Google Ads Mastery for Self-Storage

How to structure, measure, and optimize Google Ads campaigns for multi-facility storage portfolios.

1. The Fundamental Rule

You never stop advertising. At any occupancy level.

The common mistake: operators reduce ad spend when occupancy is high. This is backwards. High occupancy means you have pricing power — raise rates while maintaining demand. At 95%+, every new customer is near-pure profit because fixed costs are already covered.

WRONG

"We're at 95%, pause the ads"

RIGHT

"We're at 95%, raise rates and keep ads running"

2. Campaign Structure

For multi-facility operators, structure campaigns by facility, not by keyword theme. Each facility has different occupancy, pricing, and competitive dynamics.

One campaign per facility — Separate budgets allow facility-level optimization

Geo-targeting — 5-10 mile radius around each facility (adjust for density)

Negative keywords — Exclude "jobs", "salary", "diy", "build" to prevent waste

Ad extensions — Location, callout, sitelink extensions for every campaign

3. The Right Metrics

Stop measuring clicks and impressions. The only metric that matters is cost per move-in — an actual unit filled, not a lead generated.

Metric	Target	Why It Matters
Cost per Move-in	<$150	Actual unit economics, not lead volume
LTV:CAC Ratio	>3:1	Ensures profitable customer acquisition
Conversion Rate	>5%	Landing page and offer quality signal
Wasted Spend	<10%	Clicks that never convert — pure loss

4. The 5 Most Common Waste Areas

1. Geotargeting waste

Ads showing 50+ miles from the facility. Storage is hyper-local — 90% of customers come from within 5 miles.

2. Missing campaigns

Facilities with low occupancy that have zero advertising. Your worst-performing locations need the most marketing support.

3. Spend producing zero conversions

Keywords and campaigns that eat budget but never produce a move-in. Industry average: 25-30% of spend is wasted.

4. Landing page quality

Slow load times, missing phone numbers, no unit availability — all kill conversion rates even with good traffic.

5. Underspending high-ROI locations

Facilities with 4x+ target ROI are being starved of budget. Feed the winners — reallocate from waste to growth.

Key Takeaway

The typical operator pays $450+ per move-in. REITs pay under $50. The difference isn't budget size — it's measurement discipline and waste elimination. Track cost per actual move-in (not leads), audit for waste monthly, and reallocate budget from losers to winners.