There are now over 5,250 MCS-certified solar contractors in the UK — the highest ever. With 257,397 installations completed in 2025, that is roughly 49 installations per installer per year. The difference between thriving and struggling comes down to one thing: cost of customer acquisition.
The Lead Generation Landscape: Real Numbers
| Channel | Cost Per Lead | Lead-to-Sale Conversion | Effective Cost Per Acquisition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads (PPC) | £80 – £250 | 10-15% | £600 – £800 |
| Facebook / Meta Ads | £20 – £80 | 5-10% | £300 – £600 |
| Lead gen platforms (shared) | £20 – £50 | 5-10% | £300 – £600 |
| Lead gen platforms (exclusive) | £50 – £150 | 15-25% | £250 – £500 |
| Organic search (SEO) | Effectively £0* | 25-30% | £200 – £400* |
| Referrals | £200-£500 bounty | 29-30% | £200 – £500 |
*Once established after 12-18 month investment period. Organic leads have near-zero marginal cost.
Google Ads CPCs for UK solar keywords range from £1.50 to £8.00, with "commercial solar panels" among the most expensive terms. A realistic benchmark is approximately 200 clicks per conversion, requiring £600-£1,400 in ad spend per acquisition. Monthly budgets for small-to-medium installers typically run £1,000-£3,000.
Facebook delivers the lowest cost per lead but typically the lowest quality. One documented case study achieved a CPL reduction from £98 to £25.80 over six months through optimised targeting — a 74% improvement.
Why Local SEO Wins for Solar
Solar installation is a local service. Nobody hires an installer 200 miles away. This makes local SEO — ranking in Google's map pack and organic results for "[service] [location]" searches — the single most valuable marketing investment.
The maths are compelling. Google Ads delivers leads at £80-£250 each with 10-15% conversion. Organic search delivers leads at near-zero marginal cost with 25-30% conversion. The upfront investment in SEO (typically £2,000-£3,000/month for 12-18 months) is repaid many times over once rankings are established.
Installers dominating local search share common traits: optimised Google Business Profile with regular reviews (volume matters — even 31 reviews can outrank competitors with 2,400), dedicated location pages for every town served (not just one "areas we cover" page), consistent NAP across all directories, and genuine local content that goes beyond generic filler.
Content That Generates Leads
The highest-converting content is not "how solar panels work" articles. It is specific, local, and commercial:
Location pages with genuine local data — council climate targets, average sunshine hours for that postcode area, local property types, and planning considerations specific to the area. The winning formula is 2,500-3,500 words with 5+ unique local data points per page.
Sector pages targeting commercial niches. A dedicated page about solar for schools with Salix Finance information, case studies, and education-specific ROI calculations will outrank a generalist page every time.
Transparent pricing pages with real numbers. Transparent cost data builds trust and pre-qualifies leads — visitors who know the price range before calling are far more likely to convert.
Conversion Funnel Benchmarks
Well-qualified exclusive leads achieve 30-38% lead-to-appointment rates. Appointments convert to quotes at 80-95%. Quote-to-sale conversion sits at roughly 25-35%. Referral leads consistently deliver the best performance at approximately 29-30% lead-to-sale.
The critical insight: cheapest per-lead rarely means lowest acquisition cost. A £20 shared lead at 5% conversion yields a £400 CPA. An organic lead at 30% conversion approaches zero marginal cost. The maximum sustainable CPA benchmark is approximately 10% of average job value — with residential averaging £7,279 (MCS data), that implies a ceiling of roughly £728.
The Specialist Advantage
Generalist installers ("we do everything for everyone") struggle to rank for any specific term. Specialists win because they create deeper content. An installer focused on commercial solar can rank for dozens of business keywords. One focused on hotel solar can dominate a niche with zero competition from generalists.
This specialisation extends to the sales conversation. When a hotel owner is comparing two quotes and one installer has a dedicated page with hospitality-specific ROI calculations, the specialist wins almost every time. The cost of creating these pages is trivial compared to the lifetime value of the clients they attract.