Smart vs. Strategic: Why Over-Automated Google Ads Waste Money in Self-Storage

Excited to use Google’s latest “smart” features and experiment with automated bidding and optimization modes? You might want to think twice before handing over the controls. 

In fact, for most self-storage operators, those automated tools are doing more harm than good.

When “Smart” Isn’t Smart for Storage

Google Ads is packed with AI-driven options: Smart Campaigns, Performance Max, max click automated bidding, maximize conversions, broad match recommendations, “optimized” targeting expansions, etc.

But here’s the truth: these features are designed for scale, not for self-storage. They work great if you’re a complex product with multiple steps and questions along the buying journey, or for e-commerce sites that want to capture the 500 different ways someone might be searching for their product. But when you’re renting 10x10 units in a single town, Google’s automation doesn’t understand your customer intent, or your occupancy goals.

What happens next?

• For maximize conversions, you start paying triple the cost-per-click for terms because Google deemed them more likely to convert (and they’re often wrong).

• For maximize clicks, you see a big lift in clicks but notice now you're paying for terms like “boxes,” “truck rental”, "parking lots", “hard drive storage”, and big brand name competitors like “Uhaul”, “Cubesmart” and “Public storage”. Not exactly high intent!

• Your spend grows and your actual move-ins don’t, or worse, go down because you're diverting budget away from high intent terms in favor of better vanity metrics.

That’s not smart.

The Better Way: Hyper-Focused and Occupancy-Guided

We consistently see the most effective Google Ads campaigns for self-storage are focused, local, deliberate and adjust to supply and demand.

The operators seeing the best results aren’t chasing every new automation Google rolls out. They’re dialing in the fundamentals and letting data (not default settings) drive the decisions.

Google Ads for Self-Storage — Simplified

Here’s what actually moves the needle:

• Target with Intent, Not Just Volume - That 30-mile targeting circle looks good on a map, but most renters come from just a handful of nearby zip codes. Shrink your map. Win locally.

• Skip Broad Match Madness - Broad match keywords tell Google, “target whatever you think is related to this word.” Spoiler: it often misses the mark. Use exact or phrase match and stay in control. A don’t forget the negatives!

• Don’t Over Think Ad Text - One part where Google is “smart” is with the way it helps you create ad copy and text. You don’t need to come up with all the different clever ways to promote your facility to match each keyword. Just load in several 7-8 different titles, descriptions, promotions, and ad extensions, and Google will handle the heavy lifting of deciding which is the perfect combination of copy to get the click!

• Budget Where You’re Growing, Cut When You’re Full - Google doesn't know your occupancy levels when it makes budget recommendations. If occupancy is high, scale back. If a facility’s low, lean in. That’s the opposite of Google’s “maximize” mindset. This may sound intuitive, but hard to manage when you have multiple facilities and campaigns.

Think Before You Flip the Smart Switch

The problem isn’t technology. It’s blind trust in automation built for very broad markets.

Great advertising isn’t about handing over control to Google, it’s about understanding your data, knowing your audience's intent, and adjusting to meet demand.

If your Google Ads strategy looks overly complicated and isn’t leading to move-ins, it’s time to flip the strategy — not the smart switch.