We ranked 12 solar marketing channels using 130 AI answers, 520 Google Maps listings, 60 homeowner searches and live Google Ads costs. Reviews, EnergySage and battery pages came out on top, and door-to-door drew a warning in every AI answer that mentioned it.
Marketing for solar companies works best when it starts where homeowners already decide whom to call: Google reviews, EnergySage and the shortlist an AI assistant hands them. In our October 2026 study of 130 AI answers across 26 US cities, EnergySage was cited in 81.5% of answers, and 70.3% of the 411 installers the five AIs named were missing from the Google Maps top 20 in their own city. This guide ranks 12 solar marketing strategies by that data and by what each click costs in Google Ads, and it says plainly where we have no data.
The rankings draw on the Orkkid Solar AI Study and a Google Ads pull of 70 solar keywords on 26 October 2026. Orkkid is an SEO and GEO agency for solar companies, and several channels on this list are services we sell, so read the ranking with that in mind. The method is at the end of the page.
TL;DR
- In our October 2026 study of 130 AI answers in 26 US cities, EnergySage was cited in 81.5% of answers, and 70.3% of the 411 installers the AIs named were missing from the Google Maps top 20 for the same city.
- Installers with 100 or more Google reviews were named by at least one AI 52.1% of the time, against 13.5% for installers with fewer than 100 (520 Google Maps listings).
- In US Google Ads on 26 October 2026, ready-to-hire searches averaged $27.08 a click, and research searches averaged $7.97. "Solar panel quote" cost $119.73.
- Batteries came up in 92.3% of AI answers, and AI-named installers were nearly twice as likely to have a battery page (62.7% vs 33.9%).
- 17 of the 130 AI answers mentioned door-to-door sales, and every one of them did so as a warning.
Marketing for solar companies: the 12 channels ranked
The channels that rank highest are the ones a homeowner checks before picking up the phone: Google reviews, the review sites AI assistants quote, the AI shortlist itself and the cost and battery pages on your own website. Paid search follows, because it works quickly and its price is public.
How we ranked these solar marketing strategies
We asked three questions of every channel. Does our data show it in front of the homeowner when they choose an installer? Is there a public number for what it costs? Do you keep the asset when you stop paying? Channels with no measurable data rank low even if they work for some installers.
| Rank | Channel | Strongest number in our data | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Google reviews and Business Profile | 100+ reviews: named 52.1% vs 13.5% | Strong |
| 2 | EnergySage and review sites | EnergySage in 81.5% of AI answers | Strong |
| 3 | AI visibility (GEO) | 70.3% of AI picks outside map top 20 | Strong |
| 4 | Cost, battery and financing pages | Battery page: 62.7% vs 33.9% | Strong |
| 5 | Google Ads and Local Services Ads | $27.08 per ready-to-hire click | Strong on cost |
| 6 | YouTube video | Cited in 63.5% of AI Overviews | Moderate |
| 7 | Reddit, Facebook and paid social | Reddit in top 10 on 68.3% of searches | Moderate |
| 8 | Referral program | Word of mouth in 3 of 130 answers | Thin |
| 9 | Bought leads | About $1,400 per job (SolarReviews estimate) | Published estimate |
| 10 | Email and text follow-up | Not measured | None |
| 11 | Door-to-door | 17 AI answers, all warnings | Negative |
| 12 | Direct mail | Not measured | None |
What digital marketing for solar companies costs per click
A click from a homeowner ready to hire cost $27.08 on average in US Google Ads in October 2026, about 3.4 times the $7.97 average on research searches. We grouped 28 homeowner searches by intent and weighted each average by monthly search volume.
What a Google Ads click costs on 20 homeowner solar searches
Average cost per click in US Google Ads. Switch tabs to compare searches from homeowners ready to hire with searches from homeowners still researching.
Ready-to-hire searches averaged $27.08 a click on 45,520 monthly searches, while research searches averaged $7.97 on 170,900.
