A Missouri managed service provider had worked with several agencies and still had no coherent strategy for qualified web leads. Here is how our MSP PPC management team rebuilt its paid search.
Client
TierPoint, a managed service provider based in Missouri
Industry
Managed services and IT infrastructure (B2B)
Services
Paid search (Google Ads, called AdWords on the original page), custom landing page, call tracking
Scope
Paid search for highly expensive keywords, with conversion and call tracking support
Headline result
55% lower cost per click, with higher click-through rate
Digital Success built a custom paid search campaign for TierPoint, a Missouri managed service provider that had engaged several agencies for separate tasks. Paired with a custom landing page and call tracking, the campaign brought cost per click down 55% and raised click-through rate.
55%
lower cost per click (published headline result)
3
documented workstreams: paid search, landing page, call tracking
The challenge: several agencies, no coherent strategy
TierPoint, a managed service provider in Missouri, was struggling to build a powerful online identity and to drive qualified web leads. It had engaged multiple agencies for different tasks and, as a result, lacked a coherent digital marketing strategy.
Our MSP PPC approach: one paid search strategy, built for expensive keywords
Digital Success developed a custom paid search campaign for TierPoint on Google Ads (named AdWords on the original page). The documented solution has three parts.
| Workstream | What we did |
|---|---|
| Pay-per-click management | Ran paid search to bring in better quality traffic for highly expensive keywords. |
| Custom landing page | Built a custom landing page designed to maximize conversions. |
| Call tracking and marketing automation | Added marketing automation, including call tracking, to improve the sales cycle. |
The results: 55% lower cost per click
The campaign brought TierPoint's cost per click down by 55%, and click-through rate increased. The case study does not publish the click-through figure.
Source note. The headline result above is the figure Digital Success publishes on its case studies page. The supporting data behind it (baseline, time period and measurement method) is not published in this case study.
| Measure | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per click | Down 55% | Published headline result |
| Click-through rate | Increased | Direction only; figure not published |
| Leads, qualified leads, cost per lead | Not reported | Not published |
How to read the sections that follow. Each section carries a tag. Campaign evidence means activities and results documented in this engagement. Industry context and recommended practice are general guidance from Digital Success; they were not measured in this campaign and are not results. Illustrative examples are labeled as such and are not client data.
Why PPC Is Different for Managed Service Providers
INDUSTRY CONTEXT + CAMPAIGN EVIDENCE
Managed services are a high-consideration, business-to-business purchase. A single contract can be valuable and long-lived, so advertisers will pay a lot for a click, and search volumes for the most relevant terms are often small. That combination makes account structure and conversion tracking matter more than raw traffic.
TierPoint's case reflects it. The documented focus was better quality traffic for highly expensive keywords, supported by a landing page built to convert and call tracking to connect ads to the phone calls that follow. The earlier setup, several agencies each handling separate tasks, is a common reason B2B accounts lack one view of which clicks turn into leads.
Which of your keywords cost the most?
- List your highest cost-per-click keywords
- Confirm each one has a matching landing page
- Track calls back to the keyword that drove them
How IT Buyers Search for Managed Services
INDUSTRY CONTEXT + ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES (NOT TIERPOINT'S REPORTED KEYWORD SET)
The formats below are illustrative. TierPoint's actual keywords were not published.
| Intent | Illustrative format | What the buyer needs | Campaign and landing page fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service search | "managed IT services", "managed service provider" | A shortlist of providers | Search ads to a core service landing page |
| Specific need | "managed cloud hosting", "IT security services" | A match to one requirement | Tightly themed ad groups with a matching page |
| Local or regional | "managed IT services [city or state]" | A provider nearby | Location-specific ads and pages |
| Comparison | "[provider] alternatives", "[provider] pricing" | A fair comparison | Comparison content and retargeting |
| Ready to talk | "managed IT services quote", "MSP consultation" | A fast way to reach someone | Call tracking and a short contact form |
Paying a premium for MSP clicks?
See where your budget is going and which keywords earn the calls.
