SEO for Melbourne Solar Installers
The complete SEO guide for Melbourne solar panel installation companies. Real examples, step-by-step implementation, schema markup code, and monthly content calendars to grow your business.
Real SEO Examples: Who's Doing It Right (And Wrong)
Let's look at real Melbourne solar panel installation companies and analyse what makes their SEO work — or fail.
Penrith Solar Centre
Penrith Solar Centre is technically not Melbourne-based, but they rank nationally because their content strategy is exceptional. Here's what they do right:
- Detailed product pages for every panel brand and inverter — not generic "we install solar" but specific pages for Tesla Powerwall, Enphase microinverters, SunPower panels, each with specs and pricing
- Clear pricing with system sizes — "6.6kW system from $4,990" with breakdowns showing panel cost, inverter cost, installation, and the Victorian rebate applied
- Rebate information updated with current Solar Victoria figures — this page alone drives enormous organic traffic from "solar rebate Victoria" searches
- Step-by-step installation process with timeline, showing what happens from quote through to final inspection and meter reconfiguration
- Customer reviews with before/after electricity bills — showing real savings data, not just 5-star ratings
- Online quote calculator where customers enter their bill amount, roof direction, and usage to get a system recommendation with savings estimate
Solar Run
Solar Run is a Melbourne-local installer that ranks well through a combination of trust signals and educational content. Here's what they do right:
- CEC accreditation displayed on every page — Clean Energy Council accreditation is the gold standard for Australian solar installers and a critical trust signal
- Warranty information laid out clearly — separate sections for panel warranty (25 years), inverter warranty (10 years), and workmanship warranty (10 years)
- Finance options explained with monthly payment calculations — "6.6kW system for $28/week with green loan" makes solar accessible and reduces objections
- Savings calculator tool showing ROI based on current electricity rates, system size, and feed-in tariff — this tool alone generates hundreds of qualified leads monthly
- Real case studies with monitoring data — showing actual kWh generation, bill savings, and payback period for Melbourne homes with different roof orientations
- Comprehensive FAQ section addressing every common objection — shading, roof condition, battery vs no battery, north vs west-facing, and feed-in tariff rates
What We See Failing
These are real issues we audit on Melbourne solar installer websites every week — and they're costing installers thousands in lost leads to aggregator sites like SolarQuotes:
- No CEC accreditation shown — this is the first thing educated solar buyers check. Without visible Clean Energy Council accreditation, you look like a cowboy installer
- Vague pricing or no pricing — customers want system-specific pricing: 6.6kW, 10kW, 13.2kW with and without batteries, showing the Victorian rebate applied
- No rebate information — "solar rebate victoria" gets 1,900 monthly searches. If your site doesn't explain the current rebate, eligibility, and how to claim it, you're missing a massive traffic opportunity
- Missing warranty details — solar is a 25-year investment. Panel warranty, inverter warranty, and workmanship warranty need to be clearly stated, not buried in fine print
- No installation photos — stock photos of panels on a Californian roof don't build trust in Melbourne. Show your actual installations on local homes
- Generic "save money" claims without data — show actual savings figures, payback periods, and ROI for Melbourne's 4.3 peak sun hours. "You'll save money" is not a sales argument
- No reviews or case studies — solar averages $5,000-$15,000. People research extensively before committing. Real monitoring data and customer stories convert far better than generic testimonials
- Outdated rebate information — Solar Victoria updates figures regularly. Showing last year's amounts makes your entire site look neglected
The Invisible Solar Installers Problem
We audited 50 Melbourne solar panel installation companies websites last month:
- 72% had no schema markup
- 58% had slow mobile speeds
- 55% had outdated rebate info
- 62% had no savings calculators
If your competitors are making these mistakes, fixing them on YOUR site is a huge opportunity.
Your First 30 Days: Step-by-Step Implementation
Don't try to do everything at once. Solar SEO is unique because the buying cycle is long (4-12 weeks from first search to installation), customers are extremely research-driven, and government rebates create urgent seasonal demand. Here's the priority order:
Week 1: Credibility Foundation
Solar customers are skeptical — the industry has a history of dodgy operators and misleading claims. Your first job is establishing credibility.
- Claim and complete your Google Business Profile with CEC accreditation number, electrical licence, and ABN prominently displayed
- Display your Clean Energy Council accreditation badge on every page — this is non-negotiable for informed buyers
- Show your electrical contractor's licence number — required by Victorian law and a trust signal customers actively look for
- Install Google Analytics 4 and Search Console — track quote requests as conversions and monitor which system pages drive the most enquiries
Week 2: Product & Pricing Pages
Solar customers compare 3-5 quotes before choosing. They need clear, specific pricing information to put you on their shortlist — not "call for a quote."
- Create dedicated pages for each system size: 6.6kW (most popular residential), 10kW, 13.2kW, and commercial systems. Each page needs specific panel/inverter brands, pricing before and after rebate, and expected output for Melbourne's climate
- Add a pricing page showing system costs with the current Victorian Solar Homes rebate applied — updated every time the rebate changes
- Include product specifications and datasheets for every panel and inverter brand you install — Tier 1 panels, Enphase, SolarEdge, Fronius, etc.