- solar panel quote$120
720 searches a month
- solar quote$66
880 searches a month
- solar estimate$37
720 searches a month
- solar battery installers near me$31
260 searches a month
- solar companies near me$29
14,800 searches a month
- best solar company near me$29
260 searches a month
- solar consultation$28
480 searches a month
- solar panel installers near me$24
9,900 searches a month
- solar installers near me$23
12,100 searches a month
- solar panels near me$17
5,400 searches a month
Source: DataForSEO Google Ads search volume, US, pulled 26 October 2026 (20 keywords; averages weighted by monthly searches)
| Homeowner search group | Monthly US searches | Average cost per click | What Google showed in our study |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready to hire (10 searches) | 45,520 | $27.08 | Map pack on the two biggest near-me searches |
| Generic installer terms (7 searches) | 134,880 | $24.09 | Not checked |
| Financing (2 searches) | 4,000 | $25.10 | AI Overview on all 5 financing searches checked |
| Research (9 searches) | 170,900 | $7.97 | AI Overview on 86.7% of 60 homeowner searches |
Research searches carry 3.75 times the volume of ready-to-hire searches at under a third of the price. Google answers most of them with an AI Overview that cites EnergySage, YouTube and Reddit far more often than installers, so the sensible split for digital marketing for solar companies is to buy the ready-to-hire click and earn the research click with content. Our study of AI Overviews on 60 homeowner solar searches lists every query.
The same pull shows what advertisers pay to reach you. The click on "marketing for solar companies" costs more than the click on "solar companies near me" ($28.72), so expect agencies and lead sellers to work hard for your attention.
| Installer search | Monthly US searches | Average cost per click |
|---|---|---|
| solar leads | 590 | $41.87 |
| solar advertising | 170 | $31.32 |
| door to door solar sales | 140 | $3.20 |
| solar crm | 140 | $7.68 |
| solar sales leads | 110 | $40.88 |
| marketing for solar companies | 90 | $43.22 |
| solar marketing | 90 | $28.98 |
| solar referral program | 70 | $15.17 |
| solar marketing agency | 50 | $43.94 |
| solar marketing strategies | 40 | Not reported |
| solar marketing ideas | 10 | $20.84 |
Is ChatGPT naming you, or your competitor?
Your free audit tests the questions your customers ask across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI, shows which solar companies get named today, and lays out what it will take to add yours.
Check my AI visibility1. Google reviews and your Google Business Profile
Google reviews rank first because review volume separated the installers AI named from the ones it skipped more clearly than anything else we measured. Installers with fewer than 25 reviews were named 4.6% of the time, and named installers had a median of 129 reviews against 16 for the rest.
The more Google reviews a solar installer has, the more often AI names it
Share of Google Maps top-20 solar installers named by at least one AI, by review count
Installers with 500+ reviews were named 58.8% of the time, against 4.6% for those with under 25.
- Under 25 reviews4.6%
237 listings
- 25-9928.4%
141 listings
- 100-24945.1%
71 listings
- 250-49959.5%
37 listings
- 500+58.8%
34 listings
Source: Orkkid Solar AI Study, October 2026 (520 Google Maps listings in 26 cities)
The same profile wins the map pack. "Solar companies near me" (14,800 searches a month) and "solar installers near me" (12,100) showed a map pack and no AI Overview, and the median review count of the map top 3 across our 26 cities was 57.5.
Where to start: send every customer a direct review link the day the system receives permission to operate, using our free Google review link generator. Ask everyone and offer nothing in return, as Google's review policy requires. City benchmarks are in how many Google reviews a solar company needs.
2. EnergySage and the review sites AI reads
EnergySage shapes solar recommendations more than any other site, appearing in 106 of the 130 AI answers (81.5%) and in 33 of 52 Google AI Overviews (63.5%). ConsumerAffairs followed in 46.2% of AI answers. Review and quote sites supplied 32.7% of everything the AIs cited, and installers' own websites 9.3%.
