Shooting For Stars The Impact On SEO Every company wants to be at the top (or at least on the first page) of
search engine results, and those with good reviews may have the upper hand. As Melissa Stiles, MBA, chief marketing officer of Storage Asset Management, points out, “reviews are a significant signal to Google.”
“Getting relevant, recent reviews helps with Search Engine Optimization
[SEO] of your facility,” she says. “The map on Google utilizes reviews to rank. The higher the storage facility ranks, the more likely they will be the first (and only) visit to a storage website the potential tenant makes.”
Candice Puzak, director of marketing for Guardian Storage, which has
35 facilities in its portfolio and an average rating of 4.9 stars, shares some additional insights about SEO. “Google uses review data to help determine a brand’s search position,” she says. “Factors like overall volume, positive or negative sentiment, average star rating, and the frequency of reviews received are components of the formula Google uses to determine how brands rank when consumers perform storage-related searches. We focus heavily on securing positive reviews because it benefits us in search as well as building consumer confidence in our brand.”
best course of action to resolve the issue, when possible.”
Hainrihar continues on that notion,
warning that “you don’t want to get into a review argument.” Instead, operators should first apologize for the negative experience and seek to remedy the situa- tion. After the issue has been resolved, you could ask the customer to revise or delete the review in an effort to improve your reviews and rating. Though some reviewers may refuse to do so, he says that it doesn’t hurt to ask. Just don’t expect Google to do it for you. “You have to jump through a lot of hoops to get Google to remove them,” says Hainrihar, who adds that Google removing a negative review is a rare occurrence.
Improving Reviews As you read and respond to the reviews you receive, Hainrihar advises operators to “listen to them” and make operational improvements based on their feedback. “Is there a theme?” he asks, adding that a facil- ity’s appearance should be kept in mind as it can influence public perception. “Look at what’s being said. Is it true? Be honest with yourself.”
Middlebrooks says, “Keep an eye on your lowest ranked stores. Identify areas of Of course, it takes time, money, and effort
to address and correct issues—and that goes double for improving your rating. Unsure about how many better reviews it takes to improve a business’ star rating, Hainrihar says, “There is no easy fix ... you have to show consistent improvement to move the needle.”
Storage Asset Management has a tactic
for newly acquired properties that may be beneficial for boosting star ratings. “We go back and answer all reviews from six to 12 months prior to our transition of manage- ment, notifying of new management and inviting them to give us another chance with new management,” says Stiles. “We then start our reputation program with actively requesting reviews from new customers and answering those reviews.”
Guardian Storage follows a similar
strategy when the company acquires a property with a poor reputation. “Our prop- erty managers work hard to gain as many positive reviews as quickly as possible to offset the existing negative star rating and comments,” Puzak says. “We also send a letter to the current tenants and use mass
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MiniStorageMessenger.com
Control Your Reputation! “Self-storage has become increasingly competitive in recent years with the greater density of operators and locations,” says Puzak, “so it’s more crucial than ever to differ- entiate your brand in authentic ways.”
She goes on to say that “operators need to
be aware of the customer experience. Even if a tenant doesn’t write a review or post some- thing about their experience in social media, they are likely talking to friends and family about their experience, especially a negative experience. It’s important to deliver on your brand promises and be mindful of how oper- ational decisions may impact your tenants.”
One final thought: If you don’t direct the
narrative of your facility, someone else will. “Customers are going to leave reviews,
comments, and messages,” says Stiles. “You need to be part of controlling your brand reputation by answering and monitoring.”
Erica Shatzer is the editor of Mini-Storage Messenger, Self-Storage Now!, Self-Storage Canada, and the annual Self-Storage Almanac.
improvement and implement changes. Then push the local team to solicit reviews based on positive customer interactions.”
advertising and public relations tactics to announce new ownership and what the community can expect from Guardian Stor- age. Working diligently to regularly promote and protect a consistent brand reputation is particularly beneficial in a situation like this.”
Ask For Reviews Above all, don’t forget to ask customers to leave a review, especially if they’ve had a positive experience, which Hainrihar refers to as “panning for gold.”
“If you want people to take the time to
review your business, it needs to be worthy of a review. Otherwise, you will get mediocre responses, if any,” says Puzak. “Train your property team on how to request reviews and make it part of their daily routine.”
And while you can’t offer incentives to
entice customers to review your facility, you can implement a lucrative referral program and make it as easy as possible for customers to rate your business through links in emails, QR codes, and the like.
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