Google Ads Campaign for Home Solar with Battery Backup
The 30-second recipe
- Start with
- Google Search campaign segmented by battery-specific and solar-plus-storage intent
- Add next
- Performance Max — add it once the Search campaign has logged 30–50 confirmed lead conversions, giving the algorithm enough signal to avoid wasting budget on low-intent audiences
- Not yet
- Display or YouTube awareness campaigns — not until you have a cost-per-lead benchmark from Search; awareness spend on a $20K+ ticket with no conversion baseline is guesswork
- Wait for
- Roughly 30–50 lead form submissions or confirmed phone calls tracked as conversions in Google Ads before expanding to Performance Max
- Measure
- Cost per qualified lead (CPL), lead-to-appointment rate, and ultimately cost per sold job — CPL alone is misleading if the leads don't sit
The whole recipe is below ↓
This is a recipe, not a guarantee. How well any ad campaign performs depends on things no recipe can control: your budget, how crowded and expensive your industry's auctions are, the products you sell and what you charge for them, how well your website actually converts visitors, the quality of your customer support, your reviews and reputation, your creative, and plain timing. A perfect recipe on top of a weak offer or a broken website will still lose money — ads amplify what's already there, good or bad.
The budgets shown are suggestions only — yours could and should vary with your available funds and your goals. Follow this recipe with caution: make sure every step lines up with your budget and your business, and edit where necessary. We explain why each step exists, but nothing here is one-size-fits-all. Before you spend a dollar, be blunt with yourself about the list above — get your house in order, then use the recipe to learn and test. That's what it's for.
Check the rules that govern your industry before you run anything. Plenty of businesses carry advertising obligations that have nothing to do with the ad platforms: licensing boards, professional advertising standards, rules about what you may claim and how you must substantiate it, age restrictions, and consent laws covering email, texting, and calling. Those rules are yours to know, they vary by state and country, and they override any step in this recipe.
If you work in a licensed or regulated field — health and medical, legal, financial and lending, insurance, real estate, alcohol, firearms, cannabis, childcare, education, anything with a board or a license behind it — confirm what applies to you before you spend a dollar, and ask your attorney or your licensing body if you are not certain. Nothing on this site is legal advice.
This recipe runs entirely on Google Search, building one tightly structured Search campaign first — because homeowners shopping for solar with battery backup are already typing intent-rich queries, and capturing that existing demand is the highest-leverage move before spending anything on awareness. The sequence is: nail conversion tracking and a strong landing page, launch a Search campaign segmented by intent level, hold steady until you have 30–50 conversions, then layer in Performance Max once the algorithm has real data to learn from.
This is for solar installation businesses that already have an ad account and are ready to run paid traffic on a $15,000–$40,000+ average ticket. The core problem is that solar-plus-battery is a long consideration cycle — most homeowners touch 4–6 touchpoints before requesting a quote — so the campaign must be built to survive the wait: right keywords, honest cost-per-lead expectations, and a bid strategy that doesn’t panic and overspend in week one. Social platforms like Meta can drive awareness and retargeting on their own, but that deserves a separate recipe.
What can you afford to pay for a customer?
Advertising can only cost what's left after everything else. Put in what a typical order looks like and this works out the rest.
These are your numbers as you've typed them. Connect your store and we'll work this out from your actual orders instead — including the costs most people forget.
Prerequisites Checklist
Before spending a dollar on ads, confirm every item below is in place. Skipping any one of them means your data will lie to you.
- Conversion tracking: Google Ads conversion tag or imported GA4 goal firing on quote-request confirmation page AND on phone calls (Google forwarding number or call extension with a minimum 60-second threshold). Both must show "Recording" status — not just installed, actually firing.
- Landing page: A dedicated page (not the homepage) that names the battery brand(s) you install (Powerwall, Enphase IQ, Franklin WH, etc.), shows a clear CTA above the fold, includes social proof (reviews, install count, certifications), and loads in under 3 seconds on mobile. Solar buyers do most early research on mobile.
