What is Google Ads for Solar Companies?
Google Ads is the largest platform for paid search advertising, allowing businesses to market their services to interested customers on Google search and other areas.
As a solar company, you can use Google Ads to reach potential customers actively looking for solar solutions, increasing brand awareness and driving targeted traffic to your website.
Some of our clients have seen impressive results, with up to 6 leads generated in under 24 hours and over 47 leads in a single month.
Why use Google Ads for a Solar Company
Targeted local advertising
Wouldn't it be great if you could just attract your ideal customer? Google Ads provides highly specific targeting options to make this possible.
You can target people based on when they search, the device they use, their household income, gender, employment, interests, and more. This way, your ads will only reach your ideal potential customers.
If your solar company only operates in a specific area or city, you can target that area. This ensures your ad is only shown to people in your service area, saving you ad budget.
Increase your business's visibility
When people search online, they typically only care about the top few results. As they scroll down the list, they tend to lose interest or think the rest are irrelevant or untrustworthy.
Google Ads lets your solar company leap to the top of search results, above the non-paid listings, with ease. This increased visibility will significantly boost your traffic and attract more qualified leads.
Trackable return on investment
Having a clear understanding of your investment is essential.
While marketing strategies like social media content and SEO are valuable, they can't provide a clear picture of their return on investment.
It's not that they don't work, but it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how they affect your revenue, making it hard to scale.
In contrast, paid search platforms like Google Ads provide detailed analytics and tracking tools, allowing you to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.
This enables your solar company to assess the ROI and make informed decisions, backed by data, to grow your business.
Attract more qualified leads with offline conversion tracking
With the introduction of Google Ads smart bidding strategies, we can leverage AI to target customers based on our specific goals.
Google Ads provides the ability to track offline conversions, allowing us to provide feedback to Google on which traffic is genuinely qualified. This enables Google to build a detailed picture of our qualified traffic, including their demographics and search journey leading up to clicking on our ad.
By combining this data with a smart bidding strategy, Google targets traffic with similar demographics to our existing qualified leads.
Cheap Cost Per Lead (CPL)
"Cheap" is relative. In the context of the solar industry, current Google Ad CPCs are relatively affordable. In Dubai, UAE, the top of page bid for bottom of funnel solar keywords is AED 6.24, a relatively low cost compared to the typical value of a solar service.
Let's examine the numbers more closely. Assuming a 5% conversion rate, the cost per lead would be AED 124.8. With a 25% close rate, the cost per acquisition would be AED 499.2. For a solar panel project on the lower end, priced around AED 30,000, this would result in a 600% return on investment.
How to set up Google Ads for a Solar Company
Define your campaign goals
Build brand awareness
If building awareness of your business is your main goal, create campaigns targeting top-of-funnel keywords to educate potential customers and establish authority.
Generate leads
To capture leads, set up campaigns focusing on bottom-of-funnel keywords with clear calls-to-action (CTAs) and tailored landing pages.
Boost sales
If generating revenue and acquiring new customers is your primary goal, build a campaign using Google smart bidding and track offline conversions. This combination lets your campaign target demographics similar to your qualified leads.
Identify specific solar services offered
Make sure your Google Ads campaigns clearly communicate the specific solar services your company offers, such as residential solar installations, commercial solutions, or solar panel maintenance.
Customers also want to know about installation costs, the return on investment timeline, and the project completion timeline.
Select the right keywords
Choose location-based keywords
Use keywords that mention your service area, such as "solar installation in Dubai" or "solar panel services near me".
Service-related keywords
Keywords related to your services often show more intent and suggest a searcher is ready to make a purchase.
Include terms like "solar panel installation", "solar maintenance", and "solar energy solutions" in your keywords.
Consider long-tail keywords
Targeting long-tail keywords like "best solar panel installation company in [city]" can help you capture more specific search intent.
Since long-tail keywords have lower search volumes, they usually have lower competition and lower CPCs.
Create compelling ad copy
Highlight what sets you apart
Emphasise your unique selling points to show what benefits your solar company offers and stand out from generic ads.
