What do you say? Storage or self storage?

“Around 70% of the UK public don’t know much about self-storage,” says a webpage published by ABC Selfstore. “That’s a big number ‒ so we created this quick beginners guide ‒ just in case you are in the majority.”

They have a point. Ask any member of the general public what self storage is and you are likely to get a confused answer ‒ unless they happen to use self storage themselves, or are in the self storage business. Ask them for an explanation of the difference between “storage” and “self storage” and you are likely to be faced with utter confusion, or blankness, or a polite request to move on.

Storage and self storage

The answer is, of course, that storage is storage ‒ storage of any kind, and not just the kind of storage of possessions that the self storage industry is concerned with. Self storage is something altogether more specific: the hiring of storage units, where clients, as keyholders, have free access to their possessions. In other words, “self storage” is short for “self-service storage”.

Within the storage industry, a subtle differentiation is made between “self storage” and “storage”, the latter being storage where the clients do not have free access to their possessions; this is the kind of storage that traditionally removals companies offer, when clients’ possessions are stored temporarily between moves.

Storage vs self storage: search terms

If you research how the word “storage” is most commonly used in the world at large, you will find that “self storage” is way, way down the pecking order.

Try doing a search for “storage” within YouTube. Well, first you get entertainment, with the splendid spoof advertisement “Jones’ Big Ass Truck Rental & Storage” (we’ve looked at that in an earlier blog on “Self Storage on YouTube”). Then you get a trailer for the Australian thriller/horror movie called “Storage”, set in a self storage warehouse (we’ve reviewed that in another blog). But then the other kinds of storage start rolling in:

food storage, make-up storage (a surprisingly big subject), data storage, domestic storage (shelving and cupboards), outdoor storage (sheds and garages), water storage, gas storage, cold storage, energy storage, weapons storage, rope storage, Christmas decoration storage…

Self storage does not get a look in in the first 20 pages of this YouTube search ‒ apart from the occasional appearance of “storage auctions”, as featured in the successful US TV series “Storage Wars” (the subject of another of our blogs).

Then try putting “self storage” into the YouTube search box. Quite a different story. Now the search results are virtually 100% about self storage businesses.

And so the point is?

The point is that if people who are looking for “self storage” simply use the term “storage”, they are going to find their results mixed up with all the other kinds of storage that are out there: food storage, make-up storage, data storage etc etc.

To drive this point home, look at the Google Keyword Tool (AdWords), which tracks how often keywords are searched for by Google users:

“Storage” ‒ global monthly searches: 13,600,000; local monthly searches: 1,830,000

“Self Storage” ‒ global monthly searches: 630,000; local monthly searches: 90,500

I rest my case!

The weak identity of “self storage”

Does this matter? In truth, not many people in search of self storage are going to be waylaid by all the other types of storage that are around. They should be able to find their way to self storage, even when using just the search term “storage”.

What the above shows, however, is that the term “self storage” is not a powerful identifier for the business ‒ either on the internet, or in public perception. To reiterate ABC Selfstore’s assertion: “Around 70% of the UK public don’t know much about self-storage.”

It is a handicap for an industry to have a label is not self-explanatory, but it is probably too late to change the self storage industry’s name to something more individual. Other terms have been adopted in the past, such as “mini storage” ‒ which is still used in some quarters, but that hasn’t really caught on (perhaps because self storage operators don’t want to emphasize the small!) “Personal storage” has also been mooted, but that has undesirable connotations of the secretiveness, and would also seem to exclude business clients.

So the self storage industry seems to be stuck with “self storage”. Those trying to find a shortcut to an explanation for the term often have to rely on references to the big brands (Safestore, Big Yellow, Shurgard, Access), well established in the public mind ‒ which of course the big brands are happy enough about.

In the meantime, the best the self storage industry can do is probably to promote the distinctive significance of  “self storage”. When prospective clients type “self storage” into the Google search box rather than simply “storage”, the industry will know that the battle for public perception is being won.

5 Responses to “What do you say? Storage or self storage?”

1. SpareFoot says:

   March 17, 2011 at 4:13 pm

   I’m convinced that people who are looking for storage, more and more often, are typing the word “storage” into Google or Google Maps on their phone, and calling or visiting the facilities that are nearest to them. Google returns storage facilities as the result for almost any storage query. Location is everything for self storage.

2. South Hill Boat Storage says:

   March 21, 2011 at 5:47 pm

   Self storage units come in a broad assortment of sizes intended to fit the wants of persons with a few items or public need to store enough furniture to fill a house. How will you manage this?

3. Austin Public Storage says:

   March 24, 2011 at 6:58 pm

   In choosing storage company, how do you know your valuables are really secure?

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5. Judy says:

   July 20, 2016 at 3:48 am

   Self-Storage Facility is more convenient when it comes on storing personal belongings.