Which Google Ads and search terms bring MSP buyers, not job seekers or students?
"IT support" searches include job seekers, students and people fixing a home printer. Most wasted MSP ad spend starts there.
- Our ads bring job applicants.
- Which keywords work?
- How do we know which clicks became clients?
Bid on terms that signal a business buyer, such as "managed IT services [city]", "IT support for law firms" or "outsourced IT company". Add negative keywords for jobs, salary, courses, certification, home and free. Target your service area, send clicks to a matching landing page and import closed deals from your CRM so Google optimizes for clients, not form fills.
Keywords by intent
| Group | Examples | Intent |
|---|---|---|
| Managed services | managed IT services toronto, outsourced IT company | High |
| Industry | IT support for dental offices, law firm IT support | High |
| Problem | office network keeps dropping, Microsoft 365 security help | Medium |
| Avoid | IT support jobs, IT technician salary, CompTIA course | None |
Negative keywords
- jobs, careers, hiring, salary, resume
- course, training, certification, degree
- home, personal, free, how to
- Specific products you don't support
Measure clients, not clicks
Track calls and forms, then import qualified opportunities and signed agreements from your CRM. Our conversion tracking guide covers setup.
How we look at it at ShoutEx
We build, run and audit Google Ads for MSPs, measured in qualified opportunities and new MRR.
- Broad "IT support" keywords.
- No negative keyword list.
- Ads sent to the home page.
- Optimizing for form fills.
- Buyer-intent keywords.
- A long negative list.
- Matching landing pages.
- CRM deals imported.
What MSP owners and guidance say
Here is what Google and MSPs say.
How negative keywords stop ads showing on irrelevant searches.
Read Google's help →Community summaries describe recurring themes in public threads, not individual posts. Vendor pages describe vendor claims, so test them on your own calls.
Read next
Go deeper in the ShoutEx guides, or check the sources behind this answer.
We'll audit keywords, negatives and tracking.
Book a call →Follow-up questions
What budget do MSPs need?
Enough for steady clicks on your core terms. Test before scaling.
Do Local Services Ads cover IT?
Check availability in your area and category.
Should we bid on competitors?
Sometimes. Watch costs and quality.