A homeowner gets their summer electric bill, does a double-take, and immediately opens their phone. Sometimes they type “solar installer near me.” More and more often, they ask an AI: “Is solar worth it in my area, and who can install it?” If your company shows up in Google results, that’s SEO at work. If an AI tool recommends you (or lists you as a top option) when someone asks for the “best solar installer,” that’s AEO. For solar services—where a typical job runs $15,000–$30,000 and trust matters as much as price—you need both.
Getting found on Google: the visibility layer (SEO)
SEO (search engine optimization) is the set of actions that help your solar business appear when people search on Google. In solar, the searches are usually tied to savings, incentives, and resilience—plus a strong local intent.
Common examples include:
- “solar panel installation [city]”
- “solar + battery backup [city]”
- “net metering explained [state]”
- “solar panel repair near me”
- “solar panel cleaning [city]”
- “best solar financing options [city]”
For most local solar installers, SEO breaks into three practical areas—each with its own “make or break” details.
Map results: where “near me” decisions get made
When someone searches locally, Google often shows the map results first. Your Google Business Profile is a major driver here. Solar companies that treat it like a living sales asset (not a one-time setup) tend to win more of these clicks and calls.
What matters most:
- Correct primary category (and closely related secondary categories)
- Accurate service area (cities/regions you truly cover, not aspirational)
- Fresh photos of installs, electrical work, inverters/batteries, and your crew
- Clear business hours (and whether you handle urgent repair calls)
- Service list that matches reality (install, battery storage, repair, cleaning, monitoring)
Website rankings: the “I’m researching” phase
Solar buyers often take weeks or months to decide. Your website can rank for “comparison” and “cost” searches that happen before someone ever fills out a form.
To compete, you usually need more than a single “Solar Services” page. Strong solar sites have dedicated pages for:
- Solar panel installation
- Battery storage installation (and battery retrofit options, if you do them)
- Solar repair & troubleshooting (inverter issues, production drops, critter damage)
- Panel cleaning (especially in dusty or pollen-heavy regions)
- System monitoring and production guarantees (if offered)
Trust signals: the silent ranking factor
Solar is a high-stakes purchase with a long lifespan (panels commonly last 25–30 years and pay back in ~6–10 years). Google doesn’t want to recommend a company that looks unclear, unproven, or inconsistent.
Signals that often matter for solar:
- Review volume and quality (especially reviews that mention “battery,” “financing,” “NABCEP,” “production,” “permitting”)
- Consistent business info across the web (name, address, phone, hours)
- Proof you’re legitimate: certifications, manufacturer authorization, warranties, and clear financing language
Is AI Recommending Your Business?
See how you stack up against your competitors and let Pantora get you to the top.
How AI recommendations happen: being the answer (AEO)
AEO (answer engine optimization) is the work you do so AI tools can confidently recommend your company when someone asks a question in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and similar platforms.
Instead of showing a long list, the AI tries to produce a direct response like:
- “Here are the top-rated solar installers in [city] that offer battery storage.”
- “If you want energy independence and outage protection, these companies install solar + batteries and handle permitting.”
- “These installers are NABCEP certified and offer financing.”
That shift changes how leads come in. You’re not just competing for a click—you’re competing to be the recommended choice.
Where AI tools “learn” about your solar business
AI systems pull from multiple sources. You don’t control all of them, but you can influence the most important ones.
Common inputs include:
- Your Google Business Profile (services, photos, Q&A, reviews)
- Your website’s service pages, FAQs, and “About” details
- Third-party platforms (local directories, review sites, community pages)
- Mentions around the web (awards, sponsorships, local “best of” lists)
- Consistency and clarity across all listings
If your online presence is vague—like “we do renewables” without specifics—AI may skip you when the prompt is clearly about “battery storage installation” or “solar repair for low production.”
The overlap—and the difference—between SEO and AEO for solar
Solar installers sometimes hear “AI search” and assume they need to start from scratch. In practice, a lot of the fundamentals carry over, but the “win condition” is different.
- SEO helps you appear in search results.
- AEO helps you get summarized and recommended.
A few solar-specific differences show up quickly:
Google rewards proximity; AI rewards clarity
Local map results are heavily influenced by location and category match. AI recommendations lean harder on whether your business is easy to describe:
- Do you install solar only, or solar + battery?
- Do you handle permitting and interconnection?
- Do you offer financing (loan, lease, PPA where applicable)?
- Are you NABCEP certified or manufacturer authorized?
- Do you offer a production guarantee or monitoring?
If those answers are buried, AI might not “understand” your best selling points.
AI often answers the “is it worth it?” question before the “who do I hire?” question
Solar buyers frequently ask questions like:
- “How much can I save with solar in [city]?”
- “Should I add a battery or just do panels?”
- “What happens during a power outage?”
- “Are incentives expiring soon?”
If your site never addresses these directly, you miss the chance to be included when AI provides a short list of recommended installers alongside guidance.
If you want to understand why AI results look so different across platforms, this helps: ChatGPT vs AI Overviews vs Grok vs Perplexity: What's the Deal?.
Solar-specific website content that pulls in better leads
Generic SEO advice says “create content.” For solar, the content that actually converts is the content that reduces uncertainty around cost, performance, and risk.
Build pages around outcomes, not just equipment
Homeowners don’t wake up wanting “400W modules.” They want lower bills, energy independence, and protection from outages. Your service pages should connect the service to the outcome.