- Offer clarity: Know your average system price, the current federal ITC percentage, and any state/utility incentives in your market. Vague ads that don't acknowledge cost lose to competitors who do.
- CRM or lead tracking: A way to tag and track leads from Google Ads through to appointment and close. Without this you cannot calculate true cost per sold job.
- Google Ads account verified: Business identity verification completed in Google Ads (required for home services advertisers in many markets).
- Licensing compliance note: Solar installation is a licensed trade in most states. Before running ads, verify that your state contractor's license, any required electrician classifications, and local permit advertising rules allow you to make the specific claims in your ads — including savings estimates and incentive amounts. Requirements vary by state and override anything in this recipe.
If you don't have these yet, build the foundation first with a from-scratch Solar Installer business setup before running paid traffic.
You need working conversion tracking, a real landing page built for solar-plus-battery specifically, a clear offer with pricing context, and a CRM to track leads past the click. If your 'thank you' page isn't firing a conversion event right now, stop and fix that before buying a single keyword. Also confirm your contractor licensing allows the specific ad claims you plan to make.
New to "funnel" talk? What top, middle, and bottom mean
Think of every person who could ever buy from you as water moving through a funnel. Top of funnel is strangers — people who've never heard of the business. Campaigns here buy attention and first visits, not sales, so expect cheap clicks and few purchases. Middle of funnel is people who've shown interest — they visited, engaged, or are comparing options. Campaigns here re-engage and build the case. Bottom of funnel is people ready to buy right now — searching for exactly what you sell or abandoning a cart. Campaigns here convert; the clicks cost the most because the intent is worth the most. Full funnel means automated campaigns that work every stage at once. One thing that surprises people: recipes usually start at the bottom — capture the demand that already exists before spending money creating new demand at the top.
Campaign Architecture and Keyword Strategy
Run one Search campaign with two ad groups, segmented by intent level. This keeps bids, messaging, and quality scores clean — mixing battery-specific queries with generic solar queries in one ad group destroys relevance.
Ad Group 1 — Battery Backup Intent: Searchers who already know they want storage. These are the highest-intent, highest-CPL terms. Bid more aggressively here.
Ad Group 2 — Solar + Storage / Cost Intent: Searchers evaluating the combined system or researching cost. Slightly lower intent but higher volume. These often convert slower.
Use phrase and exact match only — broad match on solar terms will hemorrhage budget on DIY, rental, and commercial queries within days. Negative list is non-negotiable from day one.
Trademark note: If you're an authorized Powerwall or Enphase dealer, confirm your dealer agreement permits use of those brand names in ad text. Google's trademark policy may require an authorization on file. Never imply you are Tesla/Enphase/Franklin — use phrasing like "Authorized Powerwall Installer" only if your dealer agreement explicitly grants that title.
Reminder: budget figures are suggestions — scale to your funds and goals.
Captures homeowners who are already researching solar-plus-battery systems and are close to requesting quotes — the highest-intent, most purchase-ready audience available.
- 1. In Google Ads, click New Campaign > choose goal: Leads.
- 2. Select campaign type: Search. Click Continue.
- 3. Name the campaign clearly, e.g. 'Search — Solar + Battery — [City/Region]'.
- 4. Under Bidding, select Maximize Conversions. If you have 30+ conversions already, set a Target CPA instead (start at 1.5x your acceptable CPL to give the algorithm room). Do NOT use Target Impression Share — it optimizes for visibility, not leads.
- 5. Set daily budget: $75–$150/day. Enter your geographic targets — cities or zip codes where you install, not a broad radius that bleeds into markets you don't serve.
- 6. Under Networks, uncheck 'Search Network partners' and uncheck 'Display Network'. Search only.
