Moving & storage
Self-storage REITs, van-line franchises, on-demand portable storage. Data pulled pending.
Headline finding
12 of 13 moving & storage brands lost referring domains in the last 12 months.
Only Bekins grew its link profile (+596). U-Haul shed the most in absolute terms (−2,722), followed by PODS (−1,821) and Extra Space (−1,640) — both still leading the niche overall, but visibly in maintenance mode rather than acquisition mode. United Van Lines has the strongest authority of any brand here (DR 561) yet only 13K national ranking keywords — a wide-open content opportunity for a competitor.
Best PR-campaign targets in this niche
Where earned-media spend would compound fastest against existing authority — or close a content gap that’s already costing rankings.
Top pick
United Van Lines
6,651 refdoms · DR 561 (highest in niche) · 13K nat. kw · 12mo: −875
United has the highest domain authority of any company in the entire dataset (561) yet only 13,026 national ranking keywords — smaller than Allied (33K) or Two Men and a Truck (44K). The site has the equity of a national brand but ranks like a regional one. Every new placement lands on a high-authority site, so each link compounds disproportionately.
Pitch angle“America’s #1 mover” relocation-trends data, sister-brand Mayflower angle, employer-relocation HR press. Pure conversion play: turn existing authority into rankings.
Mid-size with pain
PODS
$720M rev · 9,595 refdoms · DR 412 · 68K nat. kw · 12mo: −1,821
Third-biggest absolute link loss in the niche. PE-owned (Stone Point + Ontario Teachers’) so growth-mandated. Mid-size revenue means real PR budget exists, but the bleed says current efforts aren’t holding the line.
Pitch angleOrigin-story narrative (PODS invented portable storage in 1998), remote-work / Sun-Belt migration data, climate-relocation reporting.
Smaller-budget twin of UVL
Atlas Van Lines
3,236 refdoms · DR 411 · 8.6K nat. kw · 12mo: −5
Same authority/footprint mismatch as United Van Lines, at a smaller scale. Almost completely flat over 12 months — so any incremental PR turns into measurable lift. Much less agency competition than UVL because their lower national profile means fewer firms have already pitched.
Pitch angleAnnual Atlas Migration Patterns report is already a media asset they sit on — amplify it for full-funnel PR returns.
Why I'd skip: U-Haul dominates and has in-house teams; Public Storage, Extra Space, CubeSmart are REITs — their PR runs through investor-relations not consumer earned-media; Bekins is the only company in the niche growing links unaided (+596); College Hunks already has well-funded franchise marketing.