, you’ll have an easier time brainstorming blog topics that will be highly relevant to your target audience.

You’ll find a wealth of blog topics in the conversations between your sales team and clients and prospects. If you hear these questions frequently in meetings, those same people are almost certainly searching for them online. Preemptively answer these questions, provide valuable resources to your target prospects, and engage with them before they even enter the sales conversation, and you’ll enhance your brand credibility and benefit from stronger search rankings.

Off-Site SEO for MSPs

The third piece of the MSP SEO puzzle, and arguably the most important, is the relative authority of your website compared to your competitors. This includes some factors that you don’t have control over, such as the age of your domain name, and other factors that you can influence, such as the relative popularity of your site.

Remember, search engines are trying to deliver the best search results to the searcher. If a website is already popular for a certain subject matter, chances are a user searching for that subject on Google or Bing would also find that website useful. So how do search engines assess the relative popularity of a website for a certain subject matter or topic?

Search engines are constantly crawling websites with bots to identify where the content resides on the internet. But they don’t stop there. If a search engine bot sees a hyperlink, it will check to see where that link goes. If a specific blog post or webpage is getting links from several different websites, the search engine is likely to consider it popular. The links themselves are called backlinks.

To learn more about backlinks, watch the short video below:

While more backlinks going to your website is usually better, they are also weighted. Links from sites with higher Domain Authority (which in turn have more and better links themselves), will provide more value to your site if they link to you. Alternatively, irrelevant backlinks from sites that aren’t credible are more likely to harm your SEO than to help.

You can read more about Domain Authority, a score provided to individual domains and specific URLs within those domains indicating their relative strength compared to other sites, on Moz.

Speaking of backlinks, the link above goes to the Moz website so Moz just received a backlink!

So how do you influence your backlinks and Domain Authority?

It’s all about being active, building relationships, and engaging with other sites. Here are some of the best ways to generate inbound links:

Local Chamber of Commerce – Your local Chamber of Commerce site is highly credible, has a high Domain Authority, and has a strong relevance to your business. Getting your business published on their site is a good first step to building inbound links.
Guest Blog Content – Reach out to relevant sites with high domain authority that accept guest blog content. Offer to write them a blog post at no cost in exchange for a link to your site. They get quality content for their audience, you receive a backlink, and your overall credibility and exposure increases. Subscribe to our Link Building service if you’d like us to do this for you.
Press Releases – If you’ve done something truly newsworthy recently, be sure to write a press release about it. Your press release can be sent to a press distribution network such as PRWeb. Make sure that it’s something worthy of being shared. If the content isn’t newsworthy, it won’t get picked up by the news outlets and thus won’t benefit your SEO.
Work with Vendors on Case Studies – Offer to write a case study to publish on your vendor’s website – once completed, it will link to your website.

The goal here is not just quality links, but also contextual links.

You want links from content that is specifically related to the things you do. If you have an IT Consulting page on your website, for example, getting a link from a highly respected website’s blog post about IT Consulting is immensely valuable.

Ready to promote your MSP? Check out our MSP Marketing services

MSP SEO Campaign Case Study

Learn the 3 SEO tactics that helped a local MSP company achieve a 150% increase in organic traffic, 300 top 10 keywords, and 150 top 3 keywords in Google in just 10 months.

Read the case study on how MSP SEO Services Led to 150% Spike in Organic Traffic and Increase in Leads

SEO Campaign Reporting

After spending hours optimizing your website and crafting the perfect pages or blogs, a lot of your effort can almost go unnoticed if you haven’t set up campaign reporting to see how your effects have impacted your website. Simply implementing SEO strategies is not enough; understanding their impact and effectiveness is equally crucial and can help you make data-based decisions going forward.

Below I’ll take you through the exact tools we use at Pronto for reporting and why they could be useful to your business.

Our Favorite Reporting Tools

Agency Analytics

We’ll start with a Pronto favorite, Agency Analytics. The absolute main benefit of using Agency Analytics is its diverse range of 3rd party integrations. If you’re using different tools to monitor your campaign (like call tracking numbers or a Google My Business account), Agency Analytics can bring all of these metrics together into one unified dashboard. This is great to help you connect the dots and see how each part of your campaign is performing.

WhatConverts

WhatConverts is used to track leads on a website through tracking numbers, forms, or messages via a website chat. On the WhatConvert dashboard, you’re able to see how leads arrived at your website in the first place (like an ad campaign vs organic search results) and how they contacted you. Once you know what happened to that lead, you’re able to update the dashboard with any quote the potential customer was offered. This helps you add an extra layer to your reporting that shows you how much monetary value each part of your campaign is bringing in.

Google Analytics

There’s a love-hate relationship that users have with Google Analytics, especially since Google has completely overhauled and released GA4. Compared with other reporting tools, there’s a bigger learning curve with this but also comes with lots of advanced features. But even if you’re not a fan of the dashboard, Google Analytics is usually a must, if only as a tracking script to feed data into other dashboard and reporting tools, like Agency Analytics.

Local Viking & Bright Local

For any local business, you’re going to want to know how you stand in your area for certain searches. Unlike using a regular rank tracker that shows your position in the top 10, you’re going to want to use a geogrid that shows your ranking position across a grid of positions surrounding your location. This is because proximity to your business is a big ranking factor, so a potential customer near your business is more likely to see you listed in local results than someone a few miles away. Looking at geogrid reports can help you understand your reach and how effective your campaigns have been in increasing it. Both Local Viking and Bright Local have great geogrid reports for this.

AI for MSP SEO [Bonus]

AI is everywhere, and if you’re not using it, then you’re likely spending more time on your website than your competitors. The most obvious use case (and the most useful) is using AI to write website content. Thinking up content ideas and writing content is very time-consuming. This is where AI can act like a content writing assistant and can even help you brainstorm content ideas.

