Google’s algorithm is like Coca-Cola’s secret formula.
If people knew exactly how Google ranks websites, they would game the system. So, Google has kept the details of its algorithm secret.
Until now. A recent leak has exposed some of the ranking factors that go into Google search results!
Google’s secrets have been coming out in droves recently.
The Department of Justice has filed an antitrust suit against Google, which forced Google to reveal some of the inner workings of its search and ad functions.
Then, an anonymous leaker (who has since come forward as Erfan Azimi) sent some discovered internal documents to industry legend Rand Fishkin (who also has legendary facial hair).
I won’t bore you with all the details behind it. You don’t need to know how Google’s API functions or what NavBoost does.
Instead, we’re going to cover what all the newly discovered information means for your self storage business.
This is the single most important discovery that came from Google’s algorithm leaks: Google does in fact rank based on user behavior. If people click on your website and stay on it, Google will take that as a vote in your website’s favor.
SEO pros strongly suspected this, in spite of Google’s protestations, but this is confirmation.
Chrome (Google’s browser) users are particularly important because Google can track their behavior more easily than in other browsers.
We don’t know exactly how user behavior impacts ranking - in fact, we don’t know the specifics of how much each ranking factor matters for ANY of these - but we know Google can track and rank user behavior.
Google uses this information to determine both quality and intent.
The quality of your website is determined by how people interact with it, among many other factors. Google tracks both good clicks and bad clicks.
A bad click would be when someone clicks your website, doesn’t see what they were looking for, and immediately goes back (bounces). Often this happens because Google showed your website for a query it isn’t meant to solve - like if someone searched for “portable storage” and you don’t offer that. Google learns from this that your website isn’t a good result for “portable storage.”
If people don’t find your website useful for a bunch of different queries, however, Google will decide that your site is not helpful. Then it will generally stop showing your site as a result at all.
This reinforces our understanding that you really want to attract the right searchers, not the most searchers.
Summary: Google directly tracks how people interact with your site. If people find your site useful, you will rank higher - if your site isn’t what they were looking for, you’ll rank lower!
This point has been even more contentious, with Google spokespeople outright denying it, but the leaks indicate that Google does care about the authority of your domain.
So, if your website is considered strong overall, your new blog post is more likely to rank highly than an identical post on a brand-new website.
This is a throwback to SEO fundamentals. If Google thinks your website is well-written, authoritative, and useful, the algorithm is much more likely to serve up your options. This is true for local SEO and organic (global) SEO.
If your profile has lots of 5-star reviews, Google is much more likely to suggest you as a good option to new searchers, and the same is true even for organic ranking. If users find what they’re looking for on your site, whatever else you do on your site is going to be automatically more effective.
What Improves Site Strength?:
Most of these boil down to one idea: Make the customers who use your website happy, and Google will catch on!
Summary: The SEO particulars on an individual page are not as important as your overarching site strength.
For a while, SEO experts have advised having lots of content on your website - sometimes advising lots of content on each individual page. The leaks have shown, though, that Google will stop reading your content at a certain point.
We don’t have a great idea of where that point is, and it changes depending on the website (or, what Google thinks of the website).
But, it does mean you should keep your most valuable content near the top of the page, and don’t worry too much about putting out tons and tons of content just to make the crawlers happy.
Short content can be better for readers, too. Have you ever opened up an article, seen the massive wall of text, and clicked back out? Have you ever done it on a StoragePug blog? How dare you?
Sometimes people Google topics looking for long, engaging think-pieces - but those people typically aren’t looking for your website (or ours).
The searchers that come to a self storage website are looking for something particular, and if you can’t give it to them quickly, they’ll try a new website.
This has always been true, but there were other offsetting benefits to large amounts of content. Now, the benefit of lots of content is less certain. Instead, it’s best to provide enough content to teach Google what your website is about, then add in any content that searchers are looking for - in whatever form you think they’d prefer.
Summary: Google stops reading content on web pages after a certain point - we don’t know what that point is, but pages and pages of content are not likely to help your SEO.
Obviously this has been true for your business the whole time - only now, we know Google considers your existence outside of your website too.
If your business is mentioned in the local news, for example, Google is reading that. If people are talking about your business on social media, Google could be reading that, too.
More certainly, if people are Googling your brand, Google certainly cares about that.
For self storage operations, this means that the more people who are using your website, the better. Encourage customers to set up automatic payments on your site. Provide a place for local businesses to talk about events.
And, most importantly, get your name out in the community! If your business isn’t mentioned on the pages of groups you sponsor, you should fix that. Offer to host events for local charities. Partner with the Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations.
Everything you do that helps get the name of your business out there will also improve your SEO.
Summary: Google can associate mentions of your business name online with your actual business. That’s good news! Your marketing efforts elsewhere are going to count for Google, too.
Pug Pro Tip: For most self storage operators, SEO should be a background pursuit. If you're making sure to take care of your customers, if you're asking for reviews, and if you're getting your business out in the world, the SEO benefits will come naturally.
Google has been trying to wean the algorithm off of backlinks for a while now and with good reason. Backlinks are easy to game, with lots of SEO services focusing on buying valuable backlinks for their clients.
Google has fought back against this practice by insinuating that no, backlinks aren’t really that important.
I am sure Google would like backlinks to not be as important. I would also like backlinks to not matter because they’re not a great measure of value in our industry.
But the leak confirms that backlinks are still important. Google counts them as votes for your website over other comparable sites. This is doubly true if people actually use the backlinks.
Backlinks that never get used are devalued and don’t provide the same sort of value that a useful backlink does.
So, look for places that will link to your business’s website. The Chamber of Commerce, local business groups, and local charities are great places to start. If you sponsor a local institute, make sure they list you somewhere and give you that backlink!
Maybe one day Google will figure out how to rank websites without backlinks, but it is not this day.
Summary: Backlinks are still important, but only if they’re used. If you’re worried about your SEO, make sure your business is listed on aggregators and local group web pages.
These leaks haven’t changed a whole lot about how StoragePug approaches SEO.
Partially this is because the leaks don’t address local search much.
Partially, the leaks are confirming things we already believed about how Google ranks websites.
Overall, it's good for us to get a peak under the hood and see more of what Google wants. The big takeaway is the same as it has always been, though: Make your customers happy with your website - Google will pick up on it eventually.
Learn more about SEO and self storage with these posts:
StoragePug is a modern marketing company for self storage. We create intelligent marketing websites that allow you to rent units & take payments through your facilities' website.
