Self-storage operator Extra Space Asia has expanded its presence by opening an Extra Space Self Storage facility in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The company is owned by Steel Storage Holdings of Australia and already has facilities in Korea and Singapore. Extra Space Asia is not affiliated with the U.S.-based Extra Space Storage Inc.

The Malaysia facility has 123 units that range from 7 square feet to 64 square feet. The units are available 24 hours a day via keypad access. The monthly rental rate ranges from 126 to 1,050 Malaysia Ringgit (about $41 to $343).

Extra Space Asia CEO Michael Hagbeck told the New Straits Times Extra Space chose to expand its operations to Malaysia because the country has similar demographic characteristics as Singapore.

"This is to cater to the growing need of people who want to declutter their space, to make more room for their hobbies and lifestyle or just to store items until a later time," Hagbeck said, adding that the company intends to add onto the facility, growing it to 1,500 units, with climate control and wine storage. He also envisions more Extra Space facilities in Penang and Johor Baru.

Steel Storage has been building self-storage facilities since 1990 and started doing so in Asia in 2003. Extra Space opened its first self-storage facility in Singapore in 2007 and since then successfully developed five facilities in Singapore. In 2010, the two companies completed a facility in Seoul, South Korea.

Along with Steel Storage, Extra Space has partnerships with several self-storage operations around the world: Annexx in France, Big Yellow Self Storage Co. in the United Kingdom, City Storage in Thailand, Kennards Self Storage in Australia and New Zealand, National Storage in Australia and Ready Steady Store in the United Kingdom.

Villa de Paz Mini Storage in Phoenix, Ariz., sold April 10 to an entity created by The William Warren Group of Newport Beach, Calif.

The property, 10622 W. Indian School Road, consists of 682 storage units comprising 43,300 net rentable square feet on 2.9 acres. The seller was an entity created by Daniel Tenn of Scottsdale.

Bill Alter and Denise Nunez of Rein & Grossoehme Commercial Real Estate negotiated the sale. This sale represents their 109 successful closing of a self-storage property in 26 years as specialists in this property type. Rein & Grossoehme specialize in the sale of investment properties and commercial leasing.

The William Warren Group is a privately held, fully integrated, entrepreneurial real estate company that develops, acquires, owns and manages self-storage properties in Arizona, California and Colorado.

By Hayden Harrison

Over the last 25 years, QuikStor Security & Software has earned a reputation for being a one-stop-shop for high-end software and security products for the self-storage industry. Through innovation and a rich history, the Van Nuys, Calif.-based company provides unparalleled customer service and innovative  products to help facility owners generate more revenue and protect their tenants belongings.

Established in 1987 by Dennis Levitt, QuikStor was launched with the goal of providing superior management software to the self-storage industry. Levitt combined his programming knowledge with his experience as a self-storage builder, owner and manager to create the company. It quickly grew  into one of the industry's foremost software suppliers.

The Products

In the past few years, QuikStor has aggressively added new products and features to help operators better manage their facilities. Signature products include Guardian access-control systems and wireless-door alarms; SmartClient Enterprise Edition, a program that allows owner's to run their facility from anywhere; and QuikStor OnDemand, an Internet-based program that allows for quick online reporting, data review and remote gate control.

Another highly sought product is QuikStors Express management software, with modules such as the report center and revenue-optimization center. The e-commerce module, which allows tenants to rent and reserve units, make payments, and update their information online, has been revamped with features like auto-billing, instant site notification, and an improved tenant interface.

To keep customers informed, QuikStor provides free monthly webinars to anyone interested in learning more about the company and its products.

There really is no other company in the industry offering a true one-stop-shop for software and security solutions, says vice president Tony Gardner. Since software and security at a storage facility must work so closely together, its no surprise that having the same company provide both means more features, a seamless integration and, of course, a single number to call if you have a question.

Customer Service

Providing the best customer service coupled with innovative technology is not only QuikStor's mission statement, its the practice that has helped make the company successful. This was proven when QuikStor was awarded Best Customer Service in the 2011 Inside Self-Storage Best of Business choice-opinion poll, in which ISS readers voted online for their preferred companies in nearly 30 categories.

From products to user experience, QuikStor fulfills its customers' needs. According to Gardner, its the only company in the industry that offers a modern line of security products seamlessly integrated with state-of-the-art software solutions that continue to pioneer new features and allow facility owners to increase occupancy and revenue.

QuikStors customers agree. Since we started using QuikStor in 1996, the ease of use of the software and the information it has provided have helped us grow from three locations to 13," says Brooks Lumpkin, chief operating officer of Metro Mini Storage in Birmingham, Ala. "New staff can learn the software quickly.

The software itself continues to develop with changes in the industry, and our customers appreciate the speed with which we can take payments and answer questions and problems. The pricing, support, simplicity of the software and communication with the team at QuikStor have proven time and again that this platform is the right place for our company.