Examples of strong, high-intent pages:
- “Solar Panel Installation in [City] (Permitting + Utility Interconnection Included)”
- “Battery Storage Installation in [City] (Outage Backup + Peak Rate Savings)”
- “Solar Production Drop Troubleshooting (Inverter Errors, Shade, Critter Damage)”
- “Solar Panel Cleaning in [City] (For Pollen/Dust/Construction Debris Areas)”
- “System Monitoring & Production Guarantee (How We Track Performance)”
On each page, spell out:
- What’s included (site assessment, design, permitting, install, inspection, PTO)
- What can affect pricing (roof type, electrical upgrades, main panel, trenching, battery capacity)
- Typical timelines (including utility delays)
- Warranty coverage and who services what (installer vs manufacturer)
- Service area details (cities you actually install in)
Add an FAQ section that mirrors real sales calls
AEO loves direct Q&A formatting because it’s easy to quote and summarize. Use the exact questions your team answers daily:
- “Can I add a battery to an existing solar system?”
- “Do panels work during a power outage?”
- “What happens if my roof needs replacement later?”
- “How do incentives work, and do they have deadlines?”
- “How long do panels last, and what maintenance is required?”
Remember the industry reality: panels commonly last 25–30 years, and many homeowners evaluate solar on a 6–10 year payback window. If you state those facts clearly (and responsibly with “varies by home and rates”), you sound more credible to both humans and AI.
Reviews that help you rank and get recommended
Solar reviews can be painfully generic (“Great experience!”). That’s nice, but it doesn’t teach Google or AI what you’re actually great at.
Instead, aim for reviews that include specifics buyers care about:
- Financing experience (“They explained the loan options clearly.”)
- Timeline and permitting (“Handled permits and utility paperwork.”)
- Performance (“System is producing what they projected.”)
- Battery/outage experience (“Battery kept essentials running during an outage.”)
- Trust credentials (“NABCEP certified,” “manufacturer authorized,” etc.)
You can’t script reviews, but you can prompt detail. After PTO or after a successful inspection, ask:
“Would you mind mentioning what we installed (solar only or solar + battery), and how the process went with permitting/financing? That helps neighbors find us.”
Those keywords aren’t just marketing fluff—they map directly to how people search and how AI filters recommendations.
Listings hygiene: small errors that cost big solar jobs
Because solar jobs are high value, tiny credibility gaps can become expensive. If a homeowner sees conflicting hours, a disconnected phone number, or mismatched company names, it triggers hesitation.
Audit these basics quarterly:
- Same business name formatting everywhere (no swapping between “LLC” and not)
- Same phone number on website, Google profile, and major directories
- Correct address/service area (especially if you operate from a warehouse or home office)
- Updated financing language (if you offer it, say it plainly)
- Correct categories (avoid looking like a general electrician if solar is your focus)
This also reduces the risk of AI “hallucinating” details to fill in gaps.
A practical cadence: what to do weekly, monthly, and seasonally
Solar has year-round demand, but spring and fall are often ideal install windows. Incentives can also create deadline-driven spikes. Your marketing maintenance should match that rhythm.
Weekly (60–90 minutes)
- Upload recent job photos to your Google Business Profile (roof arrays, batteries, tidy conduit runs, inspections passed).
- Request reviews from 3–5 customers who just got PTO or noticed a strong first-month production report.
- Add one short Q&A to your website or FAQ page based on a real call you received.
Monthly (half-day block)
- Improve one “money page” (usually solar install or battery storage) with better FAQs, clearer timelines, and 3–5 new project photos.
- Check that your service list matches what you want to sell (if batteries are a priority, make it obvious).
- Publish one local resource page tied to your area’s concerns (outages, rate increases, local utility rules).
Seasonal (before spring/fall demand or incentive deadlines)
- Update “incentives” messaging with current dates and a clear disclaimer to confirm eligibility.
- Add a short section about expected lead times (permitting, inspection, PTO) so buyers aren’t surprised.
- Refresh your financing explanation so homeowners understand next steps without a phone call.
How to tell whether AI is influencing your solar lead flow already
You may not see “AI leads” in your CRM, but you’ll hear it in the way prospects talk.
Common signs:
- Prospects say, “ChatGPT listed you,” or “Google’s summary mentioned your company.”
- Fewer website visits, but form fills and calls remain steady (AI reduced the research clicks).
- More “comparison” conversations: “Do you offer a production guarantee?” “Are you NABCEP certified?” “Can you do solar + battery?”
- Bigger national brands show up more often because they have clearer footprints online—even if your installs are higher quality.
If your pipeline feels soft and you’re not sure why, this companion piece can help diagnose non-AI conversion issues too: 5 Reasons Homeowners Aren’t Calling (and How to Fix It).
If you’re invisible in AI answers, fix these gaps first
When solar installers don’t show up in AI recommendations, it’s usually not mysterious. It’s typically one of these:
- Your core services aren’t explicit (panels, battery storage, repair, cleaning, monitoring)
- Your service area is unclear or inconsistent
- You have reviews, but they don’t mention solar/battery/permitting/financing
- You don’t display trust signals (NABCEP, manufacturer authorization, warranties, production expectations)
- Your website avoids “hard questions” (cost drivers, timelines, outages, incentives)
Pick one priority (for many installers, it’s battery storage) and make it impossible to miss across your homepage, service page, Google profile services, and review prompts.
If you want a straightforward way to track how often your business appears across AI platforms—and what to change to improve it—Pantora can monitor your visibility and surface a clear action list.
When SEO and AEO are working together, you don’t just “show up.” You show up with a story that makes sense: what you install, where you install it, why you’re trusted, and what homeowners should expect. In solar, that clarity is often the difference between a curious click and a signed contract.