Only 2.4% of the 335 installer homepages we audited mention EnergySage. The AIs also send homeowners back to Google to check. Claude in Orlando advised: "Read recent reviews on Google and the BBB, not only on the ranking sites. Some of those sites earn referral fees."
Where to start: complete your profile through EnergySage's installer page, ask customers to review you there too, and correct your details on the top five best-of lists for your city. See the sites AI reads before recommending a solar installer and EnergySage for installers.
3. AI visibility (GEO): getting named in ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Mode
The AI shortlist is its own channel with its own winners. Of the 411 installers named by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google AI Mode, 289 (70.3%) were absent from the map top 20 for their city, and 55.5% were picked by one engine only.
The work is called generative engine optimization (GEO), also called AI SEO or AEO, and it runs on channels 1, 2 and 4. The payoff is a homeowner who arrives with your name on a short list: 94 of the 130 answers (72.3%) told the homeowner to collect several quotes from the installers named.
Where to start: ask all five engines "Who is the best solar installer in {City}, {State}? Give me your top picks." and record who is named and which sites are cited. Repeat it monthly with the same wording, or run our free GEO audit.
4. Cost, battery and financing pages on your own site
Your website earns customers when it answers the questions homeowners ask before they call, and batteries top that list. Among AI-named installers, 62.7% had a battery page and 80.4% mentioned batteries on the homepage, against 33.9% and 51.5% of the rest. Those were the two widest gaps among the 23 website signals we checked.
Seven battery searches added up to 66,960 US searches a month, and six of them cost under $8 a click. Our own proof is Australian: for Keystones Energy, a Sunshine Coast installer, one battery review earned 923 of the site's 1,531 organic clicks (60%), and the site has delivered 33 qualified inquiries, as reported by the owner.
Where to start: publish a battery page with the brands you install and a cost range, a cost page built from your last 50 jobs, and a financing page with the cash price next to the financed price. The wider plan is in our guide to SEO for solar companies.
5. Google Ads and Local Services Ads: solar advertising that pays for intent
Paid search is the fastest solar advertising channel to switch on and the most expensive per visitor. Ready-to-hire searches averaged $27.08 a click, "solar quote" cost $66.30 and "solar panel quote" $119.73. Google lists "Solar energy contractor" as an eligible category for Local Services Ads in the US, which charge per lead instead of per click.
Bid on near-me, quote and battery-installer searches in your service area, and send them to a city page with your license number, review count and battery options. Leave the $7.97 research searches to your content.
Where to start: run one campaign on the ten ready-to-hire searches in the chart above and judge it on cost per booked consultation after 60 days.
6. YouTube and video
Video is a research-stage channel. YouTube was cited in 33 of the 52 AI Overviews (63.5%), level with EnergySage, and it was the first source cited for "federal solar tax credit 2026" and "how to choose a solar installer". In the 130 "best installer" answers, YouTube was cited once.
Where to start: film one completed install a month in your city with the system size, the battery and the first bill, and embed each video on the matching page of your site.
7. Reddit, Facebook and paid social
Reddit is where homeowners check you before they call. It ranked in the organic top 10 on 41 of the 60 homeowner searches (68.3%) and was cited in 35 of the 130 AI answers (26.9%), and the AI Overview for "sunrun reviews" (9,900 searches a month) cited reddit.com first. Facebook ranked in the top 10 on 20 of the 60 searches, and no AI answer cited it. We have no cost or conversion data on Facebook or Instagram ads.
Where to start: search your company name on Reddit and answer any thread about you under your real name. If you run social ads, point them at your battery and cost pages.
8. A referral program for installed customers
Referrals cost nothing per lead, and our study cannot measure them because they happen off the web. Word of mouth came up in 3 of the 130 AI answers, such as ChatGPT in Dallas calling one installer a "strong DFW word-of-mouth pick". Reviews are the public version of a referral, which is why they rank first. Keep referral rewards separate from review requests, because Google bans offering anything in exchange for a review.
Where to start: pay a fixed reward for each referred customer who signs, and send the offer with the system's first production report.