- Create a dedicated battery storage page — Tesla Powerwall, BYD, Alpha ESS — with pricing, capacity, and backup capabilities explained
Week 3: Trust Tools & Education
Solar is a $5,000-$15,000 decision. Customers need tools and evidence to justify the investment, not just marketing promises.
- Build or embed a savings calculator — input current bill, roof direction, and shading to output estimated system size, savings, and payback period for Melbourne's 4.3 daily peak sun hours
- Publish case studies with real monitoring data — "The Petersons in Ringwood: 8.8kW system, $0 summer bills, 4.2 year payback" with screenshots from their monitoring app
- Create a comprehensive Victorian Solar Rebate guide — eligibility criteria, application process, current amount, and timeline. This single page can drive hundreds of monthly organic visits
- Add an installation process page with timeline — quote → site inspection → design → permits → installation → inspection → meter change → monitoring setup
Week 4: Local SEO & Technical
Solar searches are highly local — people want installers who know their area, council requirements, and grid connection process.
- Create suburb landing pages for your top service areas — "Solar Panels Ringwood", "Solar Installation Frankston", "Solar Panels Bayside" — include any suburb-specific factors like council planning overlays or heritage restrictions
- Add ElectricalContractor and SolarInstallation schema markup to help Google understand and display your business correctly
- Submit your sitemap and fix crawl errors — solar sites often have issues with PDF datasheets blocking crawlers
- List on CEC's approved retailer directory and key solar comparison sites — SolarQuotes, Canstar Blue, Choice
Why Solar Installers Hire SEO Experts
You're great at what you do — but SEO is a full-time skill. While you're serving clients, your competitors are building their online presence. The solar panel installation companies winning on Google either spend 10+ hours/week on marketing, or they hire experts. Most successful businesses outsource SEO so they can focus on what they do best. The ROI math is simple — if SEO brings in even 2-3 extra clients per month, it pays for itself many times over.
Keyword Research: What Your Customers Search
Understanding search intent is crucial. Here are the most valuable keywords for Melbourne solar panel installation companies:
High-Volume Keywords
| Keyword | Monthly Volume | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| solar panels melbourne | 2,900 | Primary target keyword |
| solar installation melbourne | 1,600 | Installation service |
| solar battery melbourne | 1,300 | Storage solutions |
| solar rebate victoria | 1,900 | Government incentive |
| commercial solar melbourne | 390 | Business market |
| solar quotes melbourne | 480 | Comparison shopping |
Lower Competition Opportunities
solar [suburb]
Local installer searches
tesla powerwall melbourne
Brand-specific
solar panel cleaning melbourne
Maintenance service
solar hot water melbourne
Alternative solar
Schema Markup: Ready-to-Use Code
Schema markup helps Google understand your business. Copy and customise this code:
LocalBusiness Schema (Required)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Electrician",
"name": "Your Business Name",
"description": "Your description with services and location.",
"url": "https://yourdomain.com.au",
"telephone": "+61-3-XXXX-XXXX",
"address": {
"@type": "PostalAddress",
"addressLocality": "Melbourne",
"addressRegion": "VIC",
"postalCode": "3000",
"addressCountry": "AU"
},
"hasOfferCatalog": {
"@type": "OfferCatalog",
"name": "Services",
"itemListElement": [
{"@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": {"@type": "Service", "name": "Solar Panel Installation"}},
{"@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": {"@type": "Service", "name": "Battery Storage"}},
{"@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": {"@type": "Service", "name": "Solar Maintenance"}},
{"@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": {"@type": "Service", "name": "Commercial Solar"}},
{"@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": {"@type": "Service", "name": "Solar Hot Water"}},
{"@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": {"@type": "Service", "name": "EV Charging"}}
]
},
"aggregateRating": {"@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": "4.8", "reviewCount": "127"}
}
</script>
Test Your Schema
After adding schema, test it at Google's Rich Results Test ↗. Fix any errors before moving on.
12-Month Content Calendar
Consistent content signals to Google that your business is active. Here's what to post each month:
January
Summer electricity bills arrive
February
Bill shock drives enquiries
March
Autumn installation weather
April
Pre-winter installation push
May
Winter preparation content
June
EOFY solar decisions
July
New financial year rebates
August
Spring installation planning
September
Spring installation season
October
Pre-summer installations
November
Summer prep installations
December
Holiday period slowdown
Monthly Content Rhythm
Every Month, Publish:
- 1 solar education or savings post
- 4 Google Business posts with installs
- Update rebate information
- Request reviews from installations
- Add new case studies
Competitor Analysis Framework
Melbourne's solar market has a unique competitive landscape. You're not just competing with other installers — you're competing with powerful comparison sites like SolarQuotes (which dominates "solar panels melbourne" rankings), Canstar Blue, and aggregators that charge per lead. Your SEO strategy needs to rank you alongside these aggregators so customers come to you directly.
