The One SEO Tip Managed Service Providers Need To Know
Key points from the article:
- There are way too many SEO tips on the internet for MSPs, but none will work in the long run when you compromise your content quality.
- MSPs must be very systematic in creating content to dominate the search engine.
- There are some key factors of great content that Google considers for ranking and that every MSP should know.
Here is the brutal truth about SEO for MSPs.
There are way too many SEO tips on the internet for MSPs, but none will work in the long run without quality content. Many MSP will think, "if I get high quality links, Google will quickly rank my post."
However, if you're serious about dominating the search engine, you need to be very systematic with how you create your content. Otherwise, your approach won't work for your MSP business for long.
For over 12 years, we have been playing with SEO — trying to understand the Google algorithm, how it works, and everything an MSP needs to know to rank their website.
We tried to figure out several ranking factors. However, the search engine ranking would be affected whenever Google changed its algorithm. However, one aspect has stood the test of time regardless of the changing factors, such as:
- Different back linking schemes
- Changing the WordPress development platform
- Technical SEO
One tip has worked continuously, and here's the secret.
Publish Great Content
Some years back, we set up several websites that still rank well on Google even though we rarely have to tweak anything. The content on those websites appears to work well regardless of the changes in Google's algorithm over the years.
We analyzed the post to understand the world of creating great content better. Specifically, we examine how content format, headlines, and word count correlate with SEO ranking.
We uncovered some interesting findings of great content, and it's time to share what we discovered.
Here's a Summary of Our Key Findings Of Great Content
- No matter the SEO hack you use, you won't perform great in the long if you have bad content. Some tips can help you accelerate your content.
- Long-form content appears to be preferable to search engines to short articles.
- Google can rank the meta title instead of the actual title in the search engine result and choose the text to display anywhere in your Meta description or post. Don't limit words in your description because Google will decide what to show from anywhere.
- Keywords in the title are still a critical ranking factor.
Here's detailed information about our findings.
Great Content is the Unchanging Ranking Factor on Google
Your first step in dominating the search engine is publishing the best content. Humans are naturally attracted to the best. When you have content nearly everyone in the MSP industry wants to talk about, Google will naturally want to rank you.
You can create great content by executing the following steps:
- Identify a topic that's so useful that people in your industry can't help but want to link to you.
- Make what's already out there better — you can make it longer, more up-to-date, or use a better design.
Longer Posts Outperforms Shorter Posts in SEO
We work with an MSP in Alberta, Canada, which was trying to launch into Red Deer. We published one of its web pages, which started ranking on the first page of Google after a couple of days.
The ranking was not nearly as high as we wanted, but it made its presence in the top ten. Here's an analysis of why content is king for SEO:
- The post was 1800 words, a better word count than our competitors.
- The post was only plain text. Yes, we put some graphics on the sidebars, testimonials in between, and some images, but the post is all text.
When we Google searched "Red Deer IT services," the post appeared number nine and in the tenth position for "Red Deer IT Support." Given that the post was up only for a few days, it was impressive to appear in the top ten after a few days of publishing.
Google Can Return the Meta Title in the Search Results instead of the Actual Title
We found something odd while further analyzing Alberta's MSP content. Google is not returning the actual page title in the search results. Instead, it shows the meta title. The actual page title didn't show in the search results, which are supposed to be there because the title is a ranking factor. Google then truncated the meta description.
The conclusion we draw from this page is that you still need to put the title on your page and metadata. Put as much text as you want in the description because there isn't a limitation. Even though Google will truncate your description and show what it wants to, don't leave out information you find helpful.
Keywords are Still Critical in SEO
Your best shot at ranking on the search engine result page is to ensure your keyword is in your title, in your excerpt in the banner area, or at the top of your page.
Write your meta title and description with as much text as you want because Google will display what it wants to show.
Ranking Your MSP Website Well on Search Will Get You A Lot of New Business Leads
SEO is the best way to find qualified opportunities for your MSP of all the marketing approaches. The more people could find you on Google, the better you position your business to get qualified leads from passive leads.
However, that doesn't mean that you should stop doing other types of marketing, such as:
- Cold outreach
- Email marketing
- LinkedIn marketing
- Social media marketing
- Telesales
If you can master SEO and get tons of qualified leads, you'll have so many inbound opportunities that you don't need to have any outbound outreach. Yes, you can execute outbound outreach if you wish, but doing SEO well can eliminate the need for other marketing approaches.
Ulistic Can Help You With All SEO Your MSP Website Needs
For over 12 years, Ulistic LP has been helping MSPs with SEO, website management, and marketing tips. We specialize in SEO and content management and can help you as well. Contact us today for more information about our services.
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