- 7. Create Ad Group 1: name it 'Battery Backup Intent'. Paste in the battery-focused phrase and exact match keywords from the list above.
- 8. Create Ad Group 2: name it 'Solar + Storage / Cost Intent'. Paste in the solar-plus-storage cost and general storage keywords.
- 9. Add all negative keywords from the list above at the campaign level (not ad-group level) so they block waste across both groups.
- 10. Add at least one Responsive Search Ad per ad group (minimum 8–10 headlines, 3–4 descriptions). Pin the most important headline — your battery brand or location — to position 1 so it always shows.
"home battery backup"
"solar battery backup"
"solar with battery storage"
"powerwall installation"
"home energy storage system"
"solar panel battery backup installation"
"solar battery storage cost"
"backup battery for solar panels"
"enphase battery installation"
"solar plus storage"
"solar battery system [city]"
[solar battery backup installer]
[home battery backup installation]
[powerwall installer near me]
[solar and battery storage cost]
[solar battery backup system cost]
[home solar battery storage]
[solar energy storage installation]
[battery backup solar system installation]
[enphase IQ battery installer]
free solar
solar lease
solar rental
DIY solar
solar jobs
solar careers
solar training
solar course
solar kit
commercial solar
solar farm
solar stocks
how to install solar
solar financing only
off-grid cabin
Two ad groups, one campaign. Battery-backup-specific searches in one bucket, broader solar-plus-storage cost searches in another. Phrase and exact match only — broad match on solar keywords is a budget drain. If you use brand names like 'Powerwall' in your ads, check your dealer agreement first.
Ad Copy and Extensions Built for a High-Ticket Buyer
Solar-plus-battery buyers are skeptical and price-aware. Ad copy that ignores cost loses to ads that confront it. Structure every RSA around three jobs: qualify the buyer, name the value, remove friction.
Headline pool (mix and test):
- "Solar + Battery Backup — [City] Installer"
- "Never Lose Power Again — Add a Battery"
- "[Federal ITC %] Tax Credit Available — [Year]"
- "Powerwall & Enphase Systems Installed" (only if authorized)
- "Get a Free Home Energy Assessment"
- "$0 Down Financing Available"
- "[X] Installs in [City/State] — Licensed & Insured"
- "See If Your Home Qualifies — Free Quote"
Description pool:
- "Power your home day and night — even during outages. We design, permit, and install solar + battery systems sized for your home."
- "Most homeowners pay $X–$Y after the [ITC%] federal tax credit. Request a no-obligation quote and get your savings estimate in 48 hours."
Assets (formerly extensions) — all required:
- Sitelinks: "How Battery Backup Works", "Financing Options", "See Our Installs", "Service Area"
- Callouts: "Licensed & Bonded", "[X]-Year Workmanship Warranty", "Utility-Approved Installer"
- Call asset: Enable with a Google forwarding number. Set to show during business hours only.
- Location asset: Link your Google Business Profile.
- Lead form asset: Optional but worth testing — a native Google lead form reduces friction for mobile users who won't click through to your site.
What to avoid: Vague headlines like "Go Solar Today" or "Clean Energy Solutions" — they don't differentiate and they attract clicks from people who aren't ready to spend $20K+. Be specific about battery brands, price range, or incentives wherever your dealer agreements and state advertising rules allow.
Ad performance is heavily dependent on your landing page quality score and offer strength — the best copy in the world underperforms if the landing page doesn't continue the conversation the ad started.
Write ads that mention cost, tax credits, and battery brands upfront — this pre-qualifies buyers and keeps tire-kickers from burning your budget. Add every available asset: sitelinks, callouts, call button, and your address. Vague 'go solar' copy wastes money on a $150/click keyword.
Launch, Bid Management, and the First 30 Days
The first 30 days are a data-collection exercise, not a profit center. The goal is to get enough conversion signal for Google's algorithm to stop guessing.
