Search Engine Optimization. It’s a term that is thrown around often in the online marketing world. But unlike the latest health craze or superfood, this fad is here to stay. SEO for managed service providers is crucial to their business’ success.
When you type in the name of your company and your location into a search engine, you want your company to be on the first page. If it doesn’t come up, you’re losing leads.
A high search engine ranking is extremely important. Less than 10% of consumers advance to the second page of Google. If you’re not on the first page, you aren’t being seen by 90% of consumers. That can undermine all the effort you’ve spent on MSP marketing.
But SEO for managed service providers can be tricky. Here are some tips on how to optimize your SEO in the world of IT.
It’s all about the content.
As a managed service provider, you may be more focused on the world of technology than the world of blogging. But a blog is a great way to boost your SEO.
It’s time to start writing about your technology expertise. Creating content that showcases your services and is engaging and educational for your audience is essential. This content provides fodder for backlinks and links for your social media pages—yes you heard that right. Social media.
Before we discuss the worlds of Facebook and LinkedIn, let’s talk backlinks. Essentially, a backlink is when another website links to your page. Backlinks are coveted in the world of digital marketing as Google treats them like built-in recommendations from other websites.
You can build up these backlinks with companies that are in your industry. Reach out to a quality high-ranking website and offer to let them run something of theirs on your website if they’ll let you run something of yours on theirs. Quid pro quo exchanges like these can quickly boost your website views from 1,000 to 100,000.
Create those Social Media pages
Expanding the online presence of your company helps with your SEO ranking. Becoming active on Facebook or LinkedIn is a great way to expand that presence. SEO and social media go hand-in-hand.
Building a community around your website means sharing links to your new blog and interacting with potential customers. Social media is the online version of word-of-mouth referral. If social media users start to follow your company and use your service, they’ll start sharing and liking your content.
The more people who engage with your content, the more eyes on your website and more leads for you.
Choose the Right Keyword
Choosing a keyword to highlight in your content is not as easy as it sounds. Make sure you do your research instead of just pulling one out of a hat.
When researching the right keyword to use, think about what people would type into a search engine when looking for a managed service provider. Include your location as much as possible in your keywords. A first page ranking in an area that isn’t where your business is located is not going to help your leads.
Beware of keyword stuffing. Keyword stuffing is when you overuse your keyword in ways that don’t make sense. Your content needs to be pleasant for your clients to read. Throwing in a keyword every three words does not create content that flows nicely. On top of that, Google will actually punish your SEO ranking for it.
Focus on highlighting your keyword where it makes sense and creating quality content.
Avoid the Jargon
In the world of IT, things can become jargon-y very quickly. There are plenty of industry words that will make you sound like an expert—to other IT companies.
Remember, most of the time your clients are going to be businesses that are inexperienced in IT. That’s why they’re hiring you. They don’t know a whole lot about it and they don’t want to deal with it. This is your audience.
If your content comes across as extremely hard for an industry outsider to read, then you could lose leads. Clients won’t read something that they won’t be able to understand and could leave your website with a bad taste in their mouth.
Avoiding jargon is especially important when you pick a keyword. For example, DRM (digital rights management) could be a really interesting keyword that could build a community around your website. Digital rights management protects digitized content from being pirated. It’s a hot button issue that is easy to have an opinion on.
But will everyone who reads it know what it means?
Now, don’t shy away completely from topics like this. Building a professional community around your website is important as well as creating high SEO rankings. But make sure you don’t overdo the jargon.
If you choose to use jargon in your content, make sure you explain it carefully and integrate it with a keyword that someone may actually search for. For example, you can discuss DRM but make the keyword “copyright protection.”
Don’t Go It Alone—
Obtaining a high SEO ranking can skyrocket your business leads. But SEO for managed service providers can hit some tricky obstacles along the way.
Make sure you have a partner who can guide you through the process. Here at New North, we chart the best path toward growth, crafting your message and distributing it via carefully selected channels.
We generate qualified leads, continually working to optimize our results as your company continues to grow.
