# Know which ad sold it: Click-to-WhatsApp ad lead tracking in South Africa

**When someone taps your ad and messages you, the inbox records the ad, flags the lead hot and counts it in your reports.**

Click-to-WhatsApp ads fill the business phone with “Hi, I saw your ad”, but nobody can say which ad worked or whether the leads were answered. EliteTeQ Inbox saves the ad on every lead it brings and shows you the result. Target customers in Johannesburg and Cape Town in Meta Ads Manager; every lead lands in the inbox with its ad.

- The ad headline saved on the lead
- Ad leads flagged hot for 72 hours
- Leads per ad and per day in reports
- Reply speed for ad leads

Track my next ad free: https://crm.eliteteqpos.com/signup (7 days free · no card needed · works with the ads you already run)

## Paying for ads, guessing the result

> “Hi, I saw your ad.” Great, but which ad?

The first message carries the ad. The chat shows the ad’s name from the first message, and the lead keeps it.

> Ad leads wait hours for a reply and go cold.

A greeting goes out the moment they write, auto-assign hands them to the next teammate, and they stay flagged hot for 72 hours.

> I can’t tell if the ad money came back.

Reports rank your ads by leads and by clients won, next to leads that came directly.

### Which of your ads actually sold something last month?

Tell us what you spend on Click-to-WhatsApp ads in South Africa. We connect your number before your next campaign, so every lead arrives with the ad that brought it. [Track my ads with you](https://wa.me/12144235355?text=Hi%20EliteTeQ!%20We%20run%20Click-to-WhatsApp%20ads%20and%20I%20want%20to%20see%20which%20ad%20brings%20sales.%20Can%20you%20help%20me%20set%20up%20EliteTeQ%20Inbox%20before%20our%20next%20campaign%3F%20I%E2%80%99m%20in%20South%20Africa.) on WhatsApp +1 214 423 5355.

## How an ad lead is tracked

Nothing to tag by hand: WhatsApp passes the ad along with the first message.

1. **Someone taps your ad** — Lerato taps “Send message” on your Facebook or Instagram ad and WhatsApp opens with your number.
2. **The lead arrives with its ad** — The first message carries the ad, so the lead shows the ad headline and a link back to it.
3. **It goes to the top** — A lead from an ad is hot for 72 hours, so your team answers it before it goes cold.
4. **You count what each ad brought** — Reports show leads per day from ads vs direct, the top ads by leads, and how fast your team replied.

## How do I track leads from Click-to-WhatsApp ads?

Connect your WhatsApp Business number to EliteTeQ Inbox. When someone messages you from a Facebook or Instagram Click-to-WhatsApp ad, WhatsApp includes the ad with their first message; the inbox saves the ad headline on the lead, flags it hot for 72 hours, and counts it in reports by ad, for your campaigns in South Africa.

- Ad headline and link saved on the lead
- Hot for 72 hours after it arrives
- Leads from ads vs direct, per day
- Top ads ranked by leads

## EliteTeQ Inbox at a glance

| | |
|---|---|
| Product | EliteTeQ Inbox, by EliteTeQ Softwares Limited (Nairobi, Kenya) |
| What it is | A WhatsApp team inbox and CRM |
| Channels | WhatsApp Business (official Cloud API, works alongside the WhatsApp Business app), Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, Facebook and Instagram comments |
| Works on | Any browser; installs on Android and iPhone |
| Price | From $29 a month; $59 Growth; $99 Business with unlimited people; a year costs 10 months |
| Free trial | 7 days, every feature open |
| WhatsApp numbers | 1 to 3 included by plan; up to 20 per business (Meta’s limit once the business is verified with Meta) |
| In South Africa | +27 WhatsApp Business numbers, office hours on Johannesburg time (SAST) |
| Languages | Customers write in English, Afrikaans and isiZulu |
| Setup | About 40 minutes, or done with you on WhatsApp |
| Last reviewed | 2026-11-01 |

## What you see about your ads

The question every advertiser asks: did the money bring customers, and did we answer them?

### The ad on the lead

Open any chat that came from an ad and the ad headline is there, with a link to the ad, so whoever answers knows what the customer saw.

- Facebook and Instagram ads
- Ad source kept for good on the lead
- Filter the pipeline to ad leads

### Answered while it’s warm

Ad leads are hot for 72 hours and sorted first. Round-robin auto-assign shares them out the moment they arrive.

- 🔥 badge for new ad leads
- Greeting sent automatically in office hours
- Away message when you’re closed

### Results per ad

Reports split leads per day into ads and direct, rank your top ads by leads, and show how quickly the team replied.

