Solar Attribution: Tracking Campaigns from Click → Sit → Install

You're spending $50K/month on solar leads across Google Ads, Meta, door-knocking, and aggregators.

Your calendar is full. Appointments are booked. But your show rate is 40%, your sit rate is 20%, and your close rate is 10%.

Worse: You have no idea which lead sources are driving creditworthy homeowners who actually install—versus tire-kickers who ghost after the appointment.

So you're optimizing for cost per lead ($150) instead of cost per install ($4,500).

And that's why 60-70% of your marketing budget is wasted on leads that will never convert.

Here's how solar companies track attribution the right way—from click to funded install.

The Solar Attribution Problem

Most solar companies track leads like this:

1. Marketing Report: "We generated 200 leads this month"
2. Sales Manager: "Yeah, but 100 no-showed and 60 didn't qual

ify" 3. Install Report: "We completed 8 installs for $240K total revenue" 4. Finance Question: "Which marketing channels drove those 8 installs?" 5. Awkward Silence: "We don't really track that..."

Sound familiar?

The problem isn't your ads or your setters. It's your attribution system.

You're tracking leads and appointments. But you're not tracking which leads become sits, which sits become signed contracts, and which contracts become funded installs.

So you keep scaling channels that generate cheap leads—even when those leads never close.

What You Need to Track (The Solar Funnel)

For solar companies, attribution needs to connect 6 stages:

Stage 1: Lead Source

• Google Ads (keywords, campaigns)
• Meta Ads (audience, creative)
• Door-knocking (territory, team)
• Lead aggregators (Sunrun, Mosaic, etc.)
• Referrals

Stage 2: Appointment Scheduled

• Did they book an appointment?
• What time slot?
• What's their initial interest level?

Stage 3: Appointment Show Rate

• Did they actually show up?
• Did they reschedule?
• How many no-shows?

Stage 4: Sit Completed

• Did closer complete the sit?
• Did homeowner qualify (credit, roof, electric bill)?
• What system size did they propose?

Stage 5: Contract Signed

• Did they sign?
• What's the contract value?
• What financing option?

Stage 6: Install Completed

• Did install happen?
• What's the final revenue?
• How long from lead to install?

If you can't track all 6 stages back to the original marketing source, you're guessing.

The Attribution Stack for Solar Companies

Here's the tech stack you need:

1. Lead Source Tracking (CRM Foundation)

Your CRM must capture the original lead source for every single lead.

Best CRMs for solar:

• HubSpot (most popular, great integrations)
• Salesforce (enterprise-grade)
• GoHighLevel (affordable, versatile)
• Pipeline CRM (built for sales teams)

Critical fields to track:

• Lead source (Google, Meta, Door, Aggregator, Referral)
• Campaign name (from UTM parameters)
• Keyword (for paid search)
• Landing page URL
• Ad content/creative
• Territory (for door-knocking teams)

2. UTM Parameter Strategy (Paid Ads)

Every paid ad needs UTM parameters that flow into your CRM.

Example for Google Ads:

https://yoursite.com/solar?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=solar-residential-ca&utm_content=video-ad-2&utm_term=solar-panels-near-me

Example for Meta Ads:

https://yoursite.com/solar?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=solar-homeowners-lookalike&utm_content=carousel-ad-1

These get stored in hidden form fields and passed to your CRM on form submission.

3. Call Tracking Integration

30-40% of solar leads come via phone. You need call tracking tied to campaigns.

Call tracking platforms:

• CallRail (most popular)
• CallTrackingMetrics
• DialogTech

How it works:

1. Visitor clicks ad from "solar panels near me" keyword
2. Landing page shows unique phone number tied to that keyword
3. They call, system logs keyword + campaign
4. Call details sent to CRM with full attribution

4. Door-Knocking Attribution

If you're running door-knocking teams, you need territory-level attribution.

How to track:

1. Assign territories to teams
2. Tag all door-generated leads with territory + team member
3. Track show rate, sit rate, close rate by territory
4. Track revenue by territory

Why it matters: You can identify which territories have high-quality leads (homeowners with good credit, high electric bills) and reallocate resources accordingly.

5. Aggregator/Lead Vendor Tracking

If you're buying leads from Sunrun, Mosaic, or other aggregators, track performance by vendor.

Key metrics:

• Cost per lead by vendor
• Show rate by vendor
• Sit rate by vendor
• Close rate by vendor
• Revenue per lead by vendor

Common finding: One vendor has 2x the cost per lead but 4x the close rate. That's your winner.

6. Funding/Install Attribution

The final piece: connecting funded installs back to original marketing source.

Integration points:

• Financing platform (Mosaic, Sungage, GoodLeap)
• Install scheduling system
• Accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero)

What gets tracked:

• Contract signed date
• Funding approved date
• Install completed date
• Final revenue amount
• Original lead source

Real-World Example: Residential Solar Company

Company: Residential solar installer in Southern California
Marketing Spend: $50K/month across multiple channels
Average Install Value: $30K

Before Attribution Tracking:

Lead Sources:

• Google Ads: 100 leads/month @ $200/lead
• Meta Ads: 80 leads/month @ $150/lead
• Door-knocking: 50 leads/month @ $100/lead
• Aggregators: 70 leads/month @ $250/lead

Business Results:

• 300 leads/month
• 120 appointments scheduled
• 60 appointments shown
• 30 sits completed
• 10 contracts signed
• 8 installs completed
• $240K revenue/month

Problem: No idea which channels drive installs. Optimizing for cost per lead.