Week 1–2: Watch search term reports daily. Any irrelevant query that spends more than half your target CPL gets added to negatives immediately. Don't touch bids — let Maximize Conversions find the floor.
Week 2–4: Check Quality Scores per ad group. Below 5/10 usually means ad relevance or landing page mismatch. Rewrite headlines to mirror the keyword theme of that ad group. A poor Quality Score on expensive keywords ($15–$25 CPC) costs you 30–50% more per click than a competitor with 8/10.
After 30–50 conversions: Switch to Target CPA bidding. Set your initial tCPA at roughly 1.3–1.5x your observed average CPL from the Maximize Conversions phase — setting it too tight too early starves impressions.
Seasonality watch: Solar-plus-battery demand peaks in late spring through summer in most US markets (homeowners notice high utility bills) and has a secondary bump in late fall before year-end tax planning. Expect CPCs to rise April–July as competitors increase budgets. January–February is often cheaper to test in, but volume is lower.
Budget reality check: At $75–$150/day in a competitive metro market, expect 3–10 clicks per day depending on geography. At a 5–10% lead conversion rate on your landing page, that's roughly 1–3 leads per week to start. CPL on solar keywords typically runs $80–$250 in competitive markets. If your close rate is 20–30% and your average revenue per job is $25K+, the math works — but only if you track through to close, not just to lead.
Reminder: budget figures are suggestions — scale to your funds and goals.
The first month is about learning, not profit. Check your search terms every few days and add bad ones to your negative list. Don't panic if CPL looks high in week one — the algorithm needs 30–50 conversions before it stops guessing. Solar leads are expensive per click; do the math all the way to closed jobs, not just to form fills.
Performance Max Expansion (Post-Validation Only)
Performance Max (PMax) should not be your first campaign — it needs conversion history to perform, and without it the algorithm targets the easiest conversions, which on solar are often low-quality. Add PMax only after your Search campaign has logged 30–50 real lead conversions.
Why PMax for solar: Once trained, PMax reaches homeowners earlier in the research cycle across YouTube, Discovery, Gmail, and Maps — channels where early-consideration solar buyers spend time. It's particularly strong for intercepting homeowners who haven't started typing queries yet but match your converters' profile.
PMax setup specifics for solar-plus-battery:
- Asset group 1: Battery backup focus — creative assets showing power outage scenarios, whole-home backup, battery brand logos (if authorized).
- Audience signals: Upload your existing customer list (even 50 past customers helps), add in-market segments for "Solar Energy" and "Home Improvement," and website visitor audiences once traffic is sufficient (500+ visitors/month minimum for meaningful signals).
- URL expansion: Limit to your solar-plus-battery landing page only. Disable expansion to all site URLs or PMax will send traffic to your blog or about page.
- Budget: Start PMax at 30–40% of your total Google budget, keeping Search as the anchor.
- Brand exclusions: Add your own brand name as a Search theme exclusion — you don't want PMax cannibalizing branded queries you'd win cheaply anyway.
Retargeting note: PMax will automatically re-engage past site visitors as part of its full-funnel automation — this is the right way to run retargeting at this budget level. Do not run a separate standalone retargeting campaign until your site is logging 1,000+ visitors per month; below that, the audience is too small to matter and you're just fragmenting spend.
Reminder: budget figures are suggestions — scale to your funds and goals.
Spans the full funnel — re-engages site visitors, targets in-market homeowners mid-research, and surfaces the brand on YouTube and Discovery to buyers earlier in the consideration cycle.
- 1. In Google Ads, click New Campaign > Leads > Performance Max.
- 2. Name the campaign 'PMax — Solar + Battery — [City]'.
- 3. Set bidding to Maximize Conversions with a Target CPA set to your observed CPL from the Search campaign (start at 1.3x to give headroom).
- 4. Set budget: 30–40% of your total Google daily budget (e.g. $30–$60/day if total is $100/day).