9. Bought leads and lead marketplaces
Bought leads are fast and shared. SolarReviews estimates "$0.25 per watt for residential solar lead generation in America", about $1,400 per residential job, in its article on solar lead costs by state. The AIs warn homeowners about lead lists too: Claude in Las Vegas said "Some of these rankings are partly based on sponsored or lead-generation listings, so treat them as a starting point rather than a verdict."
Our review of solar lead generation companies compares the sellers, and how to get more solar leads ranks every lead source on its own.
When a homeowner asks which installer to trust, whose name does AI give?
10. Email and text follow-up after the quote
We have no data on solar email or text marketing, so this channel ranks on logic. Because 72.3% of AI answers told homeowners to collect several quotes, most of your quotes compete with two or three others, and follow-up decides which one gets signed. Send what the AIs told the homeowner to check: warranties came up in 86.9% of answers and financing in 78.5%. Follow the FTC's CAN-SPAM compliance guide, and get written consent before marketing texts.
Where to start: write three follow-ups for every quote: day 2 on warranty, day 7 on financing and dealer fees, day 14 with a customer story from the same town.
11. Door-to-door sales
Door-to-door is the only channel the AI assistants warned against. 17 of the 130 answers (13.1%) mentioned it, all as a caution or as praise for an installer that avoids it, and Gemini raised it in 15 of its 26 answers.
Gemini in Denver wrote that "going with a local or regional provider is almost universally recommended over massive national door-to-door sales companies." ChatGPT in Orlando told homeowners to "be cautious with door-to-door offers, “free solar” language, and financing that hides dealer fees." The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule requires door-to-door sellers on sales over $25 to tell buyers they can cancel within three business days.
Where to start: if you knock doors, expect the homeowner to ask an AI about you that evening, and make sure your reviews and EnergySage profile pass that check first.
12. Direct mail
We have no data on solar direct mail, and "solar direct mail" drew 10 searches a month. It ranks last because nothing in our study measures it, and some installers may still find it profitable.
Where to start: give each mailing its own landing page, mail the streets around your recent installs, and judge it on signed contracts per thousand pieces.
Solar marketing ideas taken from 130 AI answers
The best solar marketing ideas come from the questions AI assistants tell homeowners to ask, because your ads, pages, videos and follow-ups need to answer them.
What AI assistants bring up when a homeowner asks for the best solar installer
Share of 130 answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google AI Mode that mention each topic, 26 US cities.
Batteries came up in 92.3% of answers and warranties in 86.9%, more often than reviews, price or financing.
- Batteries or storage92.3%
120 of 130 answers
- Warranties86.9%
113 of 130 answers
- Financing, loans or leases78.5%
102 of 130 answers
- Price or price per watt78.5%
102 of 130 answers
- Reviews78.5%
102 of 130 answers
- Licensing53.8%
70 of 130 answers
- In-house install crews50%
65 of 130 answers
- Tax credit, incentives or rebates46.2%
60 of 130 answers
- NABCEP certification36.2%
47 of 130 answers
- Net metering or net billing28.5%
37 of 130 answers
- Door-to-door sales (always as a warning)13.1%
17 of 130 answers, 15 of them from Gemini
Source: Orkkid Solar AI Study, 7 and 8 October 2026 (n = 130 AI answers, 26 US cities, 5 engines; text search of every answer)
- Give batteries their own page and ad group. Batteries came up in 92.3% of answers.
- State your warranty in years. Warranties came up in 86.9% of answers.
- Show the cash price next to the financed price. ChatGPT in Los Angeles told homeowners to "Ask for cash price and financed price separately; solar loans can hide dealer fees."
- Publish a price-per-watt range from your own jobs. Price came up in 78.5% of answers, and only 22.1% of installer homepages show any price.
- Put your license number and NABCEP credentials on the homepage. Licensing came up in 53.8% of answers and NABCEP in 36.2%.
- Say who does the install. Half the answers mentioned in-house install crews.
