The solar industry is growing at a record pace like never before. According to SEIA, Solar Energy Industries Association, since 2000, the solar industry as a whole has rapidly grown at a 33% annual rate.
In August 2022, the U.S. Government passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 which dramatically redirected the country’s focus on clean energy and climate change. This legislation advances cost-saving clean energy projects, brings tax credit opportunities for families and businesses, and ramps up the solar industry to help meet President Biden’s climate goals by 2030.
With steady growth and this recent legislation, the solar industry continues to become more and more competitive. A strong digital marketing strategy will help your business beat the competition and continue to thrive in this competitive landscape.
We created this guide to digital marketing for solar companies to help you promote your solar business, increase traffic, and generate qualified leads. Read on to learn about the best digital marketing outlets for solar companies along with best practices to follow for success.
Top 5 Digital Marketing Ideas for Solar Companies
In today’s highly digital world, a digital marketing strategy is essential for solar companies that want to grow. A good strategy will combine several different types of digital marketing to achieve the widest reach.
1. Social Media
Social media marketing should be a priority for solar businesses because 72% of Americans use social media to engage with content and connect with others. This is a huge number of people who you could be targeting through social media posts about your solar products. By utilizing various social media platforms you can extend your reach significantly.
2. Email Marketing
Email marketing through newsletters and other forms of email communication is another digital marketing idea for solar companies. In fact, 77% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months according to HubSpot’s State of Marketing Trends Report 2022.
3. Paid Media
Paid media marketing includes pay-per-click advertising, social media ads, branded content, and display ads for your business. This form of marketing gets your solar energy ads in front of your target audience to increase the number of qualified solar leads you receive each month. According to HubSpot, 68% of marketers stated that paid advertising is “very important” or “extremely important” to their overall marketing strategy.
4. High-Quality Content
A high-quality content marketing strategy includes a wide range of content such as blog articles, whitepapers, ebooks, and landing pages. It can even extend to video content or podcasts. Written content especially, is effective in explaining the benefits of solar to consumers interested in clean energy. Providing value-packed content for your potential customers will encourage them to reach out for more information.
5. Technical SEO
While technical SEO, or search engine optimization, isn’t a marketing strategy on its own, it is directly related to how well your website performs. SEO improves your website’s visibility on search engines like Google which helps bring in more customers. Technical SEO involves backend work to ensure your website is optimized, functioning properly, easily navigable, and that pages are able to be crawled and indexed effectively.
These different forms of digital marketing for solar companies can be used in conjunction with one another to boost your online presence, convert more users, and grow your business.
Marketing Best Practices for Solar Companies
Now that you know more about the digital marketing avenues you can take advantage of, let’s discuss some best practices to be aware of for your solar business.
Have a mobile-friendly website.
According to Google, over 50% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. Having a website that is fully functional and aesthetically pleasing on both computers and mobile devices is extremely important. People’s phones are almost always in their hands. If they are scrolling through Instagram and see an ad for your solar business, you want their experience on your website to be top-notch. A poorly designed website will have potential customers turning away quickly.
Create well-designed landing pages.
Landing pages are stand-alone web pages that users “land on” after clicking a link or ad for a specific marketing campaign. The goal of a landing page is to convert visitors by collecting their contact information or getting them to schedule a consultation. The design of landing pages is vital to moving users down the funnel toward becoming paying customers. Be strategic with the language you use on landing pages and the information you share about your business’s offerings.
Use Google Analytics or Search Console to track your progress.
With any digital marketing campaign, you must track your results to see if your efforts are working. Google Analytics and Google Search Console are two free tools for businesses. They allow you to monitor your organic traffic, paid traffic, conversions, and more. If you aren’t using these tools yet, you should be!
Utilize a Google Business Profile.
Creating a Google Business Profile for your solar company is essential to getting found by potential customers in your area. A Google Business Profile helps users find you in Google Search and on Google Maps. Your Business Profile can include photos, a list of your services, special offers, updates, and more. This also allows you to respond to reviews of your business and interact with customers easily.
Share customer testimonials.
Customer testimonials are highly influential for users considering your solar business. According to Search Engine Land, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. It is extremely beneficial to ask happy customers for testimonials you can use on your website or in marketing materials.
Focus on local SEO.
Local SEO increases your local visibility organically to help your business generate leads and increase conversions. A local SEO strategy may include adding more information to your Google Business Profile, creating location-specific pages on your website, or targeting keywords such as “best solar company in [insert city]” or “solar panels in [insert city].”
We know that this was a lot of information. Digital marketing for solar companies may seem like an overwhelming project to tackle. Luckily, you can rely on the digital marketing experts at Elevato Digital to develop a results-driven marketing strategy.
Level Up Your Solar Company Marketing With Elevato Digital
Elevato Digital is a full-service digital marketing agency that provides an excellent customer experience and proven results. Our services include, but are not limited to web development, website hosting, engineering, SEO, paid media, social media management, email marketing, and content writing services.
If you want to learn more about standing out in the competitive solar industry, schedule a free consultation. You can also contact us online today.