Google’s Stance on AI

Since the rise of ChatGPT in 2023, Google updated their new AI policy to be clear that they are “rewarding high-quality content, however it is produced.” This makes sense, as Google’s primary objective is to provide content that answers the user’s questions rather than policing who is writing it. Although Google’s Webmaster Guidelines do explicitly discourage content generated “solely for the purpose of manipulating search engine rankings”, so you should always use AI responsibly.

AI Tools for MSPs

ChatGPT – The tool that brought generative AI to the mainstream
Bard – Google’s version of Chat GPT. Eventually will be baked into search results
Surfer AI – Specifically used for web pages and SEO optimization
Jasper – An all-in-one AI copywriting application

How to use AI for MSP SEO

AI can be used in a bunch of different ways to assist website SEO. Including writing content, topic suggestions, and research. Although AI has become the 8th wonder of the world, it still needs a human to check that everything it’s writing is correct, so at the very least, you should always run the output by an editor before publishing anything on your website. If you’re using Bard or Chat GPT, you can use the following prompt ideas to help you get started.

Research

AI doesn’t just write content. It can also help you research and aid you in coming up with topic suggestions. To get started and help you better understand your ideal clients, check out our example prompts below.

Describe the common IT challenges faced by companies in [target industry].
What are the key demographics of our potential customers for MSP services?
How can our MSP services address the current and future technological needs of our target customers?
What are the primary security concerns that businesses are facing in [specific industry], and how can our MSP services address them?

Blog Topic Ideas

Once you have some insights from the research, you can then put some of these keywords into another prompt, asking for blog topic ideas around them. For example, you can use a prompt similar to this.

Based on [insert keyword here], give me 10 blog topic ideas I can write for my MSP business

Writing Content

While you don’t want an AI tool to do all the writing, it can help you get started from a blank page, give you an outline, and write sections.

Outline – Outlines are essential to get started; for this, you can ask, “Based on this blog topic, [insert blog topic], prepare an outline for a blog post.”
Definitions – In case you need to add a definition in your post, you can write, “Define ‘[insert word]’ in two sentences.”
Summaries – To help write summaries, you can ask your preferred AI, “Based on the below text, write a summary”, then add some or all of the post text below.

Would Your Marketing Agency Use AI

Almost certainly, every SEO and marketing agency you work with will use AI in one way or another. This isn’t anything to be afraid of if they are using AI to aid their efforts and not just as a shortcut to getting work done without proper human monitoring. It’s best to check if they have an AI policy you can read (here’s ours) to see how AI is being used by them.

Bringing it all together

Whatever you’ve read online, there is no “quick fix” to SEO which will get you ranking #1 in the search results. Google employs some of the smartest people in the world, and their algorithm is constantly changing and adjusting to the ways in which people try to game the system. Rather than try to outsmart them, follow the rules and make your site better and more valuable than those of your competitors. This alone will often be enough to get your site ranked higher in Google and Bing.

Lastly, don’t forget that to get new clients, you must appeal to your audience and convert them into leads via your sales funnel. SEO can help drive traffic to your site, but make sure you’re doing everything you can to convert leads and follow up with them through relevant emails. If you’d like our help, check out our Google My Business Management service that focuses on boosting your local SEO visibility.

The post MSP SEO Guide to Ranking Higher on Google and Getting More Leads + Bonus AI Tips appeared first on Pronto Marketing.

IT Firm Jumps Up Google Rankings with SEO Campaigns

Toma Juceviciute — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 07:47:25 +0000

An IT firm from Kansas City subscribed to Pronto Marketing’s fully managed SEO service in order to improve their search engine ranking and attract more leads through a well-coordinated link-building campaign.

Background

Complete Technology Services caters mainly to small and medium sized firms and provides a ‘complete’ offering of hardware, software and IT services.

Campaign Objective: Boost Online Visibility with a Strong SEO Foundation

Complete Technology approached Pronto Marketing to improve their rankings and increase their search visibility in their target areas in selected cities in the US Midwest, namely Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines.

At the start of their project, they were not ranking highly in any searches made by potential customers who were searching for services such as Complete Technology.

Ranking outside the top 10 on Google means that you are not appearing on the first page of search engine results, which significantly impacts your firm’s chances of being noticed.

Complete Technology signed up for Pronto’s Page Booster service, which is a fully-managed link-building service tailored to increase a company’s website traffic through a meticulously planned campaign of competitor analysis, keyword research, and editing and creating pages on the site that are SEO optimized.

Campaign Objective: Boost Online Visibility with a Strong SEO Foundation

The Pronto team got to work quickly, breaking the task down into six stages:

Keyword Strategy: We started by sitting down with the client and finding out which location they wished to prioritize as their target.

The customer provided its services in three cities (Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines) and so was open to suggestions.
Keyword Research and Competitor Analysis: In order to establish the best location to begin with, our team conducted keyword research and analyzed the competition to identify a list of potential location keywords to target.
Choosing the Right Keywords: Based on the search volumes, traffic potential, and keyword difficulty (the likelihood of the word featuring highly in search engine results), they identified the most suitable term – “IT Support Omaha”.

The client agreed and gave our team the green light to proceed.
Generally speaking, keywords with higher search volumes have a greater chance of generating traffic to a website. However, ranking well for such keywords can involve a considerable outlay from the perspective of a small business.
This is why it is crucial to properly evaluate each client’s circumstances and budget before deciding on a chosen keyword and making a spending commitment.
Location Page Creation & Optimization: Once the keyword was approved by the customer, the SEO specialist created a new location page to target it. The Pronto team ensured that the URL, title tags and headings were optimized for keywords, and related words and terms were used multiple times on the page to help it rank highly in search engine results.