- Explain your utility's net metering rule. It came up in 28.5% of answers.
Where to start with marketing for solar companies: a 90-day order
Good marketing for solar companies starts with the channels you keep, and paid search fills the gap while they grow.
| When | Channel | Task | Number to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 2 | Google Business Profile | Fix categories, start review requests | Reviews: 25, then 100 |
| Weeks 2 to 4 | EnergySage and review sites | Complete profiles, ask for reviews | Listed on top five city lists |
| Weeks 3 to 6 | Website | Battery, cost and financing pages | Quote requests from those pages |
| Weeks 4 to 8 | Google Ads or Local Services Ads | Ready-to-hire searches only | Cost per booked consultation |
| Weeks 6 to 12 | Video and Reddit | One install video a month | AI Overview citations |
| Every month | AI shortlist | Same prompt in five engines | Times named out of five |
If you would rather hand the first four rows to a specialist, our solar SEO services cover reviews, listings, content and GEO, and our comparison of the best solar marketing agencies lists the alternatives.
How we got this data
The Orkkid Solar AI Study ran on 7 and 8 October 2026 in 26 US cities, from Denver and Phoenix to Boston and Honolulu.
- AI answers: ChatGPT (gpt-5.5), Perplexity (sonar-pro), Gemini (gemini-3.8-flash) and Claude (claude-sonnet-5-5), with web search on, answered "Who is the best solar installer in {City}, {State}? Give me your top picks." through the DataForSEO AI Optimization API, and Google AI Mode answered "best solar installer in {City}". That gave 130 answers naming 411 installers.
- Topic counts: we searched the text of all 130 answers for each topic in the chart and counted answers with at least one match. We read the 17 door-to-door mentions one by one.
- Google Maps, AI Overviews and websites: the Maps top 20 for "solar installer" in each city (520 listings), 60 homeowner searches on Google US desktop with AI Overviews recorded, and 335 reachable installer homepages checked for 23 signals.
- Google Ads costs: US volume and average cost per click for 70 keywords from the DataForSEO Google Ads endpoint on 26 October 2026, plus installer terms from our October 2026 keyword research. Group averages are weighted by searches, and your city's bids will differ.
- Limits: one run per prompt and engine, so the AI data is a snapshot. It shows association with being named and cannot prove cause. Keystones Energy is one Australian installer. We hold no data on email, direct mail, paid social or referrals.
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Tested across ChatGPT · Perplexity · Google AI Overviews · Gemini
Check my AI visibilityFAQ
What are some effective marketing ideas for a solar company?
The most effective solar marketing ideas in our data are growing Google reviews past 100, completing an EnergySage profile and publishing a battery page. Installers with 100+ reviews were named by AI 52.1% of the time, EnergySage was cited in 81.5% of AI answers, and AI-named installers were nearly twice as likely to have a battery page.
How do I advertise my solar business?
Advertise on the searches homeowners use when they are ready to hire. Those averaged $27.08 a click in US Google Ads in October 2026, and "solar panel quote" cost $119.73. Google Local Services Ads accept solar energy contractors and charge per lead. Send every ad to a city page with your license, reviews and battery options.
How do you get leads for solar sales?
Solar sales leads come fastest from Google Ads and bought leads, and most cheaply from reviews, EnergySage and your own pages. SolarReviews estimates bought leads at about $1,400 per residential job. Our guide to getting more solar leads ranks 12 lead sources.
What is a good slogan for solar energy?
A good solar slogan makes one promise a homeowner can check. Half of the 130 AI answers we recorded mentioned in-house install crews, so "Installed by our own crew since {year}" works if it is true. Avoid "free solar", which AI assistants flagged as a warning sign in four answers.
Does door-to-door solar marketing still work?
Door-to-door can still sign contracts, and it carries a reputation cost in AI answers. In our October 2026 study, 17 of 130 AI answers mentioned door-to-door sales, and all 17 warned homeowners about it or praised installers that avoid it. Build reviews and an EnergySage profile before you canvass.
