Nearly half of all UK self storage enquiries now coming from the internet

Some 49% of first-time enquiries received by UK self storage centres now come from the internet, according to respondents to an email survey run by the UK self storage website Storage.co.uk.

This average obscures substantial variation between the different respondents, many of whom get over 60% of enquiries from the internet (and some get over 80% and 90%), while a minority continue to get hardly any in this way.

Online enquiries have grown substantially over the last fifteen years as the internet has become widely available, before which it would have been nearly zero. This means that all the other avenues for obtaining customers - phone, signage and print advertising - account for only slightly more than the internet when put together.

It shows the importance for companies of having a strong online presence, particularly doing well in the major search engines for important search terms. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can be done by a company to improve this, but it is an expensive option that's often restricted to the larger firms.

This is the UK's most representative self storage industry survey, as it was open to every single storage centre in the country.

Storage.co.uk is a independent advice website for people interested in renting self storage space. It provides a storage finder, how-to guide, videos and blogs covering all aspects of renting storage space.