The SEO specialist optimized the page further by running SurferSEO audits, which help to find synonymous terms that will help rank more highly than the original text. In addition, he ensured that the title tag, headings, and meta description were also completely optimized.
Google Search Console: After the new location page went live, our team of specialists submitted it to Google Search Console for crawling and indexing. It is one of the most vital stages of new page creation, as it causes the page in question to appear in search engine results which is the first step to ranking.
Building Backlinks: Finally, the new Omaha location page was ready to start getting backlinks on a monthly basis.

Good quality (from websites with high authority), and relevant backlinks are valuable for SEO because they not only represent a “vote of confidence” from one site to another but are also one of the most important ranking factors. The more quality backlinks the website has, the higher Google will eventually rank it.

Project Outcome and Next Steps

Within a year of commencing with Pronto’s Page Booster service, Complete Technology’s location page for Omaha was at an all-time high position – number 5 in Google search results.

A secondary key term, “Managed Services Omaha”, also reached previously unseen levels, coming in at number 3 by July 2022.

From having no visitors at all in May 2021, Complete Technology’s Omaha location page leapt to 723 cumulative views just over a year later.

Complete Technology weren’t featuring on Google’s first page. After teaming up with Pronto’s SEO specialists and subscribing to our Page Booster link-building service, they are now one of the first sites that potential customers see when they search for IT professionals in the company’s targeted areas.

Pronto has plenty of experience in helping IT companies unlock their online potential, and we are very comfortable handling issues that are specific to the IT services industry.
Get in touch to request a consultation and find out how we can help your business move up a gear.

The post IT Firm Jumps Up Google Rankings with SEO Campaigns appeared first on Pronto Marketing.

4 ChatGPT Prompt Templates for your MSP Marketing Projects

Matteo Trovato — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 04:21:40 +0000

If your MSP is trying to compete online, you know things move at light speed. You blink, and you’ve missed the next big thing. That’s why it’s crucial to keep your eyes open for the game-changers, the tools that can make your life easier and your business boom.

Right now, that’s ChatGPT.

AI has been kicking up quite the storm lately, but ChatGPT? It’s not just another drop in the ocean.

This thing’s a tidal wave.

And it’s all about supercharging your content execution.

ChatGPT is more than a high-speed content generator.

Its real strength? Acting as your creative co-pilot.

Given the right prompts, ChatGPT can brainstorm, outline, and build templates, acting like a creative partner on standby, ready to help craft your message to your target audience.

But remember: ChatGPT isn’t about producing complete pieces — it’s about laying the groundwork.

The human touch comes in to refine and polish, creating a powerful blend of AI efficiency and human creativity. That’s where ChatGPT really shines.

And the really exciting part?

Being ahead of the curve on this could give you a serious leg up on your competition.

It’s a crowded field out there, and anything you can do to stand out from the crowd is gold. So why not let ChatGPT help you break away from the pack?

Let’s dive in and look at 4 prompt templates that can supercharge your MSP marketing projects.

1. Crafting Compelling MSP Case Studies with AI Assistance

Case studies are powerful tools that help communicate the real-world value your product or service provides to your customers. But, creating compelling case studies that resonate with your target audience can be a tough nut to crack. That’s where ChatGPT comes in.

Your MSP case study prompt template:

Imagine you’re a marketing strategist for an MSP company — [your company name]. Your task is to craft a compelling case study highlighting the benefits of [your product/service] for [your client company name].

The case study should feature key performance metrics such as [key performance metric #1], [key performance metric #2], and [key performance metric #3] to demonstrate the positive outcomes of their use.

Also, incorporate [client testimonial #1] and [client testimonial #2] to showcase the real-world value your product/service brings to your clients.

The AI will generate a detailed case study draft, allowing you to focus on the finer details.

To make it even easier for you to generate your outline right here, right now, we used Zapier’s new Interface platform to create the AI prompt we just outlined above.

All you need to do is enter your unique info to generate your case study outline instantaneously!

2. Accelerate Content Creation: Designing MSP Web Page Outlines

Creating a needle-moving web page outline can be a slog. But no worries! ChatGPT can help accelerate this process significantly.

Your MSP web page prompt template:

“Can you assist me by creating an SEO-focused MSP web page to showcase [your product/service] to [your intended audience]?

Your task is to craft an effective outline that contains optimal headings and subheadings with relevant keywords to the MSP industry.

In addition, provide an ideal title tag, meta description, and URL structure to make the webpage more attractive to search engines and improve its reach to potential MSP customers.”

The AI will then create a structured plan for your content, providing a solid foundation to build upon.

3. Transform Your MSP Landing Pages with Persuasive AI Suggestions

Want to supercharge the conversion potential of your landing pages? ChatGPT can assist by generating persuasive copy that resonates with your target audience.

Your MSP Landing Page prompt template:

“Can you provide compelling copy suggestions for an MSP landing page that promotes [your product/service] to [target audience]?

The purpose is to enhance the headlines, call-to-action, and highlight the essential benefits. Refer to the existing landing page text provided for inspiration.

[copy and pasted landing page text].”

The AI will offer suggestions that can potentially enhance your landing pages’ conversion rates.

4. Ignite Creativity: Brainstorming MSP Blog Topics with ChatGPT

Coming up with fresh, engaging blog topics can sometimes feel like a chore. The research, the MSP SEO considerations, the creative juices — it can feel like a lot.

Fortunately, ChatGPT can help spark creativity by generating a list of relevant blog ideas that captivate your target audience.

Your MSP blog topics prompt template:

“Brainstorm a set of ten compelling blog topics tailored for people interested in MSP and cybersecurity services, with a specific focus on [theme or issue], that captivates their attention and keeps them coming back for more.”

Conclusion

Yes, AI is powerful and ChatGPT is a trailblazer, helping you create a higher volume of quality content that engages your audience.

But here’s the thing — while AI has made tremendous strides, it’s not at a point where you can directly take its responses and paste them onto your website.

