Let's TalkLet's TalkHigh acquisition cost, a long gap between signed and installed, and a category carrying a trust problem most individual companies did not earn.
Give us your last hundred leads with the outcome of each, plus access to the ad account. We will come back with how many failed on roof, credit, ownership or location, what each of those cost you, and which campaigns produced the installs rather than the appointments. Recorded walkthrough, no call required.
Local conditions that change the plan, rather than the region name pasted into a template.
Since 15 April 2023, new solar customers of California's large utilities have taken service on the Net Billing Tariff rather than the old net metering. Exported electricity is credited at values from the CPUC's Avoided Cost Calculator, usually lower than the retail rate customers pay for imports. Savings now depend far more on using solar power at home and on battery storage. Marketing that still sells the old net metering maths promises savings the customer will not see.
Under the federal law enacted on 4 July 2025, the residential clean energy credit is not allowed for expenditures made after 31 December 2025, and an expenditure counts as made when installation is completed. Homeowner campaigns built around 'the 30% federal tax credit' are now out of date for purchased systems. Any incentive mentioned in an ad should be one the customer can actually claim, stated with its conditions.
California homeowners have been door-knocked, cold-called and promised 'free solar' for years. The buyers worth having are sceptical, compare several quotes and check the numbers. Installers who show real local installs, savings estimates with the assumptions beside them and plain explanations of net billing and batteries win those buyers. Utility territory matters too - PG&E, SCE and SDG&E customers face different rates and should not get one generic message.
The board that governs your advertising depends on the licence you hold, not only on the region. These are the rules that bite in California.
Solar installers are licensed by CSLB - the C-46 Solar Contractor classification covers installing, modifying, maintaining and repairing thermal and photovoltaic systems. Every licensed contractor must include its licence number in all forms of advertising (B&P §7030.5), and CSLB defines advertising to include electronic transmissions, signs, vehicle lettering and directory listings (16 CCR §861). Search ads, social ads, landing pages and listings all need it.
California requires solar companies to give consumers CSLB's Solar Energy System Disclosure Document before completing a sale, financing or lease of a residential system, printed in boldface 16-point font on the front or cover page of every solar contract (B&P §7169). Lead nurture, proposals and e-signature flows should be built so the disclosure is always delivered first, never added as an afterthought at signing.
The CPUC recommends giving homeowners the California Solar Consumer Protection Guide at first contact, and providers interconnecting residential customers of PG&E, SCE or SDG&E must collect the customer's initials and signature on it. Building the guide into the first follow-up after an enquiry - rather than the day of signing - fits the CPUC's recommendation and signals the honest approach sceptical buyers are looking for.
The same programme as everywhere, run against this region's rules.
Our closest work is the multi-state clinic group in the case study below, where we ran Meta and Google, cut cost per lead 57% in two weeks and scaled from 3 states to 12, producing 54,000+ leads and 500+ a day at peak. That client was not a solar company and not in California. What transfers is running high-volume lead generation under strict, specific disclosure rules without letting volume outrun compliance - which is exactly the balance California solar marketing requires.
Read the full case studyHonestly and with the assumptions shown. Under the Net Billing Tariff, exports are credited at Avoided Cost Calculator values, usually lower than retail import rates, so savings depend on how much solar power the household uses itself and on battery storage. Show estimates based on the customer's own usage, utility and rate plan, explain what changes the result, and never present old net metering maths as current.
Not for homeowners buying systems now. Under the federal law enacted on 4 July 2025, the residential clean energy credit is not allowed for expenditures made after 31 December 2025, and an expenditure is treated as made when installation is completed. Remove it from homeowner ads and pages. If you mention any other incentive, state its conditions and make sure the customer can genuinely claim it.
Yes. Business and Professions Code §7030.5 requires licensed contractors to include their licence number in all forms of advertising, and CSLB's regulation defines advertising to include electronic transmissions and directory listings. That covers search and social ads, landing pages, your website and listings. We add it to every format before launch and check it in every audit, alongside the disclosure requirements specific to solar.
Before you complete a sale, financing or lease of a residential solar system. CSLB's Solar Energy System Disclosure Document must be printed in boldface 16-point font on the front or cover page of every solar contract. The CPUC also recommends providing the California Solar Consumer Protection Guide at first contact, and requires a signed copy for interconnection with PG&E, SCE or SDG&E. Build both into your follow-up sequence.
Carefully. Ads that lead with loans or financing offers can fall under Meta's financial products and services special ad category, which limits targeting - no age or gender targeting and a minimum location radius. Many installers keep ads about the system, the savings and the installer, and explain payment options on the landing page. Any financing claim must also be accurate and complete in its own right.
The full service, and the neighbouring states we cover.
Which metro, which jobs, and what you are running now. We will tell you honestly whether we can help, and what the licensing rules mean for it.