- Leads from ads vs direct, per day
- Top ads by leads
- Compared with the previous period

## Ads into one phone vs ads into EliteTeQ Inbox

Same ads, same budget, same customers in South Africa; the difference is what happens after the tap.

| Ads into one phone | Ads into EliteTeQ Inbox |
|---|---|
| “Hi, I saw your ad”, but which ad? | The ad headline is on the lead |
| Ad leads buried under other chats | Flagged hot and sorted first for 72 hours |
| No count of leads per ad | Top ads ranked by leads in reports |
| No idea how fast they were answered | Reply speed in the same report |

## For businesses running ads to WhatsApp

Shops, services and distributors that pay for Facebook or Instagram ads and close the sale in chat.

- [Beauty salons](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/industries/beauty-salons/)
- [Restaurants & cafés](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/industries/restaurants-and-cafes/)
- [Clothing stores](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/industries/clothing-stores/)
- [Electronics stores](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/industries/electronics-stores/)
- [Mobile phone shops](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/industries/mobile-phone-shops/)
- [Pharmacies](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/industries/pharmacies/)
- [Hardware stores](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/industries/hardware-stores/)
- [Wholesale & distribution](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/industries/wholesale-distribution/)

## EliteTeQ Inbox in South Africa

Replies inside the 24-hour window after a customer writes are free. Meta charges for template messages you start (marketing, authentication and most utility templates), priced by the customer’s country, so a template to a South African number is billed at Meta’s South Africa rate. Chats that start from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad are free for 72 hours. Meta bills these charges to your own Meta account; they are not part of the EliteTeQ price.

South African customers expect a business to answer on WhatsApp the way they message friends. When enquiries come into a branch phone and a manager’s phone, nobody knows who already replied. One shared inbox gives every chat a clear owner.

Customers write in English, Afrikaans, isiZulu and other languages. Your team replies in the customer’s language inside the 24-hour window; template messages are created in English.

Office hours are set day by day for each number. A common setup in Johannesburg or Cape Town: weekdays open, Saturday mornings open, Sunday closed. Anyone who writes while you are closed gets your away message, at most once every 12 hours, and the chat waits at the top of the list for the morning.

- **Numbers:** +27 (e.g. +27 82 000 0000)
- **Office hours:** Run on Johannesburg time (SAST)
- **Weekend:** Saturday and Sunday
- **Templates:** English
- **Price:** From $29 a month, in US dollars
- **Paying:** Card, charged in Kenyan shillings at the day’s rate

## Selling on WhatsApp in South Africa

Retail is dominated by formal chains and shopping centres, with township and informal trade running alongside on a different payment mix. Card is the default and cash is the exception. Scheduled grid interruption is published in advance, which makes it a planning problem rather than a surprise.

### [East London](https://eliteteqpos.com/east-london/)

Eastern Cape Province · a coastal port and manufacturing city

A working port and component manufacturing sit alongside a domestic coastal holiday trade, producing steady industrial demand and sharp seasonal peaks. The binding constraint is handling account customers and holiday-season retail without two separate systems. East London combines a working port with vehicle and component manufacturing and a domestic coastal holiday trade, giving it both steady industrial supply demand and seasonal hospitality peaks. Target East London in Meta Ads Manager and see which ad brought each chat from the city.

### [Polokwane](https://eliteteqpos.com/polokwane/)

Limpopo Province · the commercial centre of Limpopo

The city draws shoppers from a wide rural catchment and from cross-border traffic toward Zimbabwe, concentrating demand into month-end and weekends. Cash retains a larger share than the metros. Polokwane is the main retail and service centre for Limpopo, drawing shoppers from a wide rural catchment and from cross-border traffic on the route toward Zimbabwe. Target Polokwane in Meta Ads Manager and see which ad brought each chat from the city.

### [Mbombela (Nelspruit)](https://eliteteqpos.com/nelspruit/)

Mpumalanga Province · a regional centre and gateway to the Kruger National Park

Kruger-bound tourism and Mozambican border traffic layer foreign-currency and card spending on top of a steady regional retail base. Mbombela's trade combines a regional retail and agricultural service role with tourism traffic heading to the Kruger National Park and across the Mozambican border, which raises the share of foreign-currency and card transactions in hospitality. Seasonal visitor peaks sit on top of a steady local base, rewarding systems that scale between quiet and busy periods. Target Mbombela (Nelspruit) in Meta Ads Manager and see which ad brought each chat from the city.