It’s more than just about increasing content quantity. It’s about igniting creativity and letting your MSP’s brand truly stand out.

Embracing this AI-marketing revolution early puts you ahead of the pack. But, the journey into AI can feel a little overwhelming, can’t it? Well, that’s where we at Pronto step in.

Whether it’s publishing new web pages, launching landing pages, writing blogs, or refining and posting compelling case studies, our MSP Website service is here to turn these projects into reality.

So, are you ready to supercharge your content strategy with ChatGPT and Pronto? Let’s level up your content game together!

If you’re already a part of the Pronto family, let’s elevate your website projects with the power of ChatGPT. Submit a new support request and let our WordPress experts breathe life into your AI-enhanced content.

For those just discovering Pronto, we invite you to explore how our team can seamlessly transition your AI-generated MSP content from mere concepts on your screen to engaging realities on your website. Request a consultation today.

The post 4 ChatGPT Prompt Templates for your MSP Marketing Projects appeared first on Pronto Marketing.

Updated Landing Pages to Increase Google Ads Conversion

Melissa Farnworth — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 13:43:50 +0000

Background

Digital Boardwalk specializes in Managed IT Support, providing Cloud Computing and Network Security in Pensacola, Lakeland, Panama City, Mobile, Gulf Shores and Montgomery.

The Project: Google Ad Landing Page Update

Digital Boardwalk shared their own design mockups, outlining their preferred design layout

Digital Boardwalk operates in a competitive market and has been running Google Ad campaigns for its IT services and support offerings.

Feeling like their campaign landing pages needed a facelift to increase conversions, the Florida-based firm leveraged Pronto’s Website Support service to implement their desired changes.

Digital Boardwalk had two design mockups for each of their landing pages designed internally, outlining their preferred layout which allowed for a faster production process.

Support Tip: If you don’t have your own design, Pronto can handle your request from scratch. But it’s always a good idea to outline your main points as much as possible in a shareable doc.

The Website Update Request

An email to Pronto Support got the project started:

Hello,

We need to update a couple of the existing landing pages we have for our Google Ads.

I’ve attached 2 separate folders for each page with a mockup of what we want the pages to look like once updated, as well as the related assets and a text document explaining the details for each.

The URLs we need to update are https://www.digitalboardwalk.com/lp/it-services/ and https://www.digitalboardwalk.com/lp/it-support/

Please let me know if you need any further information from me to get started on this.

If possible, we’d like to preview the pages before taking it fully live so we can make sure everything looks good and set up our tracking.

Thank you!

Pro tip: It’s better to organize your landing pages under a parent page — it will help with tracking traffic and goal conversions and Google Analytics.

Project Breakdown: Client Preparation & Participation Leads to a Swift Outcome

After validating the design mockups, our team bypassed steps two, three, and four of our process (see above) and moved immediately to page development.

Once done, we delivered a page demo for each of the IT firm’s pages and took feedback.

In a swift round of revisions, Digital Boardwalk requested to resize and reposition its logo as well as update the phone number in the header. Our support team made the changes immediately and sought final approval.

Thanks to the IT firm’s preparation and active participation throughout, the new landing pages were approved and published live on the site in less than two weeks.

CRM integration options:

Embed your CRM form directly on your landing page
Use a plugin that connects your form to your CRM
Use a third-party integration tool such as Zapier

Project Outcome & Next Steps

Digital Boardwalk ad prospects are now met with two new landing pages that are optimized for conversion

Landing pages are often enough the first page on your website that a visitor sees, which means they are your most powerful chance to make a pitch for your services. With this in mind, Digital Boardwalk wanted to put its best foot forward and do so quickly.

After working with Pronto Support, Digital Boardwalk now has two new Google Ad landing pages with impactful, high-converting content elements to entice their prospects.

The new pages look fantastic! Thanks for all your help on this!” — Kina Robinett, Marketing Manager.

Pronto’s WordPress Support team can help you transform your own service pages, or complete any other website edits or projects you have in mind — all for one monthly fee!

Request a free consultation, or if you’re already a client – submit your support request here.

The post Updated Landing Pages to Increase Google Ads Conversion appeared first on Pronto Marketing.

MSP Adwords Management Best Practices To Get More Leads

Tim Kelsey — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 04:25:00 +0000

One of the biggest marketing challenges for MSPs is measuring results and calculating the ROI of marketing campaigns. For instance, SEO campaigns can increase traffic, but tracing a specific lead to an SEO campaign can be extremely difficult given how many variables are at play.

Google AdWords, on the other hand, allows you to display ads to a specific audience and track exactly how they respond to those ads. You can determine which keywords and ad copy get the most clicks, which convert best, and which result in new clients. Moreover, you can calculate exactly how much each lead costs compared to the monthly recurring revenue they generate for your business to calculate your ROI.

Not only is it easier to see the results of every dollar you spend with Google, but you can start seeing results within 3-6 months, which is much faster than most alternatives. At Pronto, we manage AdWords campaigns for many of our MSP clients and have learned a lot over the years. In this article, I’ll cover the critical steps we follow to create and maintain successful AdWords campaigns.

Keep in mind that this isn’t an all-inclusive guide, but rather an overview which will help you better understand how AdWords works so you can assess if it’s right for your business. If you’re interested in getting started with Google AdWords, we offer a comprehensive Google AdWords Management service which you can learn about here.

Listen to our expert’s interview on TUBBTALK about How Google Ads Can Work For MSPs

Step 1 – Keyword Research

The first step is to determine which keywords you’d like to target. These are the terms you suspect your target audience will search for when looking for an IT solution. Your audience might use search terms that you haven’t thought of, so you’ll want to conduct some research. Google provides a keyword planning tool directly in the AdWords platform, but we recommend brainstorming keyword ideas using other keyword research tools as well.

