When it comes to websites, you often hear about quick fixes. The advice is always suspiciously simple, too—like “change your domain name.” Sure, these small changes help your website in the long run, but if your site is buried in search engine results and isn’t seeing the traffic it should, a quick fix will do nothing more than its name suggests. It’s a temporary solution to a bigger problem.

Below are some of the common “quick fix” website tips we see.

“Update your web design!”

Changing the look of your website can be helpful in attracting new customers, but most websites make the mistake of opting for a reskin and not an overhaul, which means any existing problems get carried over to the new site.
It doesn’t matter how good your website looks if it has structural issues, confusing navigation, poorly-crafted content, and no search engine optimization (SEO).
If you’re trying to get your storage facility found in search engine results and drive more traffic to your site, you can’t settle for a simple redesign. You need to address development issues (such as page load speeds and responsiveness), make design changes to improve user experience, and optimize your site for search engines and local search (i.e., hyperlocal web content, local listings).
“Add more calls-to-action!”

The ability to convert site visits into online storage reservations is important for storage facilities, which is why the first conclusion most operators jump to when trying to improve website conversions is adding more calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout the site.

Good CTAs—like “Reserve A Unit Now”—are necessary for driving conversions, but so is web design. If your site visitors click a CTA button or link and have to go through pages upon pages of forms before they can reserve their units, the chances of them making it through the sales funnel become significantly less.

Consumers prefer simplicity in the buying process. If you’re going to tackle issues with conversions on your website, you can’t just add more CTAs and call it a day. You need to make changes to the user experience. Perhaps it’s a cleaner page layout or fewer fields for the consumer to fill out. Regardless, ask yourself how you can make the reservation process easier on site visitors.

“Create more content!”

The content you add to your website tells search engines what your site is about and helps consumers better understand what you can offer them. But the quality of your site’s content can’t be changed by adding more content.
New content doesn’t improve what already exists. You need to go through the content currently on your website to identify common problems (e.g., content that’s too short, grammatical errors, bad links) and put a plan in place to fix what isn’t working. Over time, the changes you make to your existing content will pay off, as long as you apply the same standards to future content.
Remember, though, that when it comes to the internet, poorly-written content and bad links can have a long-lasting impact on your website. Hiring someone to cover up what you’ve already done will not work and will only put you farther behind your competition.
When searching for a web design firm to help you update your website, don’t look for the quick fix. Find a reputable company that understands web design, SEO, and content marketing so you can put best practices in place that will help your storage facility stand out online.

Nick Bilava is Sales Director at Storage.com and a contributor for Inside-Self Storage, Mini Storage Messenger, California Self Storage Association, Florida Self Storage Association, Massachusetts Self Storage Association, and Connecticut Self-Storage Association. Nick has been an active member of the storage community for more than nine years and helps storage operators of all sizes market their businesses more efficiently. For more information on Storage.com’s services for operators, visit services.storage.com.