- 5. Under Asset Groups, create Asset Group 1 named 'Battery Backup.' Upload: 3–5 images (home with panels + battery install photos), 1–2 landscape images, logos, 5 headlines (battery-specific, include brand names if authorized), 5 descriptions, and at least one 15–30 second YouTube video if available.
- 6. Under Audience Signals, add: your customer email list upload, in-market audience 'Solar Energy,' in-market 'Home Improvement,' and your website visitor audience (if 500+ monthly visitors).
- 7. Under URL Expansion, click 'Send traffic to specific URLs only' and enter your solar-plus-battery landing page URL. Do not allow expansion to all URLs.
- 8. Under Campaign Settings > Brand Exclusions, add your own business name so PMax doesn't compete with your branded Search terms.
- 9. Link your Google Business Profile and enable the location asset.
- 10. Set a 4-week review window before making any bid or budget changes — PMax needs time to exit the learning phase.
Don't touch Performance Max until Search has proven itself with 30–50 real leads. Once you add it, give it your past-customer list as a training signal, lock down which URLs it can send traffic to, and keep Search as the main budget. PMax will handle re-engaging past visitors automatically — no need for a separate retargeting campaign at this scale.
Measurement, Scaling Rules, and When to Cut
Solar's long sales cycle means your dashboard will look expensive for weeks before the back-end justifies it. Build a simple tracker with these columns: Date, Clicks, Impressions, Avg CPC, Leads (form + call), CPL, Appointments Set, Appointments Sat, Quotes Sent, Jobs Closed, Revenue. Update it weekly.
Numbers to watch:
- CPL target: Set based on your close rate and average job value. At a $25K average and 25% close rate, each job costs 4 leads. A $200 CPL = $800 cost per job = 3.2% marketing cost. Most solar operators find 3–8% acceptable.
- Lead-to-appointment rate: Below 40% usually means lead quality issues (wrong keywords, misleading ad copy) or slow follow-up (call leads within 5 minutes — solar buyers get multiple quotes).
- Impression share lost to budget: If this is above 30%, your budget is capping your results. Scale budget before touching bids.
- Search term irrelevance rate: If more than 15% of your spend is on terms you'd add to negatives, your match types have drifted or negatives need expanding.
Scale rule: Increase daily budget by 15–20% when CPL is at or below target for two consecutive weeks AND impression share lost to budget exceeds 20%. Don't double budgets — large jumps reset the learning phase.
Hold rule: CPL is above target but lead-to-appointment rate is strong? Hold budget and fix the landing page or offer before adding spend.
Cut rule: Any ad group or keyword spending 3x your target CPL with zero conversions after 30+ days gets paused. Don't optimize what should be cut.
Results depend heavily on factors this recipe doesn't control: your offer's competitiveness, your pricing vs. local competitors, review count and recency, landing page conversion rate, and how fast your sales team responds to leads. Honest campaigns with weak offers or slow follow-up still underperform.
Reminder: budget figures are suggestions — scale to your funds and goals.
Track leads all the way to closed jobs, not just to form fills. Know your target CPL based on your close rate and job value. Scale budgets slowly — 15–20% at a time. Pause keywords that spend 3x your CPL without converting. And remember: the campaign doesn't close the job — your follow-up speed and proposal quality do.
The recipe card
- Before anything else: confirm the advertising rules for your own industry and location — licensing board requirements, professional advertising standards, what you may claim, age restrictions, and consent rules for email, texting, and calling. They override every step below.
- Google Search first, Performance Max second — only after 30–50 real lead conversions
- Phrase and exact match only; broad match on solar keywords burns budget within days
- Battery backup and solar+storage intent split into separate ad groups for relevance and bid control
- $75–$150/day minimum to get enough clicks for meaningful decisions; expect $80–$250 CPL in competitive markets
- Track CPL through to closed jobs — solar's 30–90 day sales cycle makes lead-only metrics misleading
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