The average-sized new account for a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can range from $1850 – $5000 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR). Closing deals at a rate of two or three new accounts a month would have a massive impact on the long-term growth of your company. So how do you get there? Your website, is likely your most important business asset and well worth the effort to turn it into a 24/7 sales machine.

On average, website conversion rates for the B2B industry hover around 2.23%, with software and SaaS companies seeing even lower conversion rates of 1.1%. In general, a 1 to 3% conversion rate is considered very good or great. Even a 1% conversion rate would be effective for gaining new business if traffic levels to a site exceed 1000 visitors per month, because a one percent conversion rate would yield 10 leads.

It all starts with having enough relevant traffic

The process starts by identifying keyword opportunities (phrases that are searched regularly in Google) that align with your top revenue-driving services. These phrases are typically going to be a service you offer combined with the city, town, or region name that you service i.e. “IT Support Albany” or “IT Consulting Raleigh“. These phrases tend to have a lower search volume, so you will need to rank in the top 10 search results for twenty to thirty phrases that align with your top revenue-driving services if you want to see conversion rates of 0.5 to 1.5%.

Yes, there are several factors that drive conversion rates on a website, but it all starts with having enough relevant traffic coming to your site. Therefore, improving your search engine visibility by creating quality content for your main services pages is the starting point. Then you will need to develop several quality backlinks to each of these pages. Keep in mind the number of backlinks needed will depend on the competition and the quality and quantity of their backlinks. As a rule of thumb, you should start out with 3 – 5 good backlinks with DA scores above 30.

MSPs should create targeted landing pages for each service they offer. These landing pages need to provide detailed information about the specific service being offered, including features and benefits, information on your process for delivering these services, and why prospects should choose your MSP to service them. The pages should have approximately 1,000 words and contain several subheadings and 5 to 10 images. The goal is to make sure potential customers know exactly what they’re getting when they buy from you.

Once a prospect reads the above information and believes you offer the services they need, it’s time to build their confidence in your business.  This is done with elements like customer testimonials, case studies, certifications, and awards.

At this point, the customer is ready to be presented with calls to action such as:

• Schedule a free consultation
• Get a free network security assessment
• Download our free e-book
• Sign Up for our monthly Tech Tips

We will dig into some of these conversion elements later in this post.

Many marketing experts believe you must present flashy calls to action at the top of every page to generate conversions. A/B testing and behavioral research show that visitors follow a logical sequence. They will engage with a CTA after they know you offer the service they need, and they have confidence that your company has the experience and credentials to deliver. Therefore, content should be presented in the following order:

• Details about the product or service
• Features and Benefits
• Explain your process
• Why they should choose your MSP
• Trust-building elements such as these:

1. 1. Testimonials
   2. Case Studies
   3. Certifications
   4. Awards

• Calls to Action such as these:

1. 1. Book a Free Consultation
   2. Get a free network security assessment
   3. Get our free e-book
   4. Sign Up for our monthly Tech Tips

Content marketing has become one of the most popular forms of lead generation among MSPs today. Marketers have shifted their focus from traditional means (print advertisements, TV commercials, etc.) to digital methods that draw people in such as SEO, social media posts, and PPC ads. These types of marketing efforts funnel customers to your website where you can then attempt to close a deal or make a sale. In fact, nearly all B2B businesses say content marketing generates more leads than any other method (traditional included).

The source for the above statistics is webfx.com

MSPs need to invest in producing high-quality content for their websites on a regular basis. Content can be produced in various formats, such as:

• Blog posts
• Guest blogging
• Email marketing
• Webinars
• Video
• Article marketing

To learn more about How MSPs can use content marketing to increase MRR read my recent post on the topic.

While there are a variety of techniques used for implementing content marketing strategies, in this article we will focus on techniques for building backlinks to your newly expanded services pages. For your website to rank in search engines for relevant keywords you will need to develop well-optimized, deep content and lots of backlinks.

Once you develop that new services page you need to support it with at least 3-5 quality backlinks. This can be achieved by writing articles that focus on a related topic for the page you are trying to influence. For example, if you are getting a backlink for your IT Support page you can write an article about “How 24 x 7 Help Desk Services Will Improve Your Company’s Productivity” and post it on LinkedIn with a backlink to your IT Support page. Here are some suggestions on where you can obtain backlinks to your website:

• Your company blog
• Social Media posts
• Join the chamber of commerce
• Send out press releases
• Get listed on your partnership websites
• Guest blogging
• Article marketing

To learn more about backlinking read my recent post Domain Authority and Why it Matters

Having an up-to-date blog with fresh content helps MSPs engage with prospects and customers, establish trust in the company’s services, and encourage visitors to explore more of the website. Plus, having a blog allows MSPs to use search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to increase organic traffic, which leads to more conversions. Write blog post topics that are tangentially related to your services pages, and be sure to include targeted keywords in backlinks to the specific service page.

Book a Free Consultation

The holy grail of lead generation is the first-time appointment (or FTA). Apex Visibility discovered that offering a direct link to our client’s calendar from their website is resulting in more first-time appointments. Simply place a “Book a Free Consultation” button in key locations on each page of your website with some language explaining the benefits of the meeting, and make sure to link this button to your calendar of choice i.e., Outlook or Calendly.

Lead Magnets & Forms

Lead magnets such as ebooks, whitepapers, or a free network security assessment can help attract more qualified leads by enticing them with valuable and insightful information. Moreover, MSPs can also use general forms on their website’s homepage as well as other key web pages throughout the site as another way of capturing leads and qualifying potential customers based on their inputted information.

MSP Tech Tips Emails/ Drip Campaigns

Drip campaigns are an effective way to nurture MSP prospects and leads, and to keep your MSP at the top of their mind for when they are ready to engage. A drip campaign involves sending a series of emails over a period that focuses on providing value in the form of helpful tips, resources, and useful information.

The key to any successful MSP drip campaign is selecting the right topics and developing content that speaks to your potential customers. For example, an MSP could create a tech tips email series that provides readers with simple, actionable advice on how to create secure passwords or use apps like LastPass.

For more information on Setting Up A Drip Marketing Campaign for your MSP read my blog post.

The starting point for improving conversion rates on your MSP website is relevant traffic and lots of it. To attract prospects from organic search and convert them to leads, you will need quality content and backlinks. When the site attracts relevant traffic, your strategically placed CTAs will magically start working as a 24/7/365 salesperson.

Apex Visibility provides comprehensive SEO services including strategy, content marketing, link building, and technical SEO. Book a Discovery Meeting to learn valuable insights about your web presence.