Beyond CPC: Measuring MSP PPC Performance
CAMPAIGN EVIDENCE + RECOMMENDED PRACTICE
A lower cost per click is a useful efficiency signal, but it does not on its own show that the program is working. Cost per lead is cost per click divided by conversion rate. If the conversion rate held steady, a 55% lower cost per click would lower cost per lead by the same proportion. That is illustrative arithmetic, not a reported result, because the case study does not publish conversion rate or lead data. Cheaper clicks can also mean lower-intent traffic, which is why the measures below matter.
| Measure | Why it matters for an MSP | Reported here? |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per click | Efficiency of the auction | Yes: down 55% |
| Click-through rate | Ad relevance | Increased; no figure |
| Landing page conversion rate | Whether clicks become inquiries | No |
| Calls and form leads | The volume of inquiries | No |
| Qualified leads and cost per qualified lead | Sales-accepted demand, not raw volume | No |
| Pipeline and revenue | The business case | No |
Competing MSP marketing case studies often report lead counts per month and the cost of a qualified lead. Reporting those figures alongside cost per click is the clearest way to show value for MSP lead generation services.
COST PER LEAD MATH
A lower CPC only pays off if conversions hold.
We look at cost per click, conversion rate and call tracking together, so you see cost per lead, not just clicks.
Turning MSP Clicks Into Qualified Leads
CAMPAIGN EVIDENCE + RECOMMENDED PRACTICE
Documented: a custom landing page and call tracking sat alongside the paid search campaign. Recommended practices that build on that approach:
- One landing page per intent. Send service searches, specific-need searches and comparison searches to different pages.
- Track calls as conversions. Many MSP buyers call; call tracking shows which keywords drive them.
- Feed sales outcomes back. Mark which leads became opportunities and shift budget toward the keywords that produced them.
- Use remarketing. Buyers rarely convert on the first visit.
Need landing pages that turn expensive clicks into leads?
Talk to us about landing pages and call tracking built for MSP buyers.
What Other MSPs Can Learn From This Campaign
CAMPAIGN EVIDENCE, THEN RECOMMENDED APPLICATION
| Lesson | What happened here (documented) | How to apply it (recommended) |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidate your strategy | Work spread across several agencies became one paid search program | Give one team ownership of keywords, ads, landing pages and tracking |
| Focus on expensive keywords | PPC aimed at better quality traffic for highly expensive keywords | Review the keywords costing the most and check each has a matching page |
| Convert on the page | A custom landing page was built to maximize conversions | Test the headline, form length and call button |
| Connect ads to calls | Call tracking was part of the sales cycle support | Report calls by keyword and campaign |
Key takeaways for MSP PPC
- One strategy beats many tasks. The campaign replaced fragmented agency work with a single paid search program.
- Landing page and tracking matter as much as bids. The solution paired PPC with a custom landing page and call tracking.
- Pair efficiency with lead quality. A 55% lower cost per click is a strong start; qualified leads are the measure that matters next.
Frequently Asked Questions
MSP PPC management is the planning, optimization and measurement of paid search campaigns for managed service providers. For TierPoint it combined a custom Google Ads campaign, a custom landing page and call tracking.
Cost per click came down by 55% and click-through rate increased. Lead counts, qualified leads and revenue were not published.
Managed service contracts are valuable, so many providers bid on the same terms. The documented approach was to focus on better quality traffic for those expensive keywords rather than on volume.
Not automatically. Cost per lead depends on conversion rate as well as cost per click. This case study reports the lower CPC but not conversion or lead figures.
What This Case Study Does and Does Not Establish
This page documents what Digital Success did and the work described above. It is not a controlled experiment, and some questions cannot be answered without data that was not published.
What the documented work supports
- Cost per click came down 55% under the campaign, and click-through rate increased.
- The program combined paid search, a custom landing page and call tracking.
What it does not establish without additional data
- The baseline, time period or spend behind the 55% reduction.
- The size of the click-through rate increase.
- Leads, qualified leads, cost per lead, pipeline or revenue.
- Which workstream contributed most. They were delivered together.
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