Here are a few tools we use when conducting keyword research for our AdWords clients:

Once you have a long list of keyword ideas, check the search volume of those keywords and confirm that they are specific enough. Remember, with pay-per-click advertising you’ll pay every time your ad is clicked. Broad and generic keywords can get a lot of irrelevant clicks which will cause you to burn through your ad budget quickly.

Step 2 – Campaign Planning

After creating a list of keywords you feel are relevant to your efforts, you need to organize them into ad groups. It’s important to develop a good account structure that segments terms into related groups of 8-12 keyword phrases.

To organize your campaign, we recommend putting everything into a spreadsheet. This will allow you to group your keywords and plan your ad copy to match the keywords that your prospects are searching. You can download our campaign planning template here.

Once you have designated the ad groups you’ll be using, create 2-3 ads for every ad group. These ads should each include the keyword in the headline of the ad, with copy focused on the features and benefits of the service as they relate to the needs of your audience. For example, if someone is searching for “IT Support,” your ad should explain the benefits of your IT Support solutions.

This may seem like a lot of upfront work, but you’ll reap the benefits once your campaign is launched. Organizing your campaign this way will allow you to easily evaluate the performance of each ad group and remove low performing keywords so you can get the most from your ad budget.

Step 3 – Landing Page Creation

Now that your keywords and associated ads are organized into ad groups, you should create landing pages for each ad group. For example, if a user searches for “IT support” and sees your ad about IT support, they should be directed to a landing page specifically about, you guessed it, IT support.

Make sure the headline and content of your landing page match your ad copy. Individuals who click your ad will be directed to a page that matches their search query so they won’t need to hunt around your site. Google understands this is a more enjoyable experience for their searcher, so your ad will be rewarded with a higher Quality Score. This means that your ads will be given preferential treatment when compared to competitors with less optimized campaigns.

Typical conversion path from Google AdWords:

When creating landing pages, it’s very important that you include a clear call-to-action above the page fold. A call-to-action (CTA) is just the action that you’d like your visitors to take. For example, your CTA may be a free consultation or network assessment. Ideally it’s a free offer that can be given away in exchange for the visitor’s contact details.

Step 4 – Campaign Setup

Now you’re ready to set up your campaign in the Google AdWords platform. If you used our campaign planning spreadsheet, it will be relatively easy to migrate the data over. Once everything is imported, you’ll just need to adjust some settings before activating your campaign.

Network Type

Start by selecting “Search Network” as the network type. Google offers access to its display network, but we don’t recommend using it just yet. We’re strictly focused on the ads that display when someone searches in Google rather than visual ads that display on other websites.

Budget

Next you’ll need to define your campaign budget on a per day basis. We recommend starting relatively small with a budget of $2,000-$3,000 per month. That works out to roughly $100-$150/day, assuming your ads are set to run on only weekdays. Additional options for budgeting on a campaign and keyword basis will be available after initial setup.

Ad Delivery/Rotation

Since you created multiple variants for each of the ads in your ad groups, you will want to set your ads to rotate evenly. Google can also choose the “winning” ad for you, but it’s better to get some more substantial data on ad performance before delegating this task.

Schedule

When setting the schedule for your ads, you can choose which days of the week they will display as well as the time of the day they will display. We recommend only showing your ads on weekdays and daylight hours – usually between 7am-10pm at the latest.

Targeted Region

Here is where you will decide which region to target with your ads. You can choose based on distance from your office or you can select specific zip codes. Choose the option that best fits your business model and range. The key here is to be as targeted as possible.

Additional Settings

There are countless options available in the AdWords platform. We’re only going through the basics in this blog post. If you’d like a more in-depth guide, check out our Google AdWords Tips article.

Step 5 – Campaign Launch

At this stage, you should be ready to launch your campaign. You may want to keep making adjustments prior to launch, but the best way to make improvements is to start collecting data.

Starting on a Monday is ideal so you can gather a full week of data. When you turn on a campaign for the first time, it should start running within an hour.

Step 6 – Campaign Management

We mentioned at the start of this article how important routine maintenance of your account will be. Without ongoing management, you risk spending money on keywords that don’t drive results, having high quality ad groups turn off due to Quality Score issues, or worse. So take time to review your account every day, looking at:

Adjusting keywords and ads if they aren’t performing as expected.
Removing underperforming ads completely so they don’t use up your budget.
Adding negative keywords so that your ads don’t appear for terms that aren’t related to your services.
Reviewing conversions for quality and determining which ads and landing pages they are coming from.
Matching conversions to booked meetings and new clients. Calculating the average MRR of each client to help you determine your return on investment from Google AdWords.

To get the most out of your Google AdWords efforts, you should spend a few hours in the system every week. Over the course of several months, your time investment may decrease, but make sure to set aside a bare minimum of 30 minutes to an hour every day when you first start.

A quick explanation about Google Adwords for managed service providers

Pronto can also take the weight off your shoulders if you don’t have the time to allocate to managing your campaign. You can learn more about our AdWords service here or schedule a call with our team.

Bonus Tips for AdWords Success

If you follow every step listed above, you will have a well-structured, researched AdWords campaign, ready to drive targeted traffic to your website. If you’d like to take your marketing campaign a step further, here are some ideas on how to get even more value:

Retargeting – Retargeting allows you to show ads to people who visit your site. If the user leaves without submitting a form, your ads can follow them to other websites to remind them about your services. This gives you a second chance to convert visitors that would have otherwise been lost.
Offer a Secondary Call to Action – Your primary call to action is designed to convert prospects to sales qualified leads, but a certain percentage of site visitors won’t be ready for a sales conversation. To offer them value, use a secondary CTA for an eBook download or related offer. Designed for people earlier in the buyer’s journey who are not yet ready to talk on the phone, this will help capture more leads who can then be entered in nurturing tracks.
Nurture Your Leads – Last but not least, don’t forget to nurture your leads after they convert. If someone fills out a form on your site, be sure to follow up. For some, this may be a direct phone call. For others, however, including those who download content or who don’t answer the phone, use an email drip campaign to stay front of mind for several weeks after they convert.

