The Q3 2025 benchmarking report for UK storage providers has just been published. Learn how the top 11 UK storage providers perform across the digital space.
The latest Q3 2025 benchmarking report for UK storage providers has just been published. It covers the largest 11 national storage providers, including Safestore Self Storage, Big Yellow Self Storage, Access Self Storage, Shurgard Self Storage, Storage King UK, Ready Steady Store, Sentry Self Storage, easyStorage, SureStore Self Storage, UK Storage Company, and LOVESPACE.
The research gives an inside track on who is winning the biggest share of voice online, and quantifies the gaps, risks and missed opportunities for other storage providers to win brand exposure locally, yield online enquiries, and ultimately let out units through digital performance. The report highlights quick wins that will improve enquiries from your online strategy and identifies the barriers that may be reducing your site’s ability to optimise digital performance.
To see a preview and contents page of the Q3 report, click here. To get a copy of the full report and the key takeaways, please complete the enquiry form or schedule a call. 
Q3 2025 WINNERS LEADERBOARD
For a glance into just 6 of the metrics we evaluated these top 11 Storage providers on, check out our quick-look table below; 
Continue reading for further detail on this quarter's top and poorest-performing care home providers, or request a copy of the report for the full review.
What The Industry Research Report Covers
The 70+ pages of research benchmarks each retailer based on 50+ metrics and indicators of successful digital strategy, including organic visibility, domain authority, paid media ads, conversion performance, technical performance, site speed, universal search, content, social ads, accessibility, and mobile performance.
Driving Optimal ROAS from Paid Media Channels
Some of the leading players in the space are high spenders on paid media channels such as Google, Bing & Facebook - but have a poor or sub-optimal conversion improvement strategy. Without an optimised, sophisticated conversion strategy that maximises the conversion rate, the return on investment is unsustainable or will underperform. Scaling spend on paid media is not achievable unless the conversion rate delivers optimal performance in the sector. Some in the space have paid media spend levels from 30k+ per month but dedicate minimal resources and budgets to conversion testing. Given the cost per clicks on ad networks will continue to rise, we recommend spending at least 10% of your paid media budget on ongoing conversion optimisation testing schedules to ensure your paid media ROI maintains long-term viability, competitive advantage, and sustainability.
Pay-Per-Click Marketing
Pay-Per-Click marketing is constantly evolving, with more and more advertisers being forced to hand over a lot of control to Google's algorithms as the push for automation grows ever stronger. There are still key elements of control that we have though, the main one of these being budget which is ultimately something the algorithms can't take from you. That's why being smart with your budget and ad coverage is essential to achieving strong results and bettering what your competitors have to offer.
For Q3 2025, the average monthly budget wastage across these UK storage providers was £10,197, with some of the top players in the market spending a considerable amount on areas and audiences unlikely to deliver a return. We can see this in more detail when looking at the average monthly cost per cost-per-click (CPC) amongst advertisers, with the average of this metric being £191 . This highlights how competitive the market is and how important it is to control your budgets effectively.
There are varying monthly ad budgets across the competitors in the report. While this gap highlights the competitive advantage that larger budgets can provide, it's not just about spending more; it’s about spending smarter. By focusing on driving efficiency in campaign management, targeting, and budget allocation, businesses with smaller budgets can still effectively compete with larger players. Investing in data-driven strategies and refining ad performance can help close the gap and maximise the return on every pound spent, enabling growth even in a competitive landscape. Relative to their spend, UK Storage Company reported the lowest monthly cost-per-click (CPC) at £46, and LOVESPACE has the highest at £622.
The report highlights the importance of budget efficiency by comparing monthly ad spend with estimated CPC in relation to your competitors, see who has the highest and lowest CPC. To maximise the effectiveness of your budget, it’s essential to focus on driving CPC down while maintaining or improving campaign performance. In this report, SureStore Self Storage has the lowest estimate monthly ad spend at £4,540, and Big Yellow Self Storage has the highest at £272 ,000.
By optimising targeting, refining ad copy, and leveraging data to identify high-converting opportunities, you can ensure every click delivers maximum value. This approach not only stretches your budget further but also boosts your return on ad spend (ROAS), enabling you to achieve stronger results without simply increasing expenditure.
Technical Website Compliance
Savvy digital marketers know that having a technically sound website is an essential component of a successful fully integrated digital strategy - plus a site capable of maximising conversion performance. Storage providers have the benefit of not needing to host ever-changing product pages that must be maintained, which is where we see brands in e-commerce sectors struggle. However, this can mean even a small amount of errors can hold a provider back from their competition.
In our previous audit, Safestore Self Storage received the most 404 errors (386). This quarter, Safestore Self Storage remains the storage provider to watch, and they’ve since increased their 404 errors to 421. The main cause of 404 errors is when a page’s URL is requested but no longer exists or has been moved without a proper redirect. This often happens after site restructuring, content deletion, or incorrect internal/external linking. Typos in URLs can also trigger 404 errors.
Site Speed & Conversion Rate Performance
When 62% of consumers are less likely to convert if they have a negative mobile site experience, ensuring that your site is quick and easy to load makes a significant improvement on your overall conversion rates. Storage providers will want to come across as reliable and trustworthy at every touchpoint, so a fast, easy to use site is key for not turning customers away at one of the first hurdles.
In our previous report, Access Self Storage received the slowest mobile site speed (13). This quarter, Access Self Storage has increased their mobile site speed to 27. While they’re still at the bottom of the leaderboard, all progress suggests a brand is taking action to increase their mobile site speed.
