Are you worried about your SEO?
Are you trying to show up higher in Google or in AI searches?
Welcome to our guide to advanced SEO for self storage! We’ll cover topics such as optimizing on-page content, backlinks, and how to show up in ChatGPT responses.
If you haven’t already done so, check out our Self Storage SEO Basics post before continuing.
That guide covers the top priorities for self storage operators, including:
Already looked and ready for the next steps? Let’s get advanced!
So, what is a "Content Strategy"? Why is it important for a self storage business?
Content strategy for a self storage business website means creating, organizing, and managing all written and visual content to attract customers, build trust, and drive conversions. This includes both SEO-driven and conversion-driven content.
Your self storage business’s content strategy will help you stay on track to show up higher on search engines and convert leads into renters.
Your content strategy should cover at least the following:One of the first things you need to decide is what kind of content you need to create and how you’ll structure it.
For a website, the simplest way to think of this is in what kinds of pages and components you’ll need.
Here are more details on the types of content that the majority of self storage websites need:
It’s common for SEO resources to suggest a blog. But does it have any value for a self storage website?
For the vast majority of self storage businesses, the answer is no.
If you have the extra time and money to make a blog work, then it may be worth it if you can check off one of the following boxes:
There’s almost no value in having a few dozen general blog posts about storing Christmas decorations or spare furniture for most small operators.
A lot of SEO advice online focuses on blogs. Why? It's because they're a great choice if you're trying to appeal to a national (or even global) audience. Well-written blog posts with original content are great for organic SEO on a broad scale.
Blogs enable businesses to establish thought leadership, increase their overall authority in Google's eyes, and encourage backlinks, leading to a gain in search rankings over time.
Blogs can work for local businesses, but they often aren't worth the lift. You need to take time to constantly craft unique content that offers something new and has actual value to your market. Even then, it won't be a direct source of revenue and will depend on you putting in the work to connect with other local online resources and creators for minimal gain.
You don't just need content on your website – you need the right kind of content with the right kind of keywords!
For storage, these are pretty easy to find. Most customers use simple combinations of “storage units” and their local region, whether that’s a city or a smaller area within the city. The most common search term customers use is actually “storage units near me.”
However, it’s also possible to target some conversational queries. These queries are common for voice search, and they’re becoming even more common with the advent of AI search.
Here are some examples of conversational queries for self storage SEO:
Another term for these kinds of keywords is long-tail keywords.
The two examples above are common ways people search for storage, and including these kinds of phrases in your content can help you show up.
Another strategy is to target very niche long-tail keywords, such as “storing christmas decorations in Warwick, NY.” These will have far lower search volume, but targeting them can allow you to show up above competitors for these leads.
What is technical SEO? Why does my self storage website need it?
Technical SEO covers a lot of the “behind-the-scenes” aspects of SEO. It deals with the website’s coding. It helps search engines understand your website and can also impact how they choose to rank it.
Technical SEO includes:
If you’re not technically inclined, you might want to tag in your website developer for this one!
Technical SEO is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to showing up and securing rentals.
Here’s a look at the technical SEO musts for your storage facility's website:
Note: Click a section to see more details
You could have great website content, but a worse-looking website with almost no content is beating you.
Why?
While there are a few potential reasons, one major one that self storage operators miss is their backlink profile.
This is what we call "off-page SEO", or SEO that comes from somewhere other than your website content and technical SEO.
To check your backlinks or those of your competitors, you can use a free tool like Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker.
If your competition's website has lots of other websites linking to it, there’s a strong chance that they’ll rank above you.
Check out our full post on backlinks and how to get better ones for self storage.
Short answer: Don’t worry too much (yet) about AI.
AI is basically everywhere now. Even in some places where it maybe shouldn’t be.
It’s reasonable for self storage operators to have it on the brain. But, as of the writing of this post, AI search still isn’t incredibly relevant (yet) for self storage.
But good news – the way you optimize for general search already covers most of what you need to optimize for AI!
Right now, AI consists of three main tool categories:
When it comes to Google AIOs (Artificial Intelligence Overview), you’re most likely to see AI pop up in local searches with an informational intent. This means people are trying to answer a question—”Do I need climate-controlled storage for my sofa in Orlando?”—rather than actually shopping.
Left: Commercial intent, no AIO | Right: Informational intent, AIO is present
As you can see above, the search on the left is a simple search for storage units in the city. There is no AI Overview. But the more conversational and informational search on the right shows an AI Overview as part of the result.
Thankfully, Google uses many of the same signals you’re already optimizing for – a strong Google Business Profile and a good website. When it comes to the other AI tools, check out this article on optimizing your self storage website for ChatGPT and other AI chatbots.
Bet you didn’t expect that, huh?
That’s right. If your prices are consistently higher than those of your top-ranking competitors, this could be one reason you struggle to beat them on Google.
Why? Google uses some user signals to determine how effective a site is as an answer to a query.
This means that users constantly landing on your site and quickly choosing not to rent can hurt your rankings.
A great website metric to check is your bounce rate, the rate of visitors who came to your site and then immediately left. If it's too high, that means they aren't finding what they are expecting or wanting to find on your site!
It’s important to choose the right metrics to track so that you’re chasing what actually matters: rentals.
Before we go further, there’s one special website event we should mention that is missed by many operators and their website developers: leads starting a rental.
It’s important to track this data so you can tell if users are dropping off during the rental process. If you don’t have this event sent to your GA4 (or other reporting dashboard), you have no true way of knowing whether your rental flow is effective or not.
You’ll find two lists below: one list of common SEO tools, and then a list of the metrics you should track.
SEO tools to use
Top SEO metrics to track
In addition to knowing what metrics to track and how to do so, you should also record this data and measure it month-over-month and year-over-year. These numbers will mean very little without context.
Every self storage market is different, so you can’t usually compare these numbers against industry averages (with the exception of conversion rates).
When rentals are struggling or you’re falling behind in your online performance, competitive analysis should be part of your response.
Competitive analysis (for SEO) in self storage hinges on understanding who your real competitors are and gathering relevant information from their websites.
Here's what you're looking for:
If you read any of this and felt like you were in over your head, don’t fret! After all, these were the advanced SEO for self storage tips. Here are some solutions:
Our basics will cover most of what self storage operators need to know (assuming you’re already paying someone to create a professional self storage website).
Most storage owners don’t need to get a degree in SEO, but knowing this stuff helps when you go to talk to your web vendor!
Here are some of my other favorite posts to check out!
At StoragePug, we build self storage websites that make it easy for new customers to find you and easy for them to rent from you.
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