7 September 2026 · 6 min read · Oscar Markham
How to judge what a solar lead is worth
Every solar installer we speak to asks the same question first: what should a lead cost? The honest answer is that the number on its own tells you almost nothing. A cheap lead that never answers the phone is more expensive than one several times dearer who has already told you their roof type, their budget and when they want the install. Here is how to think about it.
The ranges we see
On Meta (Facebook and Instagram), a well-run lead-form campaign for a domestic solar installer in Ireland produces leads across a wide range, depending on the county, the season and how tightly the form qualifies. Campaigns that ask nothing beyond a name and a phone number sit at the cheap end and waste the installer's time; campaigns that ask about the property, the roof and the timing sit at the dear end and fill survey diaries.
On Google Ads, the searches with real intent ('solar panels Cork', 'solar PV installer near me', 'SEAI solar grant') cost several times more per lead. The conversion rate to a survey is much higher, because the person typed the words.
The number that matters is not the cost per lead. It is the cost per survey booked, and after that the cost per install. A cheap Meta lead that becomes a survey one time in three can end up costing much the same per survey as a Google lead three times dearer that converts two times in three — and the Google one arrives ready to buy. Both are worth running. Only the report tells you which is winning this month.
Why shared leads look cheap and cost more
Several national websites sell solar leads to installers, usually to three or four firms at once. The homeowner has filled in one form and is now being rung by four companies within the hour. The installer who wins that job is the fastest caller with the lowest quote, which is not a business anyone wants to be in.
A lead generated in your own name, from your own ads, lands with you alone. The homeowner asked for you. That is the whole difference, and it is why installers who move from shared leads to their own campaigns usually see the close rate double even when the cost per lead goes up.
The four questions the form should ask
A lead form is a filter. Every question you add costs you a few cheap leads and saves you an hour on the phone. For a domestic installer, four questions do most of the work:
- Do you own the property? Renters and people at the wrong stage drop out here.
- Is the house detached, semi-detached or terraced? A rough system size and a rough price before anyone speaks.
- When are you hoping to install? 'Within three months' goes to the top of the diary; 'just researching' gets an email sequence instead of a call.
- Have you applied for the SEAI grant? Tells you how far along they are and what to say first.
What the results look like when it is done properly
One of our home-improvement clients received 21 qualified leads in a single month from a small Meta budget, every one of them through a form that qualified the job first. A Cork EV charger installer received 54 residential enquiries in three weeks from a campaign built around his own installs. Those are not typical results, and we do not promise them, but they show what happens when the creative is honest, the targeting is local and the form does the qualifying.
If you want to know what your own numbers would look like, start with a free growth audit. We will look at your Google map results, your reviews, your website and the ads already running in your county, and tell you where the enquiries are going right now.
Written by Oscar Markham, founder of Dublin Growth Digital. We run lead generation for Irish estate agents and trades, reported every Friday in enquiries and booked work.