Building Competitive Advantage with Domain Authority
Domain authority is an essential metric for measuring the effectiveness of SEO performance and helps create a reliable overall gauge of how effective your site is at achieving organic traffic, i.e. ‘free’ traffic that isn’t gained through sponsored ads. Working with a digital PR specialist would help storage providers identify promising backlink opportunities which, in turn, will grow their DA and increase referral traffic.
A ‘good’ DA really comes down to how your competitors are performing, however, it’s generally considered average between 40 and 50, good between 50 and 60, and excellent above 60. In our last report, Sentry Self Storage reported the lowest DA (21). This quarter, Sentry Self Storage continues to report the lowest DA, but they’ve slightly increased their score by one point to 22. Domain authority is important because it indicates a website’s credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines. Higher domain authority generally leads to better search rankings, increased organic traffic, and more visibility. It also helps establish a website as an authoritative source in its niche, boosting user confidence.
Organic Performance – Mobile & Desktop
A strong organic performance is strategically important as it ensures your site ranks above competitors for key, transactional keywords. When 93% of your customers won’t go past the first page of Google, your absence or lack of targeting for essential keywords will cost you conversions. With consumer behaviour changing in line with the cost of living crisis, we'd expect storage providers to be hit by a reduction in interest for their services, with potential customers choosing to either sell items they're no longer using, or store them at home if possible.
Four storage providers reported a decrease in organic traffic on desktop, with easyStorage receiving the biggest drop (-23%). On mobile, 5 storage providers reported a decrease in organic traffic, with Big Yellow Self Storage receiving the biggest loss (-89%). A website can boost organic traffic by creating high-quality, relevant content optimised for both mobile and desktop users. Ensuring fast load times, responsive design, and proper SEO practices — including longtail keywords and meta optimisation — helps attract and retain visitors across devices. Regularly updating content and building authoritative backlinks further increases visibility in search results for both platforms.
Universal Search Opportunity
Google Universal Search Results is an evolving opportunity to make your pages visible on a SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Universal results often appear before traditional listings and are eye-catching for users. Universal search results refer to rankings on a SERP that are not the traditional ‘blue line’ Google link, and a retailer can appear for universal search results without being strong in standard rankings. 'Local pack' results and 'reviews' could prove to be particularly useful to storage providers, who can share information about local sites, along with reviews of their services, directly from the SERP.
Safestore Self Storage remains at the top of the leaderboard for the most Universal Search appearances (9,186), a decrease from 9,740 in our previous report. The majority of these appearances came from ‘images’ (3,700).
The Longtail Keyword Opportunity
Longtail keywords are often considered high intent and potentially more likely to convert as a searcher is being more specific. Optimising for longtail keywords also puts your content strategy in a strong position to rank for retailer new search terms as they enter Google’s index. For storage providers, they should consider targeting location-based, or size-based long tail keywords, that tie into their availability.
Big Yellow Self Storage secured the most longtail keyword appearances for position 3 (2,296) and the most appearances for positions 4–10 (1,516). To find the best longtail keywords, websites should research specific search queries that reflect user intent and are relevant to their niche. Using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush can help identify low-competition, high-conversion phrases. Analysing competitor content and search trends also provides insights into which keywords are most likely to drive targeted traffic.
Facebook Adverts
With the number of Facebook users in the United Kingdom (UK) hitting over 44 million users in 2023, it is not surprising that companies have jumped at the opportunity to advertise on the social media platform. Facebook’s UK digital advertising revenue has been estimated to have breached 2.6b GB pounds in 2019.
We’ve included screenshots of Safestore Self Storage’s sponsored Facebook posts. This UK storage provider should keep in mind how the number of lines of text in a single post can affect engagement.
Top Social Shares & Content
When it comes to social media and on-site content strategies, it is important to release content that has a longer shelf life. An article is considered 'Evergreen' if it has maintained its relevancy to an audience for longer. It's great for your brand engagement, but great for Google too, who will recognise content which achieves traffic over a long period of time. Content is relevant for brands in any industry, and storage providers should be looking to create informational pieces to educate about the value of using storage facilities.
Big Yellow Self Storage secured the most Facebook Likes (20,500), and Storage King UK has the most Instagram followers (4,900). Facebook was the most popular social media platforms of all brands. Shurgard Self Storage received the highest total engagement rate (1,340) and the highest average engagement (268).
Website Readability & Accessibility
20% of people in the UK have a disability – 2 million of which are people living with sight loss. In addition, 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have some degree of colour vision deficiency. When websites are not designed to meet these needs, retailers lose customer interest as they turn elsewhere. As storage facilities are a reasonably universal product that could be required of anyone, ensuring website accessibility is important in order to not alienate potential customers.
In our last report, UK Storage Company reported the most accessibility alerts (245) and 90 contrast errors. This quarter, UK Storage Company has drastically reduced their accessibility alerts to 27 and their contrast errors to 43, no longer making them the provider to watch for either categories. Currently, easyStorage received the most accessibility alerts (109), and SureStore Self Storage received the most contrast errors (81). Accessibility alerts and contrast errors are harmful because they indicate parts of a website may be difficult or impossible for users with disabilities to navigate. This can reduce usability, cause frustration, and limit the audience that can access your content.
GET THE FULL 70-PAGE Q3 2025 REPORT
To get a copy of the full report, please complete the enquiry form. If you want to talk to us about accelerating your digital performance, please call us on 01543 410014 or schedule a call with Rory Tarplee.
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