Hey Google! Where can I rent a self storage unit?
Voice search is simple. It’s quick. And it’s gaining ground on traditional search engine usage. That means the best marketing for self storage SEO includes thinking about voice search!
But what does that mean for your self storage website? Let’s find out!
Voice search is exploding in popularity, with an estimated one-third of searches being conducted this way. People are adding smart speakers and smart home devices, making it even easier for them to use voice search.
Over 40% of Americans use voice search, which is over 135 million people! And there are signs that most people prefer voice search over typing, and that the use of this technology is only going up.
Good self storage SEO will take these changing behaviors into account.Voice search has been around for over a decade, so why do we suddenly need to start paying attention to it now?
Because people are using voice search now.
And people are starting to use voice search now because it’s just gotten so much better.
The technology behind it knows how to determine the user’s intent more accurately, and the interconnectedness of all our devices means Google (or Apple, or Amazon) knows what we’re interested in, where we are, and how we talk.
Voice search algorithms now understand context as well - so if you ask about a specific company (say, StoragePug) and then say “show me reviews,” Google will know you’re still talking about StoragePug.
Search engines work better with voice searches because they have grown beyond simple keyword matching, too. Instead of typing a short, two-word query, searchers are using entire sentences to find their results because speaking is much faster and easier than typing, especially if you’d be typing on a smart phone.
This is where changes to the best marketing practices for self storage SEO begin.
Voice searches are three times more likely than typed searches to be local. This means that self storage SEO needs to be even more in line with voice search than other businesses, as most of our customers are within a few miles of the facility!
The first step for local SEO is maintaining your business profiles.
Google Business Profile is the most important of these, but having your Yelp and Bing profiles up-to-date is important as well.
Apple's voice search pulls reviews from Yelp, so be sure your Yelp profile is accurate and up-to-date! Microsoft pulls from Bing. Amazon's Alexa pulls from all of them! If you want the most customers possible to see your business, take the time to create and update your business profile on these sites and anywhere else your customers might find you!
Once your Google Business Profile is ready, shift your SEO focus to the area around you. Be sure to include local neighborhoods on your website, as well as landmarks and roads.
Use the same phrases and nicknames that your neighbors use, if you can. Not only will that provide SEO benefits, it will demonstrate to potential customers that you do, in fact, understand the area!
Be conversational!
Unlike typed searches, voice search follows natural speech patterns. The content on your website can be conversational, rather than stuffed with keywords.
(Keyword stuffing is frowned upon by search engines anyways).
That being said, your content should still be concise. Answer questions in short, digestible sentences if you can, then elaborate on them afterward.
Perhaps the best way to think about self storage voice search SEO is that the machines are getting out of the way.
By improving the algorithms, Google, Apple, Amazon, and all the others are doing a better job of letting you connect with your potential customers. While there are some specific SEO practices that will help (again, your local business profiles are vital), voice search will mirror human speech.
That’s great news for most self storage operators! While you may not be a self storage marketing expert, you certainly know how to talk to your tenants. Good voice search SEO is a lot like what you’re already doing!
We can do even better than that, though. We can use this voice search information to better understand our customers and through that, provide them with a better customer experience.
First off, essentially all voice search traffic is coming from a mobile device. That means your website needs to be mobile-friendly!
That means responsive layouts, flexible image sizes, and an intuitive layout.
We can also assume that voice searchers are busy. Voice search is perfect for when your hands are full or you’re driving - that’s one of the reasons it’s becoming popular!
Voice searchers are more likely to be ready to make a purchase. If someone wants to do a lot of research into self storage units, they’re likely to do that on a computer. If someone is under time constraints, they might do a voice search and take the best-looking option.
If you have a polished Google Business Profile (and its equivalents), you can stand out to these voice searchers! Be sure you have lots of quality photos of your facility, and that your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) are correct!
Voice searchers are looking to get rent a unit, and as a self storage operator, your job is to make that as easy as possible. Online rentals are ideal - if you can’t offer that, do everything you can to make your rental process simple and clear.
Learn more ways to improve your self storage facility with these:
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.
