This week Red Nova Labs will release WebReady, a service that provides small self-storage operators (those with 10 or fewer facilities) with a website, content-management tools, ongoing search-engine optimization (SEO) and business optimization for local search. The package also includes ongoing Web-marketing consulting. It costs $499 annually, including Web hosting.
WebReady is a templated website with hundreds of different design combinations from which to choose. Once an operator chooses a design package, his website is built with a company landing page and additional landing pages for each facility. Each website also includes Red Nova Labs patented self-storage calculator and storage tips for users.
WebReady provides clients with an option for ongoing SEO service, but it is not mandatory, explained CEO Dan Miller. While he suggests it for self-storage operators in a non-competitive market, he recognizes that those with fewer than 10 facilities may not need that level of SEO.
For self-storage, the story is still proximity, especially on the Web, said Marc Smith, director of business development. For facility owners with a smaller portfolio, including those with only one site, a website that is well-designed for conversion and SEO is critical, he said, so that as Google continues to reward local content, you're in the right position and ready to convert interest into rentals.
Red Nova Labs entered the self-storage market in 2009 with the launch of StorageFront.com, an online directory of self-storage facilities. The company launched WebWorks earlier this year, a Web-design and marketing service for larger self-storage operators.