QuikStor is excited about the many things to come in 2012, including new products, features and integrations. The company plans to expand features in its popular QuikStor OnDemand Web and Express software products, adding more integration.

Every feature and product QuikStor produces comes from the perspective of owning and managing a site firsthand, not just as a programmer, Gardner says. Because of this distinctive point of view, QuikStor has always led innovation in the storage industry from the first Windows-based management software to an access-control system that can operate independently of the office. Looking forward, were excited to see how QuikStor will change the self-storage industry over the next 25 years!

For more information, call 800.321.1987; visit www.quikstor.com.

The Magellan Group, a Southern California real estate investment and development firm and parent company of Magellan Storage, recently purchased two Los Angeles self-storage facilities for $11.2 million. The company plans to rebrand both properties, which have a combined occupancy of 58 percent, as Magellan Storage and perform substantial physical improvements.

The acquisition includes a three-story building at 801 E. Commercial St., a 717-unit storage facility visible from U.S. Route 101 in downtown Los Angeles. Converted to self-storage in 2004, the property will undergo several improvements. The new lobby will feature a business center with work stations, a coffee bar and a retail area. Exterior improvements will include new paint, brick accents and signage that will make the most of the propertys highly visible location.

The acquisition also includes a 942-unit storage facility at 700 E. Slauson St., just south of downtown Los Angeles. The property, which was also converted to self-storage in 2004, will undergo surveillance-system upgrades and improvements throughout the property that are thematically consistent with the Magellan Storage brand.

This acquisition presents an excellent opportunity for Magellan Storage to add value through a renewed leasing effort, property upgrades and improved management operations, said Martin Slusser, Magellan principal and co-founder.

The Magellan Group is actively pursuing additional self-storage investments and development opportunities in Southern California.

Doug McCarron of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP, a provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services, represented The Magellan Group in the transaction.

Moving and self-storage provider Men on the Move is nearing completion on a $3 million conversion of a former factory at 88 Hazel St. in Glen Head, N.Y., a small town on Long Island.

The renovations, done by Racanelli Construction Co. of Melville, N.Y., resulted in the addition of a second floor, which brought the building's square footage to 89,000. The new 800-unit self-storage facility will be completely climate-controlled, featuring video monitoring and 24-hour access. The rentals range from 4-foot-high lockers to 300-square-foot spaces with formal loading docks.

The factory had been the production headquarters of Photocircuits, a supplier of circuit boards between 1951 and 2007. It was one of the town's cornerstone companies.

"The building was in ruins," John Beyer, owner of Men on the Move, told the source. Beyer added that the former factory's disrepair was visible from a nearby highway. He said Building Department Director Richard Summa and Mayor Ralph Suozzi were motivated to help get the building fixed up and were very helpful in working with him to get through the permitting process.

Men on the Move is based in Floral Park, N.Y., and also has facilities in the Long Island cities of Islandia and Huntington.

An image gallery of the building can be viewed at glencove.patch.com/articles/new-storage-facility-transforms-defunct-factory#photo-9548031.

Strategic Storage Trust Inc., a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust investing in self-storage properties, recently announced a per-share net asset value (NAV) of $10.79, $0.79 above the current offering price.

"This increase in NAV further emphasizes what we have been saying all along to the investment community," said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO. "We are building a well-rounded self-storage company that provides both cash distributions and value to our stockholders. We will continue with a similar philosophy as we grow and expand."

The NAV is based predominantly on an appraisal of Strategic Storage Trust's self-storage portfolio by an independent third party. The value was then confirmed by the company's board of directors, which estimated value of the company's assets, subtracted the estimated value of its liabilities and divided by the number of outstanding shares, which were calculated as of Dec. 31.

Since the launch of Strategic Storage Trust in 2008, the portfolio of wholly-owned properties operating under the SmartStop brand name has expanded to include 91 wholly-owned properties in 17 U.S. states and Canada.

Quality Storage on Atlanta Highway in Cumming, Ga., was evacuated for a short time Monday afternoon after a suspected grenade was found in an ammunition canister inside the building.

The facility manager found the ammunition box at about 3 p.m. under a pile of trash. Upon opening the lid, the manager saw a device that looked like a grenade and called the owner, who came to the facility and examined the box before calling the Forsyth County Sheriff's Department. Firefighters arrived and evacuated the property but did not close Atlanta Highway.

Sgt. Chad Latonis of the sheriff's department told the source the suspected grenade, which was painted blue, appears to be an inert training device. But were not sure of the origin, so we have to treat it as live until we know otherwise."

The facility manager said authorities removed the grenade by about 4:30 or 5 p.m., and the store closed for the day. It opened as usual on Tuesday morning, and the manager learned that the grenade was inactive.