Google AdWords is a powerful resource that offers a unique opportunity to drive immediate traffic to your website in your target area based on searches you know your target audience is using. Do your research in advance, build a solid campaign, and invest time as you start running your campaign and you’ll see the kinds of results you’re looking for.

Learn more about our marketing services for MSPs.

The post MSP Adwords Management Best Practices To Get More Leads appeared first on Pronto Marketing.

IT Firm Adds Service Area Pages to Lay Local SEO Foundation

Melissa Farnworth — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 08:52:08 +0000

Background

Since 2006, Cloud Coco has been helping UK businesses of all sizes and industries succeed by providing enterprise-grade technology at small-business prices. Their team delivers solutions and services that help improve organizational performance and effectiveness with complete life-cycle IT services.

The Project: New Service Area Pages to Establish Strong SEO Foundation

Cloud Coco requested 17 new service area pages to not only inform visitors of their intended reach but to also establish a strong local SEO foundation.

Their team had a pre-designed layout in mind and tasked Pronto to emulate it as much as possible.

Cloud Coco’s ‘Services Areas’ page indexes each of its 21 service locations

The Website Update Request

A clear and informative email to our support team got the process started.

Good morning,
Can you please assist in increasing the number of new area pages we need to be done? These will all be linked to from the Services Areas Page:
https://cloudcoco.co.uk/about-us/it-support-uk/.
Can you also please base the design of each page on the current Leeds landing page:
https://cloudcoco.co.uk/it-support/leeds/
When creating each page, can you please ensure the embedded google maps location is updated and that any pictures we use are geotagged to these locations?
If you have any questions at all, please let me know.

Project Breakdown: 17 Pages Done in Less Than 4 Weeks

At the request of the client, the project was separated into two phases — 12 pages for the first phase and five pages for the second phase.

Our support team started phase one by sourcing images and icons and by following the reference layout provided. The first batch took exactly two weeks to complete.

The second phase began once the remaining copy was received. Once done, the Cloud Coco team reviewed our work and confirmed that it matched their requirements.

Some additional requests included the addition of meta tags, shortening of breadcrumbs, and changing the footer.

Thanks to active cooperation from Cloud Coco, our support team got the project done in less than four weeks.

Project Outcome & Next Steps

Pronto’s Support team built each location page according to Cloud Coco’s existing layout

Cloud Coco leveraged Pronto’s Website Support service to spread the word on its nationwide coverage. By having service area pages for each of their service locations, the IT firm now offers its visitors an opportunity to consider IT solutions close by — no matter where they are in the UK.

But it doesn’t stop there. These new location pages serve as the foundational groundwork for an effective SEO strategy to rank higher in local Google searches.

“Thank you so much for sorting these. This is a really big piece of work by you guys and I’m really impressed with the outcome!” — Peter Nailer, Head of Marketing

Pronto’s WordPress Support team can help you add your own service area pages, or complete any other website edits or projects you have in mind — all for one monthly fee!

Request a free consultation, or if you’re already a client – submit your support request here.

The post IT Firm Adds Service Area Pages to Lay Local SEO Foundation appeared first on Pronto Marketing.

Top 5 Sales & Marketing Tools for IT Company Websites

Adam Selley — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 13:31:28 +0000

Is your IT company website optimized for lead generation and customer service?

As an MSP, you understand the value of data collection and streamlined processes. The same value can be applied to your biggest online sales and marketing engine — your website.

There are a number of WordPress tools available to help with everything from email marketing to sales automation. Here are some of our favorite sales and marketing tools for IT company websites:

GlassHive, a robust sales and marketing app designed especially for IT companies
ActiveCampaign, a highly customizable sales automation and email marketing tool
Keap, a CRM platform that can also handle appointments scheduling and payments
HubSpot, an all-in-one growth platform that provides CRM, marketing, sales, and customer service tools
Gravity Forms, a popular plugin for creating and embedding contact forms

In this post, we’ll cover what to look for when choosing add-ons for your site. Then we’ll share five of the best IT sales and marketing WordPress tools. Let’s go!

How to Choose the Right Tools for Your IT Company Website

Most IT companies need to keep track of large amounts of information on both current and potential customers. Following up with leads, tracking appointments, and maintaining client records are crucial tasks that take a lot of time.

As such, finding preferred website add-ons that streamline or automate sales and marketing efforts can enable you to do more with fewer resources.

As a small or medium-sized business, any website tool that can save you time will be beneficial. You might want to concentrate on finding tools that enable you to gather, interpret, and leverage actionable data about website visitors without requiring a superhuman effort on your part.

Top 5 Sales & Marketing Tools for IT Company Websites

Now that you know what to look for when choosing WordPress tools for your IT company website, let’s have a look at the top five (in no particular order).

GlassHive (formally Honey CRM)

GlassHive, formerly known as Honey CRM, is a sales and marketing app designed specifically for IT service providers. Implementing a line of code will enable your website forms to feed directly to the CRM application.

Key Features:

Native integrations with ConnectWise, Autotask, Office365 and more!
Multiple automations for repetitive tasks
Branded marketing content designed for MSPs
Bulk actions to make following up on leads quick and easy

GlassHive’s contact research feature can simplify your contact management processes. Enter whatever information you have on a potential customer. Then, this CRM app goes to work searching Google and social media platforms to fill in the gaps. The tool then uses this data to build a profile for your lead.

You’ll also gain access to a collection of marketing content. Your team can use it in your website content, social media posts, or email marketing campaigns. Choose from infographics, white papers, and other materials to help entice new clients to your IT business.

