SEO strategies for storage companies that get results

There are a few statistics that stand out from the 2019 Self Storage Association UK Annual Industry Report. The first is that 56.9% of people can’t name a local self storage company. The second is that 72% of all self storage company enquiries come from their website.
What does this tell us? 
Firstly, it tells us that self storage is a brand blind game. Customers don’t start their search with a particular company in mind. They start their search with a problem in mind, and they’re looking for the company that can provide a solution.
It also tells us that playing the SEO game is essential for self storage company success.
While PPC allows you to hit a switch and direct traffic to your website instantly, SEO is more about playing the long game. It may take a while for a brand new website to rank for the right terms, but once you’ve reached this stage, you’ll have a steady flow of traffic and enquiries every single month. With PPC, once the spend stops, the traffic stops.
There is a happy middle ground to be found if you feel the need to choose between PPC and SEO. SEO is the long-term strategy that can offer an incredible ROI, while PPC is excellent for instant results. When used together, your self storage company can dominate the search engine results page.

SEO strategies for success

As with all marketing activities, SEO will always benefit from a strategy. Outside of the standard SEO strategies of auditing your website and building high quality links, what else can self storage companies do to stand out?

Think local

Did you know that 75% of self storage customers travel less than 20 minutes to their self storage facility? While you might run multiple self storage facilities around the country, your customers are local. Make sure you have an active Google My Business listing for each location. You should also ensure your website clearly differentiates between locations. The most popular way to do this is with local landing pages specific to each site. 

Mobile matters

A well designed and easy to use mobile website is essential for success in this highly competitive industry. Customers want to be able to find the answers they need quickly, and then contact you without unnecessary extra steps. Some companies display prices on their website while others will only provide this information after capturing customer data. However you choose to communicate this information, make sure your system is seamless and works on mobile devices as well as desktop.

Optimise your landing pages

Performing well in Google is not just about having a fast website and building lots of links. It’s also about the quality of the user experience. Think about the customer journey and the steps required to go from website visitor to potential customer. There is a tendency to assume that the home page will be the starting line for every website visitor, but Google Analytics data tells us this isn’t the case. 
Each and every page on your website has the potential to be a landing page. Make sure your visitors have a useful and easy to navigate experience, no matter how they land on your site.

Understand search intent

You could run the best SEO campaign in the world, but if you don’t understand search intent, you might never see a return on your investment. Search intent is essentially understanding the difference between the value of these two searches:
“What is self storage”
And,
“Self storage near me”
The first is looking for information. Perhaps someone has never heard the phrase before and wants to understand more about how it works. The second is a person looking for a self storage unit in their area, probably because they need a unit.
When you start to get your head about keywords and phrases, it can be tempting to chase every high volume, low competition keyword you see. But if the search intent isn’t right, that won’t bring in any new business.
If you need help getting your SEO strategy off the ground, we’re here to help!