Quality Storage has a location in Roswell, Ga., in addition to the Cumming facility. Both stores are in the northern exurbs of Atlanta.

By Stephen Sandecki

Author's note: This is part two of a series designed to educate self-storage operators on the basics of on-page search-engine optimization (SEO). To read other installments in the series, search for "Sandecki" using the search box in the upper right corner of this Web page.

To clarify, on-page optimization relates to things done directly to your Web page(s). Everything explained in this series can be done by whomever manages your website. If you run your website on a third-party platform or use third-party CMS (content-management system) software, you may be limited to how effectively you can optimize your on-page SEO. To get the most out of on-page SEO, give it consideration during the website-development phase.

This series is divided into seven parts, each focusing on a different optimization technique. Part one focused on the benefits of the HTML title tag. In part two, were going to talk about the title tags counterpart, the meta description.

There is debate among SEO professionals about whether a Web pages meta description has any effect on search-engine rankings. This is due to comments made by Google employees. However, since meta descriptions are still displayed in search results, they play a pivotal role in Internet marketing. To err on the safe side, I will teach you how meta descriptions should be optimized for search engines and humans.

The Technical of the Meta Description Element

The meta description, which is used to provide an actual description of a Web page, is part of the head HTML element and is located inside the HTML syntax. The meta data is used to provide page-specific information and isnt displayed on the actual Web page. This information can be used by browsers, search-engine crawlers, etc., to obtain more information about the page. Below is an example of the meta description HTML syntax:

Its important to remember you can only have one meta description per Web page. If you have more than one, search-engine crawlers and Web browsers will always use the one that appears first in your HTML code. Now that you understand exactly what a meta description is, its time to learn how you can use it for click conversion and (debatably) on-page SEO.

How Search Engines Use a Meta Description

Search engines use the meta description element in their search results. Its usually displayed underneath your title tag. This makes it very important that you optimize your meta description for both search engines and humans.

First, when viewing search results, a human will often use the meta description as a way to determine if he wants to click on that result. Second, its debatable that meta descriptions are used by search-engine algorithms to provide relevant search-engine results. Below is a simple example of how a title tag would be used in search results. The section inside the red square is the title tag for that Wikipedia Web page.

As you can see, apart from the title tag, the meta description is one of the most prominent parts of search-engine results. If your title tag is able to capture the eye of a human reviewing search results, your meta description will be what seals the deal and gets him to click on it. Generally, you use the meta description to accurately describe your Web page or provide a call to action directly related to your Web page.

One thing to remember: Relevancy is very important because if your meta description isnt relevant to the Web page, search engines will take a snippet from your Web pages content and display that instead.

Optimizing Your Meta Descriptions for Search Engines

Search engines may or may not use meta descriptions in their algorithms to rank search results. However, since meta descriptions can help improve the click-through ratio via search results, I'll tell you how to properly optimize them for humans and search engines. By following this method, youll be able to ensure your meta descriptions are attractive to humans and have the fail-safe of being optimized for search engines.

First, its important to remember that search engines limit the number of characters from a meta description that will be displayed in search results. For Google this limit is 155 characters. Below is an example of a meta description, located in the red square.

As you can tell, this Web page is about bear hunting, so that keyword is inserted two to three times in the meta description. Because bear hunting was the search term, that phrase is bolded in the search results. By using your Web pages primary keyword in your meta description, youll get it bolded, which draws attention to the person doing the searching.

You can also see that the example is a very short, sweet description of the website. It describes everything you can find on the home page and more. This engages the searcher because he now knows this Web page is about bear hunting and contains everything he needs to know about the topic.

Dont just stuff keywords into your meta description, as this may appear as spam and discourage people from clicking on your site. It may also trigger search engines to use a random snippet instead of your defined meta description.

Import Tips

Just like title tags, the meta description isnt very difficult to optimize. By following some simple rules and guidelines, you can easily optimize it from every single one of your Web pages. Below are some tips to remind you how to properly use the meta description element:

• Meta descriptions may or may not be used by search engines for ranking purposes. Default on the safe side and assume they are.
• Make your meta descriptions as relevant as possible to your Web pages content.
• Limit your meta description to only 155 characters.
• Try to insert the Web pages primary keyword or keyword phrase two to three times if possible.

Remember, the meta description should be primarily written for humans, not search engines. By following the guidelines above, you will successfully optimize your Web pages for online users and Internet search engines.

The next installment of this column will be more advanced, including information about URL structures.

Stephen D. Sandecki is the Internet marketing specialist for LifeStorage Centers LLC. He has more than eight years of experience in search-engine optimization, paid search and Internet marketing, and six years of experience in the self-storage industry. LifeStorage has 18 facilities throughout the Chicagoland area. For more information on Chicago Storage , visit LifeStorage.net.