Solar PPC & Google Ads
Solar is one of the most expensive paid channels in Google Ads. We build PPC programs that filter out tire-kickers, ignore the research queries SEO should own, and report on booked consultations — not cost per click.
Solar PPC is a discipline problem, not a budget problem
Most solar companies running paid ads have the same diagnosis: spending too much, getting too few qualified leads, and watching CPCs climb every quarter. The instinct is to spend more, hire a bigger agency, or layer on more channels. The actual fix is almost always the opposite — spend less on paid until the funnel catching those clicks stops leaking money.
Solar Google Ads CPCs run $40–$100+ in competitive metros. That means a 1% conversion rate on your landing page produces a $4,000–$10,000 cost per inquiry — before you account for booking rate, sit rate, and close rate. The same campaign hitting a 4% conversion rate produces a $1,000–$2,500 cost per inquiry. The difference between a profitable PPC program and a money-losing one usually has nothing to do with the ads. It has to do with what happens after the click.
The other half of the discipline problem is keyword strategy. Most solar PPC accounts we audit are bidding on research queries — "is solar worth it," "how much do solar panels cost," "solar tax credit explained." Those queries are SEO territory. They convert at glacial rates and they bleed paid budget that should be concentrated on bottom-of-funnel intent: "solar installer near me," "solar quote [city]," "solar consultation."
Get the funnel and the keyword strategy right and PPC works as it should — immediate demand capture while SEO compounds in the background. Get them wrong and you're effectively paying Google to test how broken your site is.
"Most solar companies don't need to spend more on paid. They need to stop sending expensive traffic to a leaky funnel — and stop bidding on queries that belong to SEO."
Why most solar PPC programs lose money
Spending paid budget on a leaky funnel
The biggest waste in solar PPC isn't bad keyword targeting — it's sending expensive traffic to a generic homepage with no conversion path. If your site converts at 1% and your CPCs are $60, your cost per inquiry is $6,000. Fix the funnel before scaling the spend or you're just paying Google to test how broken your site is.
Bidding on research queries that won't convert for 6 months
Most solar PPC accounts I audit are bidding on "is solar worth it" and "how much do solar panels cost" — research queries with terrible conversion economics. Those queries belong to SEO, not paid. Paid budget should concentrate on bottom-of-funnel intent: "solar installer [city]," "solar quote," "solar consultation."
Letting Google's automation run unchecked
Google Ads keeps pushing solar advertisers toward "Smart" bidding, broad match, and Performance Max with no campaign-level controls. The defaults are designed for Google's revenue, not yours. Solar requires aggressive negative keywords, manual placement exclusions, and weekly audits to keep automation from drifting into garbage inventory.
Optimizing for clicks instead of consultations
Cheap clicks from people who'll never sign a contract are worse than expensive clicks from buyers ready to consult. Most solar PPC reports celebrate falling CPCs as a win — when usually it just means the targeting got broader and the lead quality collapsed. The metric that matters is cost per booked consultation, not cost per click.
The five paid channels solar PPC actually covers
Most solar companies should run two or three of these — not all five. We start with the channels that match your buyer stage and budget, then expand only when the data justifies it.
Google Search Ads
The biggest spend bucket and the most competitive. CPCs for "solar installer [city]" routinely run $40–$100+ in major markets. We tightly target high-intent keywords, exclude the 60+ negative-keyword categories that drain solar budgets (research queries, DIY, panels-for-sale, etc.), and structure campaigns by buyer stage — not by service.
Local Services Ads (LSAs)
Pay-per-lead, not pay-per-click. Google verifies your license and insurance, displays you above search results, and only charges for actual phone calls or messages. For most local solar installers, LSAs deliver lower CPL than search ads — but they require active review management and dispute work most agencies skip.
Performance Max (with guardrails)
Performance Max is a black box that Google would love you to just trust. We don't. We run it for solar with strict negative keyword lists, asset group separation, audience signals tied to in-market solar buyers, and weekly placement audits to keep it from spending budget on display garbage.
Meta retargeting (not prospecting)
Cold Meta prospecting for solar mostly burns money — too broad, too cheap-feeling, too easy to ignore. Meta works as a retargeting channel: catching the 90%+ of site visitors who didn't convert on first visit and pulling them back through the 3–9 month research cycle. Different objective, different creative, different budget logic.
YouTube + display (proof-heavy only)
Most solar YouTube ads are skipped in 4 seconds. The ones that work are 60–90 seconds of real installation footage, real customer interviews, and a soft offer — not glossy brand spots. Display we use sparingly, only for retargeting site visitors with specific offer creative.
What solar PPC actually costs in 2026
Public ranges so you can sanity-check what any agency tells you. Real numbers vary by market, season, and campaign discipline — but if a quote is wildly outside these bands, ask why.
When we tell clients to spend less
If your landing page converts under 2%, your call tracking is broken, or your CRM doesn't tie booked consultations back to ad source — every dollar you add to paid budget makes the leak bigger. We'd rather rebuild the funnel first and scale spend after, even though it means a smaller management fee in month one. Long-term, your CAC drops and our retention goes up. That's the trade.
How we work on solar PPC engagements
Account audit + funnel diagnostic
We pull your existing campaigns, negative keyword lists, landing page conversion rates, call tracking setup, and CRM attribution. Most accounts have at least three structural problems that need fixing before scaling spend makes sense. We tell you honestly which ones.
Funnel + tracking foundation
Before scaling spend: dynamic call tracking install, offline conversion imports for booked consultations, landing page audit (and rebuild if conversion rate is below 3%), and CRM integration. This is the unglamorous work most agencies skip — and it determines whether everything else works.
Channel mix + campaign rebuild
We rebuild Google Search ads with bottom-of-funnel intent only, set up LSAs with verification and review process, layer in Performance Max with strict guardrails, and add Meta retargeting (not prospecting) for site visitors. Most clients start on 2–3 channels, not all 5.
Negative keyword + placement discipline
Solar requires aggressive ongoing negative keyword work — DIY queries, panels-for-sale searches, employment, news, research, competitor branded terms. We run weekly negative keyword reviews and weekly placement audits on Performance Max and display.
Reporting tied to booked consultations
Every report ties paid spend back to booked consultations and revenue — not clicks, not impressions, not even leads. If a campaign produces leads but those leads never book consults, we kill it. Cost per booked consultation is the only metric that matters.
Solar PPC FAQs
PPC is one channel. Here's the rest of the solar program.
Want to see where your
paid budget is leaking?
Get a free solar PPC audit. We'll review your campaign structure, negative keyword lists, landing page conversion, call tracking, and channel mix — and tell you what's working, what's draining budget, and what to fix first. No pitch.