[MSP] Search Equity
Utah MSP Search Equity Index · measured October 8, 2026

How 33 Utah MSPs show up when buyers search, and when they ask AI.

We scored every local Utah managed IT provider with 20 or more Google reviews on the same 100-point scorecard, using public data. Only aggregate figures are shown here, no MSP is named or ranked, and the firms I've worked for are left out.

65
is the median score out of 100
71+
is what it takes to be in the top quarter
10 of 33
had no new Google review in the last 90 days
Where Utah MSPs land

Where all 33 MSPs land on the scorecard.

Invisible 0–39 0
Findable 40–59 11
Competitive 60–79 16
Search Equity 80–100 6
By metro (office location)

Medians for each metro with at least 5 MSPs scored.

MetroMSPsMedianTop quarter
Salt Lake18 6677
Utah County11 5968
Davis/Weber1 too few to show
St. George4 too few to show
All Utah336571

We only print a median where at least 5 MSPs were scored, so no single firm can be picked out. An MSP with offices in two metros counts in both.

Area by area

AI visibility is the weakest area.

The median MSP earns 9.1 of 24 points there (38%). Each bar below shows the median MSP's share of the points available in that area, with the weakest one highlighted.

Reviews & referral sites (26) 75%
AI visibility (24) 38%
Web presence (18) 54%
SEO architecture (18) 78%
Website stack (14) 57%
Every check

How the 33 MSPs did, check by check.

"Not measured" means we couldn't read a source. It is shown as such, never guessed, and left out of that MSP's score.

Reviews & referral sites · 26 points · median 19.6

CheckPtsPassPartlyFailNot measured
20+ Google reviews per office52940—
Google rating 4.5 or higher53300—
New reviews in the last 90 days7131010—
Owner replies to 80%+ of reviews41995—
Listed on 3+ referral and review sites519131—

AI visibility · 24 points · median 9.1

CheckPtsPassPartlyFailNot measured
Named when buyers ask AI for an IT company1251414—
Website cited when named551117—
AI crawlers allowed in33030—
Answer-first content and FAQs47215—

Web presence · 18 points · median 9.7

CheckPtsPassPartlyFailNot measured
Google Business Profile claimed and complete, every office613200—
Name, address and phone identical on Google, site and directories5021012
Real office address in the target metro, shown on the site32571—
Named experts with credentials4113172

SEO architecture · 18 points · median 14

CheckPtsPassPartlyFailNot measured
A page for each core service522614
Location pages for the cities they serve317484
Industry pages317394
Schema: LocalBusiness, Service, FAQ47179—
Sitemap and no index blockers32940—

Website stack · 14 points · median 8

CheckPtsPassPartlyFailNot measured
Core Web Vitals pass on mobile400033
Content is in the HTML (server-rendered)33300—
HTTPS and security headers312201—
Site kept up to date2181401
Call and form tracking21995—
What separates the top quarter

The 9 MSPs scoring 71+ against the other 24.

Passes the checkTop quarterThe rest
Location pages for the cities they serve100%40%
New reviews in the last 90 days78%25%
Site kept up to date89%44%
Industry pages89%45%
Named when buyers ask AI for an IT company44%4%
Who AI names

89 answers, four metros.

We asked Claude with web search the questions a business owner asks when looking for IT help, several times each, in every metro, on October 8, 2026. So far that is one engine on one day.

MetroAnswersNamesTop 3 share
Salt Lake203334%
Utah County203434%
Davis/Weber303231%
St. George193230%

"Names" is the number of different businesses named across that metro's answers, and "top 3 share" is the share of all MSP mentions that went to the three most-named firms. We don't publish which firms were named, but any MSP can ask for its own result.

More from the same audit

What the homepages, team pages and ad libraries showed.

Local Utah MSPs with 20+ Google reviews whose homepage reads as a managed service provider. Measured October 8, 2026.

FindingCountShareSource
Run their website on WordPress
18 of the 24 sites whose platform could be identified (75%); 9 could not be identified and are counted as not WordPress.
18 of 3355%homepage audit (Firecrawl), platform read from the page source
Offer no guide, report, checklist or quiz in exchange for an email
Homepage only; an asset buried deeper in the site is not counted.
16 of 3348%homepage audit: links and buttons for a guide, report, toolkit, assessment or quiz
Do not mention an AI service on their homepage
Homepage only. Partner-sourced AI services count when the homepage names them.
27 of 3382%homepage audit: AI services, AI readiness, AI advisory or automation offers
Are not in Google's top 10 for any 'IT support' or 'managed IT services' search in their own metro
10 of 33 (30%) are not in the top 50 for any of them. One reading per search; positions move day to day.
23 of 3370%Google search results, signed out, located in each city (Apify Google Search, top 50); 12 searches across 4 metros; each MSP judged only on its own metro's 2 to 8 searches
List no marketing person on their team page
A team page shows who a company chooses to show; it is not a headcount.
31 of 3394%team or about page, read for marketing titles
Name a salesperson (sales, business development or account executive title) on their team page4 of 3312%team or about page, read for sales titles
Have at least one person with a clear sales title on their LinkedIn company page
Base is the 27 MSPs whose website links a LinkedIn company page; 6 link none.
12 of 2744%LinkedIn company People page linked from the MSP's own website, headlines read by hand
Ran at least one ad in the last 90 days
9 of the 11 on Google. Window: 90 days (since 2026-07-10).
11 of 3333%Google Ads Transparency Center (by domain), Meta Ad Library and LinkedIn Ad Library; an ad counts only when it links to the MSP's own website
MSP listings (an MSP in two metros counts in each) were never named when we asked an AI assistant the buyer questions for their metro
One AI engine so far. Base is 34 metro listings for the scored MSPs (one MSP serves two metros), each checked against that metro's runs.
12 of 3435%Claude with web search, fixed buyer prompts repeated per metro
Who is in it

The rules for inclusion.

The index covers local Utah managed IT providers with 20 or more Google reviews across their Utah offices, whose homepage reads as an MSP. Repair shops, software firms, internet providers and out-of-state or regional chains are not included, and the firms I've worked for are left out of every figure.

Being in the index doesn't depend on being a client, and being a client never changes a score.

Limits

What this cannot tell you.

  • AI visibility so far comes from one engine on one day, and answers change from one run to the next.
  • Page speed couldn't be read from real-visitor data for these sites, so that check is not measured for any of them.
  • Homepage and team-page checks read what a business chooses to show, not what it has internally.
  • Scores are a snapshot of October 8, 2026. Sites change, so the index is re-run each quarter and every update is dated.

See your own score, privately

Run the one-minute search check, then ask for your full snapshot on the same scorecard. It arrives by email within one business day, and goes only to you.