If you’re already using other tools for marketing, such as Gmail or HubSpot, you’ll be pleased to know that they integrate well with GlassHive. These integrations should help to eliminate some of the headaches that can accompany migrating to new systems.

Price: Prices range from a limited free version to $499 per month.

ActiveCampaign Plugin

You may already be familiar with ActiveCampaign. However, did you know there is also a WordPress plugin available? Adding this tool to your website enables you to connect it to your ActiveCampaign account.

Key Features:

Site tracking for more precise segmenting
Live chat widgets for your website
Detailed reports to zero in on your most engaged contacts

ActiveCampaign could be an ideal choice if you’re hoping to automate some of your marketing tasks. The plugins allows users to embed an ActiveCampaign form on your site. It can capture lead information and trigger an email series, helping targeted email campaigns run more smoothly.

You can also use ActiveCampaign to segment your audience according to a variety of parameters. For example, you can isolate clients who are likely to leave and take steps to prevent them from moving to competitors. Additionally, if you’re ready to bring on new customers, you can build a segment of contacts who consistently open your emails and focus on converting them.

Price: The plugin is free with ActiveCampaign subscriptions ranging from $15 to $279 per month.

Keap

Keap, formerly Infusionsoft, is another powerful CRM that integrates with WordPress in many ways. You can connect your Keap account directly to your website or take advantage of the Infusionsoft Official Opt-in Forms or Infusionsoft Landing Pages plugins.

Key Features:

Enables you to build engaging landing pages to collect leads
Has tools to create sales pipelines
Integrates with payment processors such as PayPal and Stripe

When it comes to automation, Keap has a lot of flexibility. You can set up appointment booking on your website using the platform’s built-in scheduler. Then, you can create a workflow that automatically sends a reminder after a certain number of days. It’s a thoughtful feature to offer your clients that doesn’t sacrifice your valuable time.

Keap also has an Advanced Automations builder you can use to set up custom workflows for your IT company. Since Keap integrates with many other powerful apps, the possibilities are pretty impressive.

Price: Prices range from $79 to $199 per month, depending on how many contacts you have. Keap also offers a 14-day free trial.

HubSpot

HubSpot offers a free WordPress plugin that allows users to leverage its HubSpot email marketing, CRM, forms, popups, and live chat features on their WordPress website.

Key Features:

Enables website forms to be automatically synced with HubSpot CRM
Email marketing & newsletter automation
Live chat and chatbot features to enable 24/7 customer support

HubSpot enables you to grow your IT business to greater heights. By using their plugin, you can turn website visitors into leads, nurture them into customers, and measure your business growth.

With HubSpot’s free plugin you can easily engage visitors with live chat and chatbots, and convert leads with forms and popups. The plugin also allows you to build responsive email newsletters directly inside WordPress, and nurture your leads with marketing automation campaigns.

Price: The plugin is free with HubSpot premium software subscriptions ranging from $45 to $3,200 per month.

Gravity Forms

Gravity Forms is a popular and easy-to-use contact form plugin. Using its visual editor, you can build forms that will work with your MSP website.

Key Features:

Integrates with Keap, ActiveCampaign, ConnectWise, Autotask, and many other online services
Includes responsive contact forms that should work well across various devices
Enables users to save forms and complete them later

If you’re looking to add even more functionality, check out the official Gravity Forms Add-ons. These extra programs enable integrations with CRMs, payment processors, and other business tools. There are also many third-party extensions available from the Community Add-ons Directory.

One of our favorite features of Gravity Forms is its integration with ConnectWise. After setting this up, users can have form submissions to be automatically sent to their ConnectWise account. This feature makes it easier for users to keep track of client performance issues and security threats.

Gravity Forms offers over 30 pre-built form fields you can use to gather all the information you need. To avoid overwhelming customers with a large number of questions, you can take advantage of conditional logic. With this feature, you can show users only the most relevant fields based on their input.

Price: A license for Gravity Forms ranges from $59 to $259 per year. A limited free option is also available.

Conclusion

Choosing the correct MSP marketing and sales tools for your IT website is an excellent way to generate leads and improve the overall customer service experience for your clients. They can also streamline processes and make life easier for you and your staff.

Do you need help maintaining and choosing the right sales and marketing tools for your IT website? At Pronto, we can get your WordPress site optimized.

The post Top 5 Sales & Marketing Tools for IT Company Websites appeared first on Pronto Marketing.

Top 5 Mistakes MSPs Make That Prevent Killer Growth (and how to fix them)

Tim Kelsey — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 07:12:00 +0000

Watch the webinar recording

Webinar contents

Mistake 1 – Not starting with a plan
Mistake 2 – Not knowing your audience
Mistake 3 – Working with an ineffective website
Mistake 4 – Lack of sufficient activity
Mistake 5 – Not measuring success

Need help marketing your MSP?
See how Pronto’s MSP Marketing services can help.

The post Top 5 Mistakes MSPs Make That Prevent Killer Growth (and how to fix them) appeared first on Pronto Marketing.

New Partnership With Honey CRM: An Easier Way For The IT Channel To Connect Digital Marketing & Sales

Pierre-Emmanuel Mol — Thu, 27 May 2021 10:15:13 +0000

On May 06, 2021, Pronto and Honey CRM announced a new partnership to bring a holistic marketing offering to tech businesses of every size.

By combining Honey CRM’s scalable sales and marketing platform with Pronto’s unique MSP marketing and website services for small businesses.