### [Pietermaritzburg](https://eliteteqpos.com/pietermaritzburg/)

KwaZulu-Natal Province · the provincial capital of KwaZulu-Natal

Administration, education and light manufacturing give steadier year-round trade than the coast, with a student population driving term-time swings. Many operators also trade in Durban. Pietermaritzburg is an administrative, education and light-manufacturing centre inland from Durban, with steadier year-round demand than the coast and a substantial student population producing term-time swings. Target Pietermaritzburg in Meta Ads Manager and see which ad brought each chat from the city.

### EliteTeQ Inbox in every city of South Africa

- [Johannesburg](https://eliteteqpos.com/johannesburg/): Gauteng Province, South Africa's largest city and economic centre
- [Cape Town](https://eliteteqpos.com/cape-town/): Western Cape Province, a major tourism, services and technology centre
- [Durban](https://eliteteqpos.com/durban/): KwaZulu-Natal Province, the busiest port in sub-Saharan Africa
- [Pretoria](https://eliteteqpos.com/pretoria/): Gauteng Province, South Africa's administrative capital
- [Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)](https://eliteteqpos.com/port-elizabeth/): Eastern Cape Province, a port city and centre of vehicle manufacturing
- [Bloemfontein](https://eliteteqpos.com/bloemfontein/): Free State Province, South Africa's judicial capital and a regional service centre
- [East London](https://eliteteqpos.com/east-london/): Eastern Cape Province, a coastal port and manufacturing city
- [Polokwane](https://eliteteqpos.com/polokwane/): Limpopo Province, the commercial centre of Limpopo
- [Mbombela (Nelspruit)](https://eliteteqpos.com/nelspruit/): Mpumalanga Province, a regional centre and gateway to the Kruger National Park
- [Pietermaritzburg](https://eliteteqpos.com/pietermaritzburg/): KwaZulu-Natal Province, the provincial capital of KwaZulu-Natal


## Questions businesses ask us

**Do I set the ads up in EliteTeQ Inbox?**

No. You create and pay for ads in Meta Ads Manager as usual, with WhatsApp as the destination. EliteTeQ Inbox receives the leads and tracks them.

**Are chats from ads free?**

Meta doesn’t charge for messages in a chat that starts from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad for 72 hours. You pay Meta for the ad itself.

**Does this work for Instagram ads too?**

Yes, for ads on Facebook or Instagram that send people to your WhatsApp number.

**Which plan includes ad tracking?**

Campaign tracking is listed on Growth and Business. The 7-day free trial opens it on every account.

**Do Click-to-WhatsApp ads work for businesses in South Africa?**

Yes. Create the ad in Meta Ads Manager, target customers in South Africa, and choose WhatsApp as the destination. When someone taps it, their first message arrives in EliteTeQ Inbox with the ad’s name, the lead is flagged hot for 72 hours, and reports count leads and sales per ad. Meta doesn’t charge for messages in that chat for 72 hours.

Sources for the WhatsApp rules on this page (Meta):

- [WhatsApp Business Platform pricing (Meta)](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing)
- [Messaging limits (Meta)](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messaging-limits)
- [Message templates (Meta)](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/overview)
- [Business phone numbers and limits (Meta)](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/business-phone-numbers/phone-numbers)
- [About the WhatsApp Business Platform (Meta)](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/about-the-platform)

## See what your ads in South Africa bring in

Start the 7-day free trial before your next campaign.

## More about EliteTeQ Inbox

- [EliteTeQ Inbox overview](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/inbox/)
- [Shared WhatsApp inbox](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/inbox/whatsapp-team-inbox/)
- [WhatsApp CRM & pipeline](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/inbox/whatsapp-crm/)
- [Facebook & Instagram inbox](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/inbox/facebook-instagram-inbox/)
- [WhatsApp API for developers](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/inbox/api/)
- [Pricing](https://eliteteqpos.com/za/inbox/pricing/)

## Talk to EliteTeQ about EliteTeQ Inbox

- WhatsApp or call: +1 214 423 5355 (https://wa.me/12144235355?text=Hi%20EliteTeQ!%20We%20run%20Click-to-WhatsApp%20ads%20and%20I%20want%20to%20see%20which%20ad%20brings%20sales.%20Can%20you%20help%20me%20set%20up%20EliteTeQ%20Inbox%20before%20our%20next%20campaign%3F%20I%E2%80%99m%20in%20South%20Africa.)
- Email: info@eliteteqpos.com
- Web: https://eliteteqpos.com/za/inbox/click-to-whatsapp-ads/