For most solar companies, run Facebook and Instagram ads first and Google search ads second. Facebook is how you add appointments when the calendar needs more of them, and Google search is how you reach the homeowner who already went looking, in an area that only has so many of those searches.
A sales manager asks me after a Google rep calls, or after an expensive Facebook week when someone wants to move the money. I sold 250+ residential solar deals as a rep before I ran the ads. The spend we publish is $500K+ across Facebook and Google. I would not empty one account because the other had a bad Tuesday.
What is the difference between Google ads and Facebook ads for solar?
Google search ads show after a person types a query, something like "solar installers near me." They asked. You pay when they click, and the click has to land on a page that says who you are and lets them leave a name and a number.
Facebook and Instagram ads show up while someone is scrolling. They were not shopping for an installer. You pay to reach homeowners in the towns where you install, and the ad has to give them one reason to stop. On our campaigns that reason is a fact about their own house, usually how many panels it would need. The page asks a few questions, then asks for the phone number. That setup is in Facebook ads for solar companies.
| Google search ads | Facebook and Instagram ads | |
|---|---|---|
| What the homeowner did | Typed a query | Was scrolling, then tapped |
| How much volume you can add | Limited by searches in the towns you work | You can spend more in those same towns |
| The first conversation | Often further along, and often about price | Needs a call and a text within minutes |
| Where the first ad dollar goes | After Facebook is producing appointments that show | First, when the calendar can take more sits |
Which should a solar company run first?
Facebook, when you need a calendar you can grow. I rank the sources that way in how to get solar leads. A search lead is often further along. It is still my second channel, because the number of people typing those queries in one metro does not grow just because you hired a closer. You bid against the other installers in town and against companies that resell the lead.
Facebook lets you pick the ZIP codes and put more money in next month. You pay for that with the hour after the form. You interrupted someone, so somebody has to call and text while they still remember the tap. Leave it until morning and you own a name and a number.
A closer whose week is already full from referrals can flip that and use search to fill an open slot.
When do Google ads beat Facebook for a solar company?
When the team can only sit so many appointments, and you want those homeowners to have gone looking on their own. Search is the higher price per click. I say that in the source ranking linked above, and I still will not pin a dollar amount on it.
It also fits once people compare company names. They look you up before they call back. A Google Business Profile with real reviews and photos of finished installs sits next to the ad. We do not sell profile work. I still tell every company to ask for the review on install day. An empty profile spends the click and loses the return call.
Ease off Facebook in one case: your people cannot call the leads you already have. More names on top of a slow callback make both channels look useless. Get the first call out within minutes, then add search. And don't move the budget because one Facebook week looked expensive. Cost per lead moves with the ad, the form, and the town. Read the week by appointments a homeowner attended. How a lead price becomes that number is in how much solar leads cost.
When do Facebook ads beat Google for a solar company?
When you need more appointments than local search can supply. Two closers, or one rep who wants a full week of sits, will run out of useful queries in a mid-size territory before the calendar is full. On Facebook you widen the radius a little, swap the photo when people stop tapping, and leave the questions on the page alone.
It also fits an offer that tells the homeowner something about their own house. Someone who was not searching will still want a panel count. Someone who typed "solar companies near me" is often collecting prices, and another company may already be booked for Thursday.
A new shop with no installs yet should do the same. A search click lands on a thin page and an empty profile. Run Facebook while the first jobs and reviews come in, and turn search on after there is something for that click to find.
What should you expect to pay?
On Facebook, a new calculator campaign on our accounts usually runs $18 to $25 per lead, and some markets come in under that. An instant form can be $3 or $4. I don't run those when a rep's evening is the scarce thing, because contact rates sit around 5%. The account can look cheap every week and still hand the closer an empty Thursday. Past results from our campaigns, not a quote for your town.
On Google I am not publishing a cost per click or a cost per lead. That spend sits inside the $500K+ across Facebook and Google, mixed in with the Facebook spend, so I won't pull one figure out for you to budget from. If a proposal quotes a single Google cost per lead, ask which queries, which towns, and whether the number is a form fill or a homeowner who showed up.
A small service area can burn through the queries worth buying with money still left in the account. Leftover search budget usually means you ran out of good queries.
Can a solar company run Google and Facebook ads together?
Yes. I add search once Facebook is producing appointments that show, and once every new lead gets a call and a text within minutes. Search then catches the homeowner who missed the feed and went looking anyway.
Keep two budgets. A quiet search day can mean fewer people searched. A quiet Facebook day can mean a tired photo or a longer form. Moving every dollar to the account that looked good on Tuesday throws out what both were learning.
The smallest ad budget we run is about $1,000 a month. At that size I would stay on Facebook until bookings are steady, then move a slice to search. A larger budget can run both earlier. We have managed solar campaigns past $3,000 a day across Meta, Google, YouTube and TikTok. The limit was how many appointments the closers could take.
What should you track each week?
Appointments that showed, and the ad spend behind each one. Cost per click and cost per lead stay on the sheet. Neither one gets to pick the winner alone.
On Facebook, count how many leads were called within minutes and how many booked. On Google, read the search terms that spent money. Free panels, tax credits, solar jobs, and "how do solar panels work" will spend and then waste a setter's afternoon. Shut those off. Keep terms that sound like a homeowner pricing an install.
If the leads look real and the calendar stays thin, check the hours after the click before you change the ad. Confirm, remind, and rebook. That work is the same on both channels.
How does Solarfunnels handle Google and Facebook?
We run the ads and the follow-up for residential solar companies and consultants. You pay a flat monthly fee set by your ad budget, month to month, with no setup fee. Ad spend is separate. You pay the platforms, and we do not mark it up. The details are on our pricing page.
We do not sell leads one at a time or bill per appointment. We do not guarantee a number of leads or deals, because your market, your price and your budget move the result. We do not do commercial solar, SEO, or review management.
If you want a straight read on which channel fits the budget you have, book a quick call. I'll tell you if we can help, and if the money should stay on one channel for now.