6-Step Framework
Identify Your Real Competitors
Search "solar panels melbourne" and separate aggregators (SolarQuotes, Canstar) from actual installers. Your target is ranking alongside the aggregators — not just beating other installers.
Analyse Their Google Business Profile
How many reviews? What rating? Do they post installation photos regularly? Are individual systems and brands listed as services?
Audit Their Content Depth
Count their product pages, system pages, and educational content. The best solar sites have 50-100+ pages covering every system size, brand, suburb, and topic.
Check Their Rebate Pages
Is their Victorian rebate information current? If competitors show outdated figures, your up-to-date rebate guide will outrank them — Google rewards freshness on government scheme queries.
Analyse Their Backlink Profile
Use Ahrefs free checker ↗. Look for links from CEC, council sustainability pages, community solar programs, and real estate blogs.
Find Keyword Gaps
What system sizes haven't they created pages for? What suburbs are missing? What brands don't they cover? Battery storage content is still thin across most solar sites.
Victorian Rebate & Scheme SEO Strategy
Government solar schemes are one of the most powerful — and most underused — SEO opportunities for Melbourne solar installers. "Solar rebate victoria" alone gets 1,900 monthly searches, and dozens of related long-tail keywords drive highly qualified traffic from people who are actively planning to buy solar.
Essential Rebate Pages to Build
Create dedicated pages targeting each of these high-intent rebate keywords:
- Victorian Solar Rebate Guide (1,900 searches/month) — comprehensive guide covering current rebate amount, eligibility, application process, and how it reduces your system cost. Update this page every time Solar Victoria changes the figures
- Solar Battery Rebate Victoria (880 searches/month) — separate page for the battery rebate program. Include eligible batteries, rebate amount, and total system cost with both panel and battery rebates applied
- Solar Feed-in Tariff Victoria (720 searches/month) — explain current feed-in tariff rates, how they work, which retailers offer the best rates, and how tariffs affect ROI calculations
- Solar Panel Rebate Eligibility (480 searches/month) — dedicated eligibility checker content: property value cap, concession card holder benefits, rental property eligibility, and apartment/unit schemes
These pages serve double duty: they rank for high-traffic keywords AND they pre-qualify leads. Someone reading your rebate guide who then requests a quote already understands pricing, eligibility, and the process — making them a much higher-quality lead than someone from a comparison site.
The Cost of NOT Doing SEO
Every day you're not visible in Google, competitors win jobs that could be yours. Let's do the maths:
What Are You Losing Each Month?
100
Monthly searches for "solar panels [suburb]"
$8,000
Average client value
3-5%
Typical conversion rate for #1
If you ranked #1 for just this ONE keyword:
100 × 3% × $8,000 = $24,000/month
Solar jobs average $6,000-15,000 - high value per customer.
Want a custom SEO roadmap?
Our Melbourne SEO team will audit your site and deliver a clear action plan — no fluff, no lock-in.
Technical SEO Checklist
Technical issues can tank rankings no matter how good your content is:
Mobile-Friendly
Over 70% of searches happen on mobile. Your site MUST work perfectly on phones.
Test: Mobile-Friendly Test ↗Page Speed
Slow sites lose customers. Nobody waits 5 seconds for your site to load.
Target: Under 3 seconds on mobileHTTPS Security
Google marks non-HTTPS sites as "Not Secure". Kills trust instantly.
Required: SSL certificate installedXML Sitemap
Helps Google find and index all your pages. Submit to Search Console.
Check: yourdomain.com.au/sitemap.xmlGoogle Business Profile Checklist
Your GBP is often the first thing customers see. Make it count:
Complete GBP Setup
- Primary category: Solar Energy Company
- Add CEC accreditation
- Upload installation photos
- List system sizes and pricing
- Add service areas
- Enable quote requests
- Post weekly with installations
- Respond to enquiries quickly
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do solar panels cost in Melbourne?
6.6kW system: $4,000-7,000 after rebates. 10kW: $7,000-12,000. 13kW+: $10,000-18,000. Prices include installation. Quality varies significantly - cheapest isn't always best value.
What rebates are available in Victoria?
Federal STC rebate: reduces cost by $2,000-4,000 depending on system size. Victorian Solar Homes rebate: up to $1,400. Interest-free loans also available. Check eligibility requirements.
How long do solar panels last?
Quality panels: 25-30 years with performance warranties. Inverters: 10-15 years typically need replacement once. Regular maintenance extends life.
How much can I save with solar?
Average Melbourne home: $1,000-2,000/year depending on system size, usage patterns, and feed-in tariffs. Payback period typically 3-6 years.
Do I need batteries with solar?
Batteries aren't essential but maximise self-consumption. Without batteries, excess power goes to the grid at lower feed-in rates. Batteries add $8,000-15,000+ to system cost.
How long does SEO take for solar companies?
Expect enquiry increases in 3-5 months, significant growth in 6-10 months. Solar is competitive but seasonal - build visibility before summer.
Want a Professional SEO Audit?
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