1
In front of installers
PPC and SEO built around the terms installers use when researching and specifying inverters and battery storage, so SolaX appears as a serious option at the point products are chosen.
Case studies · Solar & renewable energy
Solar and renewable energy: B2B and B2C growth from search
Two sides of the same industry: a solar manufacturer positioning itself in front of the installers who specify its products, and a regional installer turning homeowner interest into surveys and orders.
01 / Solar manufacturer & supplier · B2B
SolaX Power
SolaX Power manufactures and supplies solar inverters and battery storage, with its UK operation based in Nuneaton, close to Rugby. SolaX does not install; its customers are the solar installers who choose which inverters and batteries go onto each roof.
I supported the visibility of their B2B operations, positioning SolaX in front of installers across PPC, SEO and LinkedIn Ads, and driving awareness of their presence at solar shows and expos across the UK and Europe.
- Based
- Nuneaton, Warwickshire
- Audience
- Solar installers
- Channels
- PPC, SEO, LinkedIn Ads
2
LinkedIn Ads for B2B reach
LinkedIn Ads reached installers and trade buyers by job role and industry, a level of targeting search alone cannot offer for a B2B audience this specific.
3
Expos and solar shows
Campaigns drove awareness of SolaX’s presence at solar shows and expos across the UK and Europe, bringing installers to the stand as well as the website.
02 / Solar & battery installer · B2C
Greenscape Energy
Greenscape Energy installs solar panels and battery storage, including the Tesla Powerwall system, from its headquarters in Ipswich, Suffolk. I was pulled in on the project by Mark Pearson, Marketing Director at The Marketing Centre, an external consultant hired to take Greenscape’s marketing forward for a fixed period. I ran Google Ads driving awareness of both provisions, and worked on organic SEO across the site.
Targeting covered Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Cambridgeshire, kept within a viable distance for Greenscape’s engineers and installers to travel to each job.
- Duration
- 14 months
- Channels
- Google Ads, SEO, CRO
- Via
- The Marketing Centre
First, the website
Fixing the basics before spending on ads
When I first joined, “Book a free survey” was not even in the hero area of the website. There were some glaring errors from a conversion rate optimisation point of view, so I made recommendations on refreshing key elements of the site alongside the organic SEO work, making sure paid and organic visitors had a clear route to enquire.
1
Case studies and video at the top of the funnel
Greenscape’s own case studies and customer testimonial videos were put to work in Demand Gen campaigns within Google Ads, building awareness and trust with homeowners before they were ready to search.
2
High intent search by location
Search campaigns were set at location level across the three core regions, so budget followed the areas the engineers could realistically reach. Suffolk and Norfolk had little competition in the Google Ads auction, which the account made the most of. Cambridgeshire was far more competitive, with more installers bidding, so it was managed separately.
3
A campaign for each provision
Solar installations and battery storage, including the Tesla Powerwall, each ran as separate campaigns with their own keywords and ad copy, rather than competing inside one.
4
Performance Max, once the data was ready
After three months of very refined, focused audience targeting, the algorithm had determined Greenscape’s ideal customer. Performance Max was then fed into the account with an extensive negative keyword list preloaded before launch, and it generated relevant leads from slightly broader terms.
Free surveys via Google Ads
+25%
Increase in free survey requests through Google PPC.
Overall orders
+15%
Uptick in total orders across all traffic sources and mediums.
Organic survey requests
+16%
Rise in organic contact submissions for free surveys.
Google Ads more than made its return on investment. The objective was complete over 14 months, with the work concluding at the end of Mark’s fixed-term engagement as he moved on to a new assignment.
Next step
Work in solar or renewables?
Whether you sell to installers or install for homeowners, the job is the same: be visible to the right people, within the right area, at the moment they are ready to act.
A thirty minute call is usually enough to see where search can help.