When customers search for storage on our site, we use a few factors to rank and order the facilities we display in the default search results on our site. Customers have the option to change from these "recommended" options to sort order results instead based on price, reviews or distance.
The number of reservations SpareFoot can generate for your facility strongly depends on your rank in our search results. For example, a facility that ranks first will typically get more than four times as many reservations than a facility ranked seventh.
What goes into ranking your listing on the SpareFoot AdNetwork?
Your ranking in SpareFoot’s current search results is powered by a unique algorithm that considers four important factors: Your facility’s move-in rate, reservation rate, availability and location. Additionally, rank can also be influenced by a fifth factor, the bidding feature on SpareFoot’s OneTime pricing model, which we’ll discuss more below.
NOTE: These five factors (described below) are listed in no order of weight or importance.
Facility Move-In Rate:
Your facility move-in rate is the percentage of SpareFoot customers who reserve a unit at your facility and move in to become a tenant at your facility. There are a number of ways you can influence and improve your move-in rate. You can find more information in our article:
How Do I Improve My Move-In Rate.
On the first of each month, we generate a statement report of all SpareFoot reservations that we have sent to each facility. Administrators on each account log in to MySpareFoot.com and
reconcile their move-ins by letting us know which customers did and did not move in. This is how we are sure to only charge our clients for reservations that become tenants. It is also how we calculate move-in rate.
Facilities that integrate their management software with SpareFoot set themselves up for success by always having up-to-date inventory and automating the reconciliation process. In fact, integrated facilities tend to have about a 20% higher move-in rate compared to manual facilities. If you would like to learn more about integrating with SpareFoot, just let us know by emailing
support@sparefoot.com.
Reservation Rate:
This is the percent of storage seekers who click on your SpareFoot AdNetwork listing and reserve a unit. Attractive
photos and clear, concise
promotions help here. You can find all the details about how to influence your Reservation Rate in our article:
How Do I Improve My Reservation Rate?
Availability:
Facilities with more unit size options listed on SpareFoot rank higher. Customers love choices so we want to direct them to facilities with lots of options.
We also include facility availability and account growth in our ranking algorithm. SpareFoot accounts that are adding new facilities or reactivating facilities on the network get a small boost in ranking because they add more options for storage shoppers. Accounts that maintain their current facility count should not see much impact on ranking from this aspect of the availability factor.
Location:
Where are you located? We show storage seekers facilities near them. This is the one ranking factor you can’t take any action on.
Bidding with SpareFoot’s OneTime Pricing Model:
A facility that demonstrates strong quality factors (reservation rate and move-in rate) may not need to bid in order to rank highly in our default search results. However, the amount a facility is willing to pay for tenants is a factor — the higher the bid modifier, factors into your facility's rank in search results and can help make up for temporarily low reservation and move-in rates.
You can find more details about how to change your bid and relevant metrics in our article:
All About Bidding. Your bid also amount determines the price you pay for each SpareFoot customer who moves in. To adjust your bid, use the
bidding tools found in MySpareFoot.
When it comes to ranking well on the SpareFoot network, it’s also important to remember that ultimately, we’re a comparison-shopping marketplace. Be sure to Optimize Your Listing and show consumers what makes your facility their best choice!
NOTE: When your facility’s distance or quality factors are lower or less relevant than local competition, it will generally be more expensive to bid to a higher rank.
Algorithm Testing
In order to keep up with changing consumer demand, we frequently run test variations of our algorithm to help us determine what produces the best results and ultimately sends you more and better-qualified reservations. These tests are run as A/B tests, which are a standard practice for online companies to evaluate changes and improvements to their interface and user experience. If a test algorithm works better (meaning that it results in more customers to reserve units and then move in), it will likely become the new default.