You’ve got your new self storage website set up. It looks amazing, it allows people to rent, and everything works like a charm.
But your competition with a worse website is still ranking above you on Google search.
How did this happen?
Well, there are a lot of reasons why. But one of them could be the backlink profile of each website. Backlinks are important to your storage business's SEO strategy.
Let’s take a look at what backlinks are, how to see yours, and how you can get more!
A backlink—or an inbound link, depending on who you ask—is any link from another website to yours.
For example, if we link from this text right here to Backlinko’s article on backlinks, we’ve just created a backlink to Backlinko’s website.
In this case, storagepug.com is what is known as the referring domain.
Here’s a quick glance at the important parts of a backlink:
Above, we linked from https://www.storagepug.com/blog/backlinks (this article) to the Backlinko article.
This created a backlink for Backlinko. But there is more to understanding that backlink than just the fact it exists!
Here are some important terms related to backlinks. This will help you follow the rest of the article a little easier. We’ll use the Backlinko example where possible.
Backlinks: Any link from an external webpage to your page.
Referring domain: For the above example, storagepug.com is the referring domain.
Referring page: This is less important overall, but it’s still worth knowing. This is the exact page where the backlink originates on the referring domain. In our example above, https://www.storagepug.com/blog/backlinks is the referring page.
Anchor text: The text we used for the link (“Backlinko’s article on backlinks”) is what is known as anchor text.
Relevance: This is how related the referring domain is to the topic of the page being linked to. For example, getting a backlink from a local college’s list of nearby storage facilities would be much more valuable for your business than a backlink from a website about cool business names around the USA.
Backlink profile: If we talk about your backlink profile, it simply means all of the backlinks your website has.
There are many other pieces to understanding backlinks fully—domain authority, position on the referring page, and more—but these three are the most important for you to understand for your storage website.
Absolutely not.
Backlinks are important, but you can’t have a bad site with lots of backlinks and expect to knock it out of the park.
But if you compare two webpages of roughly equal quality on the same topic (say, self storage units in Knoxville), the amount and quality of backlinks can be the final factor in why Google ranks one higher than the other.
Due to storage websites largely being transactional, they seem to be very close together in quality to Google’s eyes.
This means backlinks are likely to play a role in differentiating your website.
Want to see what backlinks you currently have? Or maybe you’re about to start building links and want to be able to track progress as you go?
There are many free and paid tools to help. Paid tools will even give you more interesting information or display data in graphs, such as how your backlink profile has changed over time.
One free tool we can recommend is Ahref’s free backlink checker.
If backlinks are so important, how are you supposed to get them for your website?
Well, let’s start by stating that most advice you will find online about backlinks (and SEO in general) is geared toward websites that want a national or global audience.
For a self storage facility, your tactics are a bit more direct and face less competition, which is great!
Don’t Follow Generic Link Building Advice!
Like with other SEO topics, self storage is a little bit different due to the hyper-local nature of the industry.
As an example, one major suggestion for link building you’ll find online is to create original content that is actually high-quality and interesting.
You don’t need to create riveting and original blog content to build links for your storage facility because the kind of referring domains you want don’t really care if you have a cool blog.
But don’t worry! We’re not just telling you what NOT to do. We've also got some advice on what you SHOULD do.
We’ve assembled a list of link-building strategies tailor-fit to self storage.
Each of these methods is focused on two factors: relevance and quality. These are the two most important things you need to nail down to build a strong backlink profile for your storage business.
Let’s dive into each method a little bit deeper!
Local listing sites are some of the easiest ways for you to build your local backlink profile for self storage. Plus, there are even people who turn to those sites to search for local businesses before even turning to Google!
Here are some examples that you’re probably familiar with:
There are some others, but these are a few of the bigger ones!
If you need help, there are many services that can help get you set up for local citations, such as BrightLocal.
Most cities have a variety of local charitable causes and organizations. They can be focused on anything from supporting the local school system to helping with a yearly festival to helping shelter the homeless.
One way to set your business apart from competitors and get a backlink at the same time is to partner with or support these causes and groups.
Here are some quick ideas:
Check out this post to learn more about supporting your local community as part of cause marketing.
Once you’ve gotten involved, ask if they would be willing to link to your website on their own. Most organizations do this for their sponsors!
Getting involved with other businesses is a great way to build backlinks.
Some examples of businesses you can form relationships with include nearby apartment complexes, moving companies, home renovation specialists, and the list goes on.
You can even think about partnering with other storage facilities that aren’t direct competitors. After all, self storage is so hyper-local that a storage facility in one part of town may not actually be in direct competition.
A link on their site could lead to customers who find them but wouldn’t rent from them (due to proximity) renting from you instead! This can also lead to some other benefits, such as helping you keep an eye on the market state in your area.
What if I told you there was a local business directory you could join that literally existed to protect and fight for your business interests?
Well, it exists! It’s your local chamber of commerce.
It’s an easy backlink for a self storage facility, and you can even mention that you’re a part of it on your website to build more community faith in your brand.
Seeing the backlinks your competition has can lead you to find new directories to join and organizations to partner with.
Not only should you keep an eye on the competition’s backlink profile to compare your efforts, but it can actually help you build your own by contacting their referring domains!
The same free tools you use to check your own backlinks can also be used on a competitor's website.
Have you had any storage facilities close in town? Or maybe even some that rebranded?
This is a prime opportunity for you to investigate their backlinks and reach out to the referring domains.
If a local business was linking to a now-closed nearby facility as a recommended business, they might appreciate you letting them know the link is now broken and offering an alternative business to refer to customers!
In some places online, you’ll see this referred to as the “Moving Man” method of backlink building.
We’ve talked about what a backlink is and how to get them.
Now, let’s circle back to a key part of building a strong backlink profile: Relevance
Thirty backlinks from random sites that are unrelated to your self storage business aren’t as good as fifteen good, local backlinks that are relevant to your business or market.
Building your backlink profile for your storage website is an important part of SEO. It will help you rank both organically and in the local pack!
Just remember to work toward high-quality backlinks that are relevant to your business while doing it!
Here are some of my other favorites 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.