Focus on key points like promotions, instalment offers, high customer satisfaction, industry certifications, or competitive pricing.
Use clear calls to action
Use a clear and consistent call to action throughout your campaign, repeating it in your ad copy and landing page.
Think of your call to action as a gateway to entice leads to get on a call or share their details. Examples include "Get a Free Quote," "Schedule your Free Callout," or "Download Our 2024 Solar Panel Buyers Guide."
Address customer concerns
Treat your ad copy and landing page like a digital sales assistant, guiding users through a journey. Address their pain points, agitate their issues, and then offer solutions.
You can also address common sales objections, such as "zero upfront costs" or "long-term savings on energy bills."
Set up conversion tracking
Set up conversion tracking for your campaign using Google Tag or Google Analytics (GA4). This helps you understand which clicks drive actual conversions and revenue for your solar campaign.
Track conversions for:
Form submissions
WhatsApp Button Clicks
Phone Call Tracking Mark qualified conversions and upload them to Google Ads
Not all leads are equal. Identify and track qualified leads, then upload this data to Google Ads to improve your targeting.
What are the best practices for Google Ads in the solar industry?
Target local service areas
Focus your campaigns on the specific areas your solar company serves to avoid wasting ad spend. You can also exclude low-income areas where people are less likely to convert.
Use geo-specific keywords
When searchers use local terms like "Dubai", "UAE", "Local", or "Near Me", it usually means they've made up their minds and are now searching for a company to serve them.
Using local terms in your keywords helps you reach searchers who are more likely to take action.
Use ad extensions
Ad extensions let you add more information about your business or service to your ad, highlighting key benefits and promotions.
The more ad extensions you add, the bigger your ad gets, pushing your competition out of the way and helping you stand out.
Some of the best ad extensions include:
Site link extensions: Add extra links to your ad, highlighting different aspects of your business and directing users to specific pages like "Services", "Contact", or "About Us".
Callout extensions: Highlight your unique selling points, such as "25-Year Warranty", "No Hidden Fees", or "Free Consultation".
Structured snippet extensions: Emphasize particular aspects of your services, like "Residential, Commercial, Industrial".
Location Extension: Connect your Google business profile to your Google Ads campaign, showing your showroom or store location directly on your ads. This also lets your ad appear as a sponsored result in Google Maps.
Optimise for mobile
In many industries, mobile devices have become the go-to choice. Yet, we often spend most of our time developing marketing strategies for desktops.
When it comes to your solar company, it's crucial to shift your focus to mobile searchers, especially if you're targeting the residential market.
Ensure your website or landing page is mobile-friendly and provides a seamless user experience. Tailor your ad structure and landing page design to engage your audience on mobile devices.
Negative keywords are a must
For a solar panel campaign, negative keywords are crucial.
Search terms like "free solar calculator" or "DIY solar panels" tend to attract low-quality traffic.
By adding these terms as negative keywords, you can stop your ad from appearing in these searches.
This task requires ongoing attention throughout the campaign's lifecycle. We recommend reviewing your search term report weekly to identify low-intent searches and adding them to your negative keywords.
Conduct A/B testing for different ad elements
A/B testing is vital for any PPC campaign, including solar campaigns.
It allows you to test ad variations without risking performance.
By constantly testing, you can determine what resonates with the solar market and what drives conversions.
Test headlines
A famous quote by David Ogilvy says, "When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar."
A/B testing your headline is crucial for your solar campaign. Run split tests to see which headlines convert better.
Test descriptions
Your ad description supports your headline and explains how you deliver on your promise. For your solar campaign, highlight your unique selling points (USPs) and what sets you apart from others.
Optimise landing pages
Your landing page should clearly communicate your value to searchers.
Ensure your headline clearly states what you do, reassuring visitors they're in the right place. Address common pain points and include prominent calls-to-action (CTAs) to convert visitors into leads or customers.
If your campaign targets different services or customer segments, create separate landing pages accordingly. For your solar campaign, consider creating distinct landing pages for commercial and residential services.
