From January to October 2026, FS Containers' Google Ads produced 1,514 platform-reported conversions at R67.79 each. Click-through rate was 12.6% and conversion rate 13.4%. Syte runs Google Ads (with SEO and web development also in scope) for FS Containers, a South African supplier of new and used shipping containers, rentals and conversions since 1984. The account is built as three phrase-match search campaigns: containers, competitors and brand.
| Client | FS Containers |
| Vertical | Shipping containers — sales, hire and conversions |
| Market | South Africa, national |
| Channels | Google Search (phrase match) |
| Period | 1 January – 31 October 2026 |
| Google Ads | 1,514 conversions · R67.79 CPA |
| Click / convert | 12.6% CTR · 13.4% conversion rate |
| Target | about R68 CPA (card KPI R68.25) |
The challenge
Buying or hiring a shipping container is a considered B2B decision. Buyers search for sizes, uses and suppliers, then ask for a quote. FS Containers competes with other national container yards on the same commercial terms: "shipping containers for sale", competitor brand names, and its own name. The job for paid search is to capture that intent at a cost the sales team can work with. The working target on the account card is about R68 per lead (R68.25), set as the recent baseline plus 10%. Spend more than that for long and the quotes stop paying for themselves. Spend too little and the sales desk goes quiet.
Approach
We keep the account on search only, with phrase match and a clear split:
- Containers campaign as the core. The Shipping Containers phrase campaign carries most of the volume. In 2026 it produced 1,323 of 1,514 conversions at R68.28 each, almost exactly on the account target, with a 12.4% CTR.
- Competitors as a measured second line. A Competitors phrase campaign produced 156 conversions at R52.35 each and a 12.8% CTR — cheaper leads than the main line, from people already comparing suppliers.
- Brand protected, not overfed. The branded phrase campaign produced 35.5 conversions at a higher R117.12 each. Brand gets a small share of budget so FS Containers wins its own name searches without soaking up the account.
- Budget paced to the month. Autopilot trimmed daily budgets late in October to stay inside the monthly cap; those cuts were restored on 3 November 2026 so November could run at the pre-cut level.
Channels used
- Google Search — Shipping Containers (phrase): main source of quote enquiries.
- Google Search — Competitors (phrase): captures comparison traffic at a lower cost per lead.
- Google Search — Brand (phrase): protects the FS Containers name.
- SEO technical and blogs, web development: in the client sheet, but not measured in the Report BOT pull used for this page.
What we changed
- Account structured as three phrase-match search campaigns (containers, competitors, brand), which is how the account ran through 2026.
- Conversion tracking on the live site uses GA4 Form_Submit as the primary action (G-HL8MGJM8KP). AM Pool 3 verified it on 30 October 2026: 5 conversions on 29 October and 30 over 23–29 October, with matching quote-form notifications in the leads inbox.
- 22 and 29 October 2026: autopilot cut the main campaign's daily budget to keep October inside the monthly cap (leads in the following week fell with the lower spend).
- 3 November 2026: restored the Shipping Containers campaign daily budget by about 45% to the pre-cut level, landed and read back live.
Results (platform-reported)
| Measure | Jan – Oct 2026 | Comparison period (3 Mar – 31 Dec 2025) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google conversions | 1,514 | 1,474 | +3% |
| Cost per conversion | R67.79 | R55.81 | +21% |
| Click-through rate | 12.6% | 10.1% | +2.5 points |
| Conversion rate | 13.4% | 11.8% | +1.6 points |
| Google spend | n/a | n/a | +25% |
FS Containers converted a slightly higher share of clicks in 2026 than in the previous period of the same length, and more people clicked the ads. Cost per lead rose by about a fifth, from R55.81 to R67.79, which still sits on the R68.25 card target. A separate 12-month read (October 2025 to September 2026) put average CPL at R64.11 across 1,816 conversions, so the YTD figure is in the same band.
Campaign split for January to October 2026:
| Campaign | Conversions | CPA | CTR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shipping Containers +Phrase | 1,323 | R68.28 | 12.4% |
| Competitors +Phrase | 156 | R52.35 | 12.8% |
| Brand +Phrase | 35.5 | R117.12 | 26.5% |
Methodology. Figures are platform-reported (Google Ads) for 1 January to 31 October 2026 unless stated. They are compared with 3 March to 31 December 2025, the previous period of the same length returned by Report BOT. Conversions are the account's primary Form_Submit action as Google records them. Lead-inbox counts were checked for a one-week sample in late October and lined up with the platform; they are not the source of the YTD totals above. No revenue or sales value is shown on this page.
What's next
The account is on target and budget-limited. The open questions are person-side: confirm the exact CPL target (card R68.25 vs a PPCOS figure of R74), decide the November monthly budget, and set lead rules and the client communications recipient. On the ads side, the next useful work is a search-terms pass once that report is available in the tools we use day to day, so wasted queries can be cut without guessing.
FAQ
How much should a container supplier pay per Google Ads lead?
FS Containers works to about R68 per lead. From January to October 2026 the account averaged R67.79 across 1,514 conversions.
Does Google Search work for shipping container sales and hire?
Yes, when the campaigns match how buyers search. FS Containers' phrase-match search account converted 13.4% of clicks and produced 1,514 enquiries in the first ten months of 2026.
Should a container company bid on competitor names?
It can be worth a measured test. FS Containers' Competitors campaign produced 156 conversions at R52.35 each in 2026 — cheaper than the main containers campaign.
What click-through rate is realistic for container search ads?
FS Containers' account CTR was 12.6% from January to October 2026, up from 10.1% in the previous period. Brand search ran at 26.5%.
Is a sub-R70 cost per lead sustainable year-round?
Over the twelve months to September 2026 the average was R64.11. Monthly CPL moved between about R40 and R135, so the annual average matters more than any single month.
Related
- Google Ads service: /services/google-ads
- Industrial case studies: JGS Lifting (/case-studies/jgs-lifting), Krost Shelving (/case-studies/krost-shelving)
- Contact: /contact
