2022 3rd Quarter Edition


CSSA Self Storage News

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Why is Local SEO Important for Self Storage Facilities?

Local Search is the equivalent of signage on the highway - it’s the visibility that drives brand awareness, phone calls and occupancy. Learn how Local SEO is critically important for your storage facility.

 

Local SEO (or Search Engine Optimization) is largely the process of ensuring your storage facility’s “web footprint” is fresh, consistent and accurate.  This web footprint includes your website, your Google Business Profile and dozens of business listings (aka Citations) found on Yahoo, Bing, MapQuest and elsewhere.

When your facility’s web footprint is well-managed, you show up in search results, including Google Maps, the right-column Knowledge Panel and the coveted “Local Pack,” Google’s group of three local business listings. 

When you’re not actively managing your web footprint, you may have much less visibility in search results.  If you’re on the second or third page of results in your target geographic radius (including “storage near me” searches), this is likely due to inconsistent data, which compounds with older facilities.

Data inconsistency occurs when the “signals” Google receives from across the web don’t match.  For instance, you might have an old phone number on Facebook.  Or perhaps your office hours are inaccurate on your Google Business Profile. Or you rebranded, but the old brand is plastered across dozens of business listings.

This is very much a Problem from a Local SEO standpoint.  Three things are likely to result:

  1. Less visibility in search results because Google can’t confirm your data.
  2. Google is more likely to pull data from other sources, including user suggestions on other sites like Facebook and Yelp.   
  3. When you do show up in search, the information could be wrong, which is confusing for your prospects.

So why is Local SEO so important for Self Storage facilities?  The obvious answer is that ranking in Google search produces leads, phone calls and customers. Ignoring your web footprint compromises your visibility as sure as a palm tree right in front of your signage on the highway.

Whether you budget in time and money for a DIY approach or work with an agency that understands your needs, actively managing your web footprint is essential. You might take comfort in knowing that while it’s a basic cost of doing business, it’s likely to have a positive return-on-investment and your bottom line.

Tyler Suchman is the founder of The Storage Agency, a web marketing agency exclusively focused on serving storage owners and operators with unbeatable performance and pricing. The Storage Agency is powered by Tribal Core, a boutique agency he founded in 2002. He can be reached via email: tyler@thestorageagency.com or via the website: https://thestorageagency.com/.