Determine a budget based on goals
Your campaign budget should be based on your goals, such as a certain number of leads or revenue generated.
For example, let's say you want to get 20 solar leads per month.
To determine your monthly budget, you can use the following formula:
20 (number of leads) x 10 (5% modest conversion rate) x AED 33 (Estimated CPC) = AED 6,600 monthly budget
Choose manual CPC for cost control
After deciding on your budget, you need to choose your bidding strategy. If you want complete control over your cost per click, opt for manual CPC.
Adjust bids for high-conversion keywords
If quality of traffic matters more than cost per click, consider a smart bidding strategy like maximize conversions or tCPA.
How to measure the success of your Google Ads campaign?
When you run Google Ads and other paid search campaigns, it's easy to get overwhelmed by all the metrics.
But the truth is, 90% of them don't really matter.
It doesn't matter how many clicks you got or how many people saw your ad. None of them directly affect your revenue.
The real question is, where is my money coming from?
To answer that, you need to focus on a few key aspects of your campaigns.
Evaluate Ad Spend
Check your total ad spend to make sure it aligns with your budget and marketing goals.
You might find that your campaign is underspending, leaving results on the table.
Or, you might be on budget but not getting the traffic you need to reach your goals.
Analyse click-through rate (CTR)
Although CTR doesn't directly affect your revenue, it shows how searchers engage with your ad.
However, a higher CTR isn't always better. If you have a high CTR but low conversion rate, it might mean your ad and landing page don't match.
Monitor conversion rate
Your conversion rate shows what percentage of traffic turned into a lead. This metric is crucial. Increasing your conversion rate always means a bigger return on investment.
Track which leads turn into clients
Understanding which leads become clients is key to your campaign.
It helps you know if the traffic you're bringing in is qualified.
You might get a lot of people to convert into leads, but if they're just shopping around, you're wasting money.
By tracking which leads turn into clients, you can tailor your traffic to get more qualified leads.
Evaluate cost per acquisition (CPA)
Your CPA is how much you spent to get a customer. It's the number one factor in determining your campaign's profitability.
Assess against budget and ROI targets
Before you launch your campaign, set a benchmark for your CPA. Compare it to your budget and ROI targets.
Adjust strategies based on analytics insights
Once your campaign has been running for over a month, it's time to adjust your strategy and make improvements. Refine your keyword list, adjust ad copy, add negative keywords, and assess your bidding strategy based on your data.
Common challenges and solutions
There are common challenges in the solar industry when launching a Google Ads lead generation campaign. Let's address some of these challenges and how to overcome them.
Addressing high competition in local markets
Due to the buzz around solar, new competition is constantly entering the market. This can make Google Ads highly competitive and drive up CPCs.
However, because of the high ticket size of solar services and the volume of traffic, competition and high CPCs don't have to be a problem. Focus on high-intent keywords and specific demographics to ensure your budget is well spent.
Bid adjustments for high-value keywords
Over time, you'll find certain keywords outperforming others. If you're using manual CPC, increase your bid amount for these keywords to take advantage of it. If you're using smart bidding, you don't need to make any adjustments as long as your conversion tracking is set up correctly.
Addressing low click-through rates (CTR) or irrelevant traffic
By A/B testing and refining your ad copy and ad extensions, you can increase relevance and get more searchers to click on your ad and convert.
Improving conversion rates
Focus on improving your landing page headlines and the above-the-fold area to encourage traffic to convert. Make the experience easy, and clearly display necessary information above the fold without requiring scrolling.
You might find users clicking on your CTA but failing to convert. Improve this by reducing the information required from your form, decreasing friction to convert.
Complement with other marketing channels and services
Invest in local SEO
SEO, combined with Google Ads, can exponentially increase your results. By implementing both strategies, you can take up more real estate in search results, push out competition, and build authority.
Invest in paid and organic social media
Sometimes, it takes multiple touch points for a searcher to convert. They might see your ad and landing page, then search for your solar business on Instagram to see recent projects. After visiting your Instagram page, Facebook pixel retargets them with a new offer, finally pushing them to convert.
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