“Honey and Pronto share a common mission: Help IT companies execute their sales & marketing campaigns,” says Tim Kelsey, Managing Director at Pronto Marketing. “Honey CRM is a great solution that works seamlessly with the website & marketing platforms IT companies already use. Our customers that use Honey have been successful at automating their email marketing, staying on top of each sales activity, and tracking results.“

“We’re excited for this new opportunity for us and Pronto,” says Rafael Sanguily, Vice President of Strategic Alliances at Honey CRM. “It will allow us to help partners create a complete solution for their brand, marketing, and sales efforts. Together, we can give IT companies great visibility of their marketing and sales performance with prescriptive automated sales and marketing processes along with data on how to make the right adjustments to grow their company — all in one solution.”

This partnership is bringing great benefits to the channel, including:

A completely scalable marketing platform
Best-in-class marketing processes and tactics
More ROI opportunities for small businesses

What is Honey CRM?

Honey CRM is the sales and marketing platform made for the tech industry.

It was developed from the ground up by channel experts who worked along tech companies of all sizes and experienced the struggles they had with sales and marketing.

Honey was created as a scalable, simple and fun answer to those struggles, providing salespeople and marketers a tailored platform to help them succeed.

For more information contact:
Rafael Sanguily
Honey CRM
(469) 965-2557
rafael@honeycrm.com

The post New Partnership With Honey CRM: An Easier Way For The IT Channel To Connect Digital Marketing & Sales appeared first on Pronto Marketing.

3 Lead Magnets for Your MSP to Get More Prospects & Clients

Tim Kelsey — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 02:39:11 +0000

Do you find it hard for your MSP company to stand out?

The Managed IT Services industry has become overcrowded in the last five years. So what can you do to take over the competition?

Let’s face it: Every MSP claims to provide the best customer service or cloud back up solution. So sayin’ it ain’t so…

What can you really do to position your brand as unique? The short answer: You become a leader by showcasing your expertise.

Thought leadership is one of the few remaining differentiators that can truly make you unique from the competition. But it can’t be the same old materials.

Your prospects are looking for someone with a strong record of success that provides value and high-quality service to their customers; they want a partner who can keep up with changing market conditions and regulations. You can present that image with the right lead magnets.

Let’s look at three educational marketing offers that only an MSP can offer, and that will help you stand out in what is likely a crowded local marketplace.

Educational Marketing Offers By Managed Services Providers

1. eBooks

eBooks are a dime a dozen these days. You can find templates, white-label copy from vendor partners, and thousands of spins on the same topics on your competitors’ websites.

So, how do you write an eBook that stands out and provides actual value to your prospects? You ask them what they need to know.

Not all markets are the same in terms of industry or geography. The questions you get if you work exclusively with medical offices are probably different from those you’d get if you worked with law firms and ad agencies.

Ensure the eBook you create is something unique to you as an MSP and that speaks to your target audience’s problems. Here’s how:

Start with a clear idea of what you want the eBook to do – Is this designed to solve a common problem for ALL prospects? Or is it designed to help people choose between you and another provider? What level of the funnel are they at?
Talk to your customers and review your feedback data – What are people asking about? If you’re building a top of funnel educational eBook, what questions are people asking related to security updates, cloud conversions, or backup restoration? What can you help them with? If they’re asking frequently similar questions about your services, what kind of eBook can you write that addresses those questions more directly?
Is it valuable enough to solicit an email address? – Are you giving them something they can’t get elsewhere for free? If you essentially rewrite the latest article from an IT services magazine, it’s not enough. It needs to have your personal spin on it.

Keep in mind that a good MSP ebook aims to provide value, introduce your company, and showcase your unique selling proposition. If you don’t do those three things, the content isn’t strong enough to stand on its own.

A recent Website Build by Pronto for Stratus Technology Partners shows a great example of an ebook download element your homepage should have.

2. Downtime Calculator

One of the easiest ways to show your prospects the value of what you do is with math. Calculating exactly how much money they stand to lose through downtime and illustrating what your company does to avoid that downtime.

Here’s an example of a downtime calculator for MSPs:

The tool does three things:

It shows exactly how bad things are if systems go down when under a deadline or working with limited resources.
It can show the total cost of that downtime, plus the repair to fix it, making for easy comparison against the cost of retaining an MSP.
It provides a measurable result that can be shared with management internally, which simplifies the buying cycle.

Is the downtime calculator more work than an eBook? Yes, but the value it provides to prospects, especially if they are not the final decision-makers, is immense.

Struggling with marketing? Get help with Pronto’s Marketing Blueprint

3. Situational Case Studies

Every business should offer case studies that showcase the hard work they’ve done for their clients, but an MSP has an advantage that other industries don’t. The sheer range of different situations in which your services are essential.

Your website should feature case studies that focus on several different business issues that your non-technical prospects will understand.

Remember, these are not IT people. They are office managers and small business owners. They have concerns and want a partner they can trust, but don’t particularly care how the sausage is made. They just want to see results.

Anyhow, your case studies should focus on the following:

Productivity improvements
Downtime reductions
Actual revenue increases or recaptures
Repair reductions and cost savings

If you can talk to people in terms of the two things they care most about (time and money), it will resonate far more than how technically sophisticated a particular installation was. At the same time, you can highlight emergency work, long term retainers, short term migrations, and everything in between.

All are situational to your clients’ needs and likely to resonate for different prospects you’re targeting. Combine this with live customer satisfaction data, and NPS averages and you’ll blow them away with the information you already have.

Ready to promote your MSP? Check out our MSP Marketing services

Building a Library of Valuable Content

As a Managed Services Provider, you have a huge advantage in content development for marketing campaigns. You have lots of data in hand already like survey responses, questions from sales calls, documentation around common questions, and more.

By leveraging that data and building lead magnets designed specifically for your audience, you can capture a higher percentage of traffic on your website, build stronger relationships with new leads and establish your company as a thought leader in the industry locally.

On the other hand, if your website and marketing are out of sync, then Pronto Marketing is the way to go.

The post 3 Lead Magnets for Your MSP to Get More Prospects & Clients appeared first on Pronto Marketing.