How much do solar companies spend on Google Ads?

Residential solar installers running Google Search ads typically spend $5,000 to $50,000 a month, depending on target volume and metro. For a small operator targeting one to three signed deals a week from paid, $8,000 to $15,000 a month is a common starting range. Below $3,000 a month, the data is too sparse to optimise reliably.

What is a good cost per lead for solar on Google Ads?

On non-brand Google Search ads targeting US residential solar, $75 to $250 per lead is the typical range. Brand keywords (your own company name) are much cheaper, usually $5 to $25. Facebook and Instagram leads are usually cheaper per lead but have lower contact and close rates, so cost per signed deal often ends up similar.

Can I run Google Ads for solar on $1,000 a month?

Technically yes, meaningfully no. At $100 cost per lead, $1,000 is 10 leads. That is below the volume Google's optimiser needs to find winning configurations, below the volume you need to reliably measure close rate by keyword, and below the volume where one bad week does not define the account's performance. $3,000 a month is a more honest floor.

What is the ratio of ad spend to revenue for solar?

For a well-run US residential solar installer, Google Ads commonly runs at 5 to 15 percent of attributable revenue. Spending $10,000 a month and generating $100,000 to $200,000 of signed revenue from that spend is a working campaign. Below 5 percent is excellent; above 15 percent usually means a configuration or targeting problem rather than a budget problem.

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Solar Google Ads budget calculator

The monthly Google Ads budget required to hit your target signed-deal count.

Hitting a signed-deal target is a chain: budget buys leads, leads become contacts, contacts become sat appointments, sat appointments become signed deals. This calculator takes your target signed deals and your real-world rates for each step, and back-solves the monthly ad budget required. The output is a range because cost per lead on Google Search for solar varies by metro and keyword.

Calculator

Target signed deals per month from Google Ads5

Only the deals attributable to paid Google Search, not every channel.

Close rate on contacted leads20%

Of leads you successfully get on the phone, the percentage that sign.

Contact rate70%

Of leads received, the percentage you actually get on the phone.

Cost per lead: low end of your range$100

For Google Search ads targeting US residential solar, $75 to $120 is common in less competitive metros.

Cost per lead: high end of your range$200

$200 to $300+ in heavily competitive metros like LA, Phoenix, Austin, Miami.

Total leads needed per month

25 contacted leads, scaled up for 70% contact rate.

Monthly budget range

$4,286 to $8,571

Includes a 20% buffer for management and testing. Pure media would be $3,571 to $7,143.

How this is calculated

How the number is derived

Step 1
Start from the target signed deals
How many signed solar deals do you want from Google Ads this month? This is the output of the chain, not the input.
Step 2
Divide by close rate on contacted
Target signed deals / close rate (as decimal) = contacted leads needed. If you close 20 percent of contacted leads, you need 5 contacted leads for every signed deal.
Step 3
Divide by contact rate
Contacted leads / contact rate (as decimal) = total leads needed. If you contact 70 percent of the leads that come in, you need to generate more leads than you plan to contact.
Step 4
Multiply by cost per lead
Total leads x cost per lead = monthly budget. For Google Search ads targeting US residential solar keywords, cost per lead typically falls between $75 and $250 depending on metro, intent (brand vs non-brand) and competition. The calculator uses that range.
Step 5
Add 15 to 25 percent for management and testing
A real campaign has losing ad groups, keywords you have to kill, and seasonality. Headline budget rarely survives first contact with reality. Build the margin in from the start.

What this is not

Cost per lead on Google Search is the biggest swing factor and the one most sensitive to local competition. A quiet metro in a southern state can see $75 to $120 CPLs; a heavily contested one in California can hit $300+. Use your own Google Ads account's historical CPL where you have it; the default range here is directional only.

Questions people ask

Solar Google Ads budget calculator: FAQ

How much do solar companies spend on Google Ads?: Residential solar installers running Google Search ads typically spend $5,000 to $50,000 a month, depending on target volume and metro. For a small operator targeting one to three signed deals a week from paid, $8,000 to $15,000 a month is a common starting range. Below $3,000 a month, the data is too sparse to optimise reliably.
What is a good cost per lead for solar on Google Ads?: On non-brand Google Search ads targeting US residential solar, $75 to $250 per lead is the typical range. Brand keywords (your own company name) are much cheaper, usually $5 to $25. Facebook and Instagram leads are usually cheaper per lead but have lower contact and close rates, so cost per signed deal often ends up similar.
Can I run Google Ads for solar on $1,000 a month?: Technically yes, meaningfully no. At $100 cost per lead, $1,000 is 10 leads. That is below the volume Google's optimiser needs to find winning configurations, below the volume you need to reliably measure close rate by keyword, and below the volume where one bad week does not define the account's performance. $3,000 a month is a more honest floor.
What is the ratio of ad spend to revenue for solar?: For a well-run US residential solar installer, Google Ads commonly runs at 5 to 15 percent of attributable revenue. Spending $10,000 a month and generating $100,000 to $200,000 of signed revenue from that spend is a working campaign. Below 5 percent is excellent; above 15 percent usually means a configuration or targeting problem rather than a budget problem.

Next step

See the number against your real pipeline.

A calculator is a snapshot. Volt runs the real one against the leads landing in your pipeline, every day, with every channel feeding in automatically.

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