SolidPower: turning high-intent search traffic into more efficient solar enquiries.

SolidPower turns residential solar demand into practical power solutions.

SolidPower is a residential solar business serving homeowners in Johannesburg. Its offer sits in a high-consideration category where a search can represent a very different stage of intent: someone comparing solar prices, someone actively looking for an installer, or someone looking for backup power and battery storage because they need a more reliable home energy solution.

That distinction mattered. The job was not simply to buy more clicks. It was to make sure the campaign could recognise the commercial intent behind those searches, send people into a clearer landing-page experience, and give Google enough reliable conversion data to learn from.

First, we needed to understand what the traffic was actually telling us.

The campaign ran as one Johannesburg Search campaign with three distinct intent ad groups: Solar Installation, Solar Quotes, and Backup Power / Battery. Each ad group represented a different reason someone might be searching, so the keywords, negatives and ad messaging needed to reflect that intent.

The baseline period ran from 30 May to 28 June 2026 on the same R25,000 monthly spend used in the optimized period. It produced 42 conversions at a 6.32% conversion rate and R595.24 cost per conversion. That gave us enough conversion history to see where the account was working and, more importantly, where the next round of optimisation could make the biggest difference.

1. 1
   Separate the intent. Installation, quote and backup-power searches were given their own campaign structure so performance could be understood by commercial need.
2. 2
   Read the search behaviour. Search-term data showed where spend was being pulled toward irrelevant or lower-value queries, creating the basis for tighter keyword and negative-keyword decisions.
3. 3
   Protect the budget. The aim was to concentrate the same R25,000 on searches more likely to become genuine enquiries, rather than solve the problem by spending more.

We tightened the path from search intent to enquiry.

Solar is a considered purchase. The account needed to move from generating traffic to generating qualified enquiries without simply spending more to get there.

The optimisation was deliberately focused. We improved the quality of the search traffic, made the bidding strategy more useful once enough data had been collected, improved the landing-page journey, and made sure the conversion signals being used for optimisation could be trusted.

1. 1
   We improved keyword quality. The campaign was tightened around high-intent commercial searches, using exact and phrase match to give the account a clearer signal about who was actually looking to buy.
2. 2
   We used search behaviour to remove wasted traffic. Search-term analysis became an ongoing optimisation input, helping us identify irrelevant search queries and adding negative keywords so more of the budget stayed focused on useful commercial intent.
3. 3
   We changed how Google was allowed to bid. Maximize Conversions was used while the account gathered enough data. Once the baseline produced 42 conversions, the campaign moved to Target CPA with a R500 cost-per-lead ceiling.
4. 4
   We improved the post-click experience. The landing page was rebuilt so visitors could understand the offer, available solutions and reason to enquire before being asked for their details. Each advertised service had it’s own landing page.
5. 5
   We made measurement dependable. Form submissions and calls were tracked as conversion actions, while GA4 provided additional context around landing-page traffic and engagement. The point was simple: bidding decisions are only useful when the signals behind them are reliable.

Better traffic. Better intent. Better signals. A better page.

Once irrelevant search queries were filtered out, the account put more of its fixed budget behind searches with stronger commercial intent. That created a cleaner environment for the bidding strategy to work in.

At the same time, the landing-page rebuild gave those visitors a clearer route to the next step. Tracking then connected the two sides of the work: Google Ads could optimise against real conversion actions, while GA4 added context about what happened after the click.

The result was not simply a lower cost per conversion. The campaign generated more conversions from the same R25,000 spend, while impressions fell because the account was deliberately becoming more selective about the traffic it entered the auction for.

The account became more selective without becoming smaller in outcome.

Spend stayed at R25,000. Impressions fell from 16,625 to 12,255 as irrelevant traffic was filtered out, but clicks increased from 665 to 674. CTR improved from 4.00% to 5.50%, and conversions increased from 42 to 58.

That combination is important. The campaign did not win simply by buying cheaper traffic. It became better at concentrating spend on searches that were more likely to produce an enquiry.