SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization
Last Revised Date: March, 2013
Author: Joshua Steimle

Seeing the Whole Picture
An experiment.
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

What is the whole picture?
What are you missing?
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

“I’m from
the future.
You should
go to China.”

The Big Picture
Putting things together.
• Self storage
• + China’s middle class
• + Internet
• + mobile Internet
• = massive opportunity
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

China’s Middle Class
How large is it?
“By 2030, China should have
approximately 1.4 billion middle class
consumers. India is next, reaching 1.07
billion in a little under 20 years.”
Source: Forbes, 2011
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

China: Internet Penetration
Source: China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

China: Total Internet Users
Source: China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

China: Average Time Online
Source: China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

China: Internet Users By Gender
Source: China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

China: Internet users by age
Source: China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

China: Internet Penetration By Province
Source: China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

China: Smartphone Usage
Source: iiMedia
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

The PC is dead.
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Worldwide PC Shipments
Source: IDC
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Worldwide Computing Device Shipments
Source: IDC
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

PC % of Computing Devices
Source: IDC
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

What’s all this mean?
To summarize thus far...
• There are a lot of people in China.
• A lot of those people use the Internet.
• A lot of those people use the mobile Internet.
• There is an enormous opportunity for self
storage companies that embrace mobile
Internet marketing in China.
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

What is SEO?
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

What does SEO stand for?
Search engine optimization.
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

What is a search engine?
Google, Yahoo!, Baidu, etc.
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Market Share
Google dominates.
Google
Baidu
66% Yahoo!
8% Everyone Else
5%
21% Source: comScore, 2012
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Differences? Not so much.
All search engines want the same things...
• Traffic
• Traffic
• Traffic
• Money
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Revenues
Mostly advertising.
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Search Advertising
Pay-per-click, PPC, Adwords, etc.
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

More Traffic = More $$$
How do search engines generate traffic?
• By giving visitors what they want
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Search Results
Where do they come from?
• Paid search results
• Largely determined by advertisers
• Assisted by search engines
• “Natural” or “Organic” search results
• Determined by search engines
• Algorithms
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Search Results
Paid vs. Natural
6% Paid Natural
94%
Source: Econsultancy, 2012
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

How do I get to #1?
ABC, 123
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

ABC
All ‘bout content
• What
• How-to’s
• Tips
• News
• How
• Blog
• New pages and sections
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

123
Keep it easy
• 1 how-to or tip
• + 2 blog posts
• = 3 new pages per month
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Quality & Quantity
Good & Plenty
• Make it so interesting a human would read it
• Focus on people, not search engines
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

SEO Resources
Reading material
• seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Final Takeaways
Action items
• Have a website
• Provide online reservation and payment
• Mobile website
• Think local - Google Maps, Yelp, etc.
• 1 how-to or tip per month
• 2 blog posts per month
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Questions
SEO 101 for Self Storage
Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization