Google Ads For MSPs: Everything You Must Know

It’s an exciting time for managed service providers (MSPs). A recent research report found that the global managed services market was assessed at $215 billion in 2020, and it is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate of 12.7% between 2021 and 2028.¹ The biggest challenge now is determining how to capture your share of that market growth. There are a variety of marketing strategies that will help you accomplish that goal, and Google Ads for MSPs is one of them.

Understanding the Power of Google Ads

Google dominates the search engine market and has ever since Google Search was introduced in 1997. In June 2021, Google enjoyed an 87.76% market share². If you’re going to advertise on the internet, Google is the safest bet for ROI.

• Google will increase the traffic to your website. When people are looking for answers, they search the internet first – starting on Google. Google’s dominance among search engines means you’ll be advertising on the search engine that generates the most traffic. The more traffic you receive, the higher the number of conversions you’ll likely achieve. 
• You can target searchers that match your buyer profile. You don’t want to waste your money promoting your business to people who will never use your services. You can write Google Ads that appear directly to your target audience, and they’ll be there to listen.
• You can use retargeting. Retargeting, or remarketing as Google calls it, is the practice of using third-party cookies to track someone as they move around the internet and serve ads to them that will promote a return to a website they’ve already visited. Even with the prospect of Google ending third-party cookies, there will still be ways to reach prior visitors to your website.

How Can Google Ads Work for MSPs, Specifically?

Three of the most common challenges for MSPs include remaining competitive with smaller budgets, waiting for the return from a long sales cycle, and lack of experience managing Google Ads campaigns. However, the right strategies will help you overcome those challenges. Here are just a few:

Strategy #1 – Local Focus

While you may market your services nationwide, your MSP likely serves a primary geographic area. Giving your advertising a local focus (as well as your SEO) can help you reach your audience for less money. Using Google Ads’ geo-targeting feature, you can select to only show your ads to users in the geographic region you primarily serve. This allows you to target your messaging to that region while ensuring your ad dollars only get spent on users looking for your services in the market in which you serve.

Strategy #2 – Choose “Foot-in-the-door” Keywords

If you do keyword research with either the Google Ads Keyword Planner or a premium tool like SEMrush, the odds are that the high-volume searches aren’t keywords soliciting a managed services provider for the long-term. The audience you are more likely to find through ads will be those trying to fix critical problems quickly. For instance, terms like “it support”, “security breach”, or “data recovery” are likely to yield a higher volume of searches while also being a user more ready to make a buying decision. Meeting these users in their time of need gets your MSP’s foot in the door. If you can solve their immediate problem, you will likely be invited to solve more in the future.

Strategy #3 – Enable Searchers to Take Direct Action

The foot-in-the-door audience will be ready to take direct action. Ensure your ads both enable and compel them to do so. Adding extensions that connect your company's reviews, location and phone number to your ads can provide searchers with relevant information to aid their decision. For phone calls, it is especially a good idea to track them with a service like CallRail to help determine the quality of the leads generated by ads.

Need Help With Your Plan?

Running effective Google Ads for MSPs takes in-depth knowledge of the features Google Ads offers and how to use them. For example,

• You can use the data Google collects for closed-loop marketing, analytics, and reporting
• You can improve your results by using video in your ads
• You can use lead scoring to maximize your ROI

With an experienced partner like Mojenta, you can capture your fair share of the growing MSP market. Learn more about how our digital advertising help can support the growth of your business.

Sources:

1. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/managed-services-market
2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines/