How to Get More Customers as a Solar Panel Installer
Forget the marketing hype. For most solar panel installation business owners, more customers comes from doing one thing well: showing up at the top of Google when someone searches for "solar panel installer near me". Here's how.
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Where Solar Panel Installer Customers Actually Come From
Most solar panel installation business owners overestimate social media and underestimate Google. The honest breakdown for a typical solar panel installer: roughly 60% of new customers come from local Google search, 20% from word of mouth, 10% from directories like Checkatrade, and the remaining 10% is everything else combined.
Local Google search
Someone types "solar panel installer near me" and clicks one of the top 3 results in the map pack. Owned, ranking-driven, compounds.
Word of mouth
A friend, neighbour, or family member recommends you. Often they'll still Google-check you before calling.
Directories
Platforms like Checkatrade send paid leads. Useful for top-up — terrible as a primary channel.
Everything else
Social media, leaflets, vehicle wraps, Google Ads, and your existing customer database all combined.
Why Google Reviews Bring You Customers
60% of your customers come from Google search. Solar panels are a £5,000-15,000 investment. Customers need extensive reassurance before committing. Reviews about energy savings, installation quality, and aftercare support are what close the deal against bigger competitors. Reviews are the bridge between someone typing your search term and someone calling your number — the higher you rank and the more reviews you have, the wider that bridge gets.
"solar panel installer near me"
Google shows the top three results for this search based heavily on review count, rating, and recency. Most clicks go to those three.
Trust signal
For a solar panel installation business, reviews are the first social proof potential customers see — long before they ever talk to you.
Permanent asset
Unlike Checkatrade, Google reviews are free, owned by you, and don't disappear when you stop paying.
Why You're Not Getting Enough Calls
It's almost never because you're bad at the work. It's one of these four reasons — and they're all fixable.
High-value installation means customers research extensively
National companies dominate Google Ads — hard to compete
The decision process takes weeks — staying top of mind is crucial
MCS certification is required but doesn't differentiate you alone
Top-ranking solar installers typically have 30-80 Google reviews.
The Acquisition Engine Behind the Calls
Customer acquisition for a solar panel installation business is mostly a review collection problem in disguise. Fix the collection and the calls follow. Grow Our Reviews handles the collection automatically, so the acquisition takes care of itself.
Finish a installation
Wrap up the work the same way you always have. Nothing changes in how you operate.
Add the customer
Drop their name and mobile into the app — fifteen seconds, from your phone.
Reviews land
Happy customers post directly to Google. Unhappy ones give you private feedback first.
Examples — From Search to Customer
Three real journeys. A homeowner searching for a residential solar panels, someone urgently needing a battery storage installation, a referral checking your profile before they call. Each one is a customer won or lost on what they see.
residential solar panels
A customer who's just had a residential solar panels from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
battery storage installation
A customer who's just had a battery storage installation from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
solar panel and battery combo
A customer who's just had a solar panel and battery combo from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
commercial solar
A customer who's just had a commercial solar from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
Pricing to Get You More Customers
14-day free trial on the plan you choose. Card required. Cancel from the dashboard anytime.
Lite
Enough credits for around 30 installations a month.
- Up to 30 message credits per month
- SMS review requests
- Automatic follow-up nudges (can enable/disable)
- Sentiment gate (review filtering)
- Analytics dashboard
- Email support
Starter
Enough credits for around 150 installations a month.
- Up to 150 message credits per month
- SMS review requests
- Automatic follow-up nudges (can enable/disable)
- Sentiment gate (review filtering)
- Analytics dashboard
- Email support
Growth
Enough credits for around 300 installations a month.
- Up to 300 message credits per month
- Everything in Starter
- Priority support
Common Questions
What's the fastest way to get more customers as a solar panel installer?+
Improve your Google ranking. Reviews are the fastest lever — typical lift in 4-8 weeks of consistent collection. Paid ads are faster but don't compound, so the moment you stop paying, the customers stop.
Should I advertise on Google or build organic ranking?+
Both, in that order. Organic ranking via reviews is the long-term asset. Paid ads make sense once your profile converts — they don't make sense to a profile with 12 reviews.
Do directories like Checkatrade still work?+
For solar panel installers they can — but the ROI rarely beats Google. A pound spent on review collection compounds for years. A pound spent on Checkatrade stops working the moment you stop paying.
How many extra customers can I expect from better reviews?+
A typical solar panel installation business moving into the top three local results sees enquiry volume roughly double. From there it compounds — more customers mean more potential reviewers, which means even better ranking.
Your next customer is already searching.
They typed "solar panel installer near me" five minutes ago. The question is whether your solar panel installation business shows up in the top three or the third page. Reviews decide which.
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Other Trades we work with
The same approach works for adjacent trades — same automation, different defaults.
More for solar panel installers
Same topic, different angles — useful if you're researching how reviews fit into your wider solar panel installation business.
Further reading
Articles from the blog that go deeper into the topics on this page.