Google Reviews: The key to MSP success

Originally published on SmarterMSP.com

If you’re considering buying a product, hiring a service provider, eating at a restaurant, etc., what is one of the initial steps you take in your research? If you’re like most people – 99 percent to be exact – your purchasing decisions are likely influenced by reviews.

As a managed service provider (MSP) marketer, most of your clients (and prospective clients) may be local. And when local prospects need IT services, they start with Google. As such, as an MSP, having your business listed via Google Business Profile is now table stakes when it comes to marketing your company online.

This means that you need to prioritize Google Reviews to boost visibility. In this post, I will get into both the “why” and the “how”.

Google favors companies with lots of reviews

Let’s do a quick Google search. I Googled “IT companies in Providence Rhode Island”.

The “Maps” results (the Google Business Profiles) were at the top of the search results, above the Google Ads and most of the organic results. Diving deeper, the top three companies all had a decent number of Google Reviews.

Google’s algorithms are designed to push the best businesses to the top of the search results. Reviews – and your responses to reviews – are a huge factor in this process. This indicates that your MSP is active and engaged with its clients.

Ultimately, the quality of the companies and content Google places at the top of the results page is crucial to maintaining its status as the top search engine. If a business owner Googles “IT companies near me” and hires the first MSP on the results page – and it turns out to be a scammer – this makes Google look bad. If this is common, people will use other search engines.

The more Google Reviews you have, the more credible the ranking algorithms see you.

Social proof is everything for IT companies

The IT industry is all about relationships. Most of the MSPs we provide marketing services to at Tech Pro Marketing have clients they’ve worked with for 30+ years. They go to each other’s events, barbecues, etc.

As an MSP, you play a pivotal role in your client’s success. You keep their systems working seamlessly, protect them from hackers, and are on call to fix anything with their technology infrastructure. In other words, you’re a close extension of their business.

Hiring an MSP is a huge decision – and business owners don’t trust just anyone to fill this role. Unfortunately, your brand messaging will only go so far as to convince prospective clients to invest in your services.

The best service providers, restaurants, etc., earned their status because their customers vouched for them. The words of a third party with no ulterior motives will always hold serious weight. Remember, your Google Reviews will be the first impression of your company with many prospects.

If they see positive, detailed reviews about what it’s like working for you, you have a serious leg up in your sales process.

How can you get more reviews?

Ask!

Surveys have found that 7/10 consumers leave reviews if a company simply asks them.

But it’s not that easy. You need to think about a) who you ask for a Google Review, and b) how you ask for it.

Start with your long-term clients – ideally, ones you’ve worked with for at least a year.

Regarding how you ask for a Google Review, you must go beyond: “Hey, can you please write me a Google Review?” You need to be sure you’re getting more than a star rating and a few words in the review. The more details, the better.

On the other hand, you don’t want to ask for so much information that it feels like a chore. Try to stick to these questions:

• What was life in your business like before you started working with us?
• How have we impacted your day-to-day work?
• Are our technicians easy to work with?
• Do we solve issues quickly and completely?
• What are the results you’ve seen from our partnership?

You know your clients. Do your best to choose ones you know will be stoked to write you a detailed, glowing review.

Over to you

Getting favorable Google rankings is no easy task. The best IT companies spend thousands of dollars every month on local SEO, Google Ads, and more to get placed at the top of the right Google results pages.

While you should certainly invest in Google Ads (this is a topic for another day), your Google Business Profile needs to be a top priority – and that means gathering reviews.

Are you struggling to move up on the Google search engine results? My team can help you. Send me a message on LinkedIn or get in contact through my website.