After Attribution Tracking:

Full Funnel Data:

Insights:

1. Door-knocking has best ROAS (12.0x) → Scale it
2. Google Ads solid ROAS (7.5x) → Keep it
3. Meta Ads weak ROAS (2.5x) → Optimize or pause
4. Aggregators never convert → Kill it

Actions Taken:

• Killed aggregators (saved $17.5K/month)
• Scaled door-knocking (+$10K/month, hired 2 more teams)
• Scaled Google Ads (+$7.5K/month budget)
• Paused Meta Ads temporarily

Results (3 Months Later):

• 250 leads/month (down from 300, but higher quality)
• 14 installs/month (up from 8)
• $420K revenue/month (up from $240K)
• 75% revenue increase with same budget

That's the power of attribution.

Step-by-Step Implementation Plan

Week 1: Set Up Lead Source Tracking in CRM

1. Add custom fields for:

   • Lead source (dropdown: Google, Meta, Door, Aggregator, Referral)
   • Campaign name
   • Keyword
   • Territory (for door teams)
   • Ad content

2. Create automated workflows:

   • When lead comes in, tag with source
   • When appointment scheduled, update stage
   • When sit completed, update stage
   • When contract signed, update stage
   • When install completed, update stage

Time: 3-4 hours

Week 2: Implement UTM Tracking + Call Tracking

1. Add UTM parameters to all paid ads
2. Add hidden form fields to capture UTMs
3. Set up call tracking with keyword-level attribution
4. Test form + call flows to verify data reaches CRM

Time: 4-5 hours

Week 3: Build Attribution Dashboard

1. Export CRM data (leads, appointments, sits, contracts, installs)
2. Match to marketing spend by channel
3. Calculate:
   • Cost per lead by channel
   • Show rate by channel
   • Sit rate by channel
   • Close rate by channel
   • Cost per install by channel
   • ROAS by channel

Time: 6-8 hours (or hire a data analyst)

Week 4: Implement Optimizations

1. Kill or pause channels with $0 revenue or negative ROAS
2. Scale channels with 5x+ ROAS
3. Optimize mid-tier channels (3-5x ROAS)
4. Set up weekly attribution reviews with sales + marketing teams

Time: Ongoing

Common Mistakes Solar Companies Make

Mistake 1: Only Tracking Leads, Not Installs

Problem: You're optimizing for cheap leads, but those leads don't install.

Solution: Track full funnel from lead → install. Optimize for cost per install, not cost per lead.

Mistake 2: Not Tracking Show Rate by Source

Problem: Some channels have 60% show rate, others have 20%. You treat them the same.

Solution: Track show rate by channel. Penalize low-show sources in your optimization.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Credit Qualification Rate

Problem: Some channels bring leads with 700+ credit scores. Others bring 550 credit scores who never qualify.

Solution: Track qualification rate by channel. Prioritize channels that bring creditworthy homeowners.

Mistake 4: Short Attribution Windows

Problem: Solar sales cycles are 4-12 weeks, but you're only looking at 30-day data.

Solution: Use 90-180 day attribution windows to capture the full journey.

Mistake 5: Not Tracking Territory-Level Performance

Problem: Door teams work 10 territories, but you don't know which ones perform best.

Solution: Track show rate, sit rate, close rate by territory. Reallocate teams to high-performing areas.

Advanced Tactics

Once you have basic attribution working, level up with these tactics:

1. Financing Option Attribution

Track which financing options have best close rates:

• Cash
• Solar loan
• Lease
• PPA (Power Purchase Agreement)

Then adjust your pitch strategy by lead source.

2. System Size Attribution

Track which lead sources result in larger system sizes (more revenue per install).

Scale channels that bring homeowners with high electric bills.

3. Seasonal Attribution

Track which months have best close rates and installs.

Then adjust budgets:

• Increase spend in spring/summer (high demand)
• Decrease spend in winter (lower demand)

4. Setter Performance Attribution

Track which setters have best show rates and qualification rates.

Then route leads accordingly:

• Give high-intent leads to top performers
• Give "warm-up" leads to newer setters

Key Metrics to Track

Top-of-Funnel Metrics:

• Cost per lead (by channel)
• Lead volume (by channel)

Mid-Funnel Metrics:

• Appointment show rate (by channel)
• Sit completion rate (by channel)
• Credit qualification rate (by channel)

Bottom-Funnel Metrics:

• Contract close rate (by channel)
• Install completion rate (by channel)
• Revenue per install (by channel)

ROI Metrics:

• Cost per install (by channel)
• ROAS (by channel)
• Payback period (by channel)

The Bottom Line

If you're spending $30K-$100K/month on solar marketing, you need attribution that tracks:

Lead Source → Appointment → Show → Sit → Contract → Install → Revenue

Without this, you're optimizing for vanity metrics (leads, appointments) instead of real metrics (funded installs, revenue, ROAS).

The solar companies that track attribution properly can scale with confidence. The ones that don't waste 40-60% of their budget on channels that never convert.

What's Next?

Ready to set up proper attribution for your solar business?

Book a Revenue Clarity Audit →
20-minute working session. We'll audit your current tracking, identify which channels are bleeding budget, and show you exactly which campaigns drive funded installs.

No sales pitch. Just actionable insights you can implement whether you hire us or not.

About the Author

Nathan Biles has helped 100+ high-ticket businesses build attribution systems that connect marketing to revenue. He built ClickEngine because he got tired of watching solar companies waste money optimizing for leads instead of installs.