SolarSave case study In progress

SolarSave: A New Website and Six Months of SEO for a Solar Installer

A live case study: I rebuilt SolarSave's website and I'm doing their SEO for six months. Every number, good and bad, added as the work happens.

SolarSave's new home page
  • 6enquiries in the first 11 days, 2 of them booked calls
  • £500+of enquiries SolarSave didn't have to buy
  • 10xmore often shown on Google, two days after launch

About SolarSave

SolarSave fit solar panels and batteries for homes and businesses.

They're MCS certified, based in Retford, and cover about 100 miles round Doncaster.

They want more solar installs. They've got the capacity. What they didn't have was a website that brought work in.

Client
SolarSave
Trade
Solar panel and battery installer
Area
Retford, and 100 miles round Doncaster
The work
New website, then six months of SEO
Started
10 October 2026

The problem

The old site was a WordPress build with 21 pages. Some weren't even in Google.

For more than a year, clicks from Google sat at about 47 a month.

Clicks from Google, by month

About 47 a month for over a year, with no growth.

  • Old website
  • Month the new website went live
Google Search Console, web search. October 2026 is the month so far.
Show the numbers
Clicks from Google, by month
MonthClicks
July 202577
August 202550
September 202555
October 202546
November 202535
December 202539
January 202665
February 202644
March 202642
April 202643
May 202640
June 202643
July 202648
August 202662
September 202659
October 2026 (so far)77

And nearly all of those were people who already knew the name.

Where the old site's clicks came from

16 months, 7 June 2025 to 6 October 2026.

  • Searching the business name
  • Searching for solar in general
  • Search hidden by Google
  • 787 clicks456312
Google Search Console. Google hides the search for some clicks, usually rare ones.
Show the numbers
Where the old site's clicks came from
Searching the business nameSearching for solar in generalSearch hidden by Google
787 clicks45619312

19 clicks in 16 months from people searching for solar panels in general.

So the people who already knew SolarSave could find them. Nobody else could.

The plan

Website first, then everything else.

My theory is that a well built website is the foundation of SEO. If the pages don't exist, nothing else can make them rank.

  • Rebuild the website, planned from what people actually search.
  • Get the basics right off the site: the Google Business Profile, reviews, and listings on directories.
  • Make the main city pages properly local, with real jobs in each town.
  • Build local links, from real local businesses and groups.

“What can I say!? Absolutely outstanding service, James has totally transformed my company website to a level I never expected!”

James Loftus, Owner, SolarSave · Google review, 19 October 2026

The website

Before writing a word, I mapped 366 searches to 70 pages. Every page has a job.

  • Hubs for solar panels, batteries and commercial solar.
  • A cost page, because cost searches are the biggest group by far.
  • A page for each area, from Retford out to Sheffield, Nottingham and Chesterfield.
  • Guides that answer the questions people ask before buying.

It went live on 17 October 2026, with 80 pages.

The website, before and after

Drag the slider to wipe between the old home page and the new one.

SolarSave's new home page, live since 17 October 2026
SolarSave's old home page, as saved by the Wayback Machine in July 2026
BeforeAfter
Old home page as saved by the Wayback Machine, July 2026 (its logo didn't save). New home page, 25 October 2026.

The results so far

Since the new website went live on 17 October 2026.

  • Enquiries from the new website

    62 booked

    since it went live on 17 October

  • What they'd cost to buy

    £500+

    £500 to £540, at SolarSave's own lead prices

  • Times shown on Google, a day

    1,37010x

    from 134 over the first 8 days of the new site

  • Clicks from Google, a day

    4.1+7%

    from 3.9 over the same 8 days

  • Pages on the website

    80+59

    from 21 each one planned around real searches

  • Map rank for "solar panels" round Retford

    7.12x better

    from 14.4 average over 49 points, lower is better

Google noticed in two days

Two days after launch, Google was showing the site about ten times more often.

Times shown on Google, by day

Two days after launch it jumped from about 100 a day to nearly 2,000.

Google Search Console, web search.
Show the numbers
Times shown on Google, by day
DayImpressions
24 Oct 20261,482
23 Oct 20261,641
22 Oct 20261,510
21 Oct 20261,622
20 Oct 20262,248
19 Oct 20261,977
18 Oct 2026372
17 Oct 2026105
16 Oct 2026101
15 Oct 202663
14 Oct 202677
13 Oct 202682
12 Oct 2026301
11 Oct 202642
10 Oct 2026273
9 Oct 202640
8 Oct 202631
7 Oct 202679
6 Oct 202673
5 Oct 2026108
4 Oct 202651
3 Oct 202645
2 Oct 2026171
1 Oct 202641
30 Sep 202623
29 Sep 202627
28 Sep 202645
27 Sep 202624
26 Sep 202628
25 Sep 202637
24 Sep 202639
23 Sep 202652
22 Sep 202656
21 Sep 202653
20 Sep 202622
19 Sep 202637
18 Sep 202661
17 Sep 202665
16 Sep 202656
15 Sep 202694
14 Sep 202682
13 Sep 202647
12 Sep 202664
11 Sep 2026103
10 Sep 202696
9 Sep 2026123
8 Sep 2026519
7 Sep 2026124
6 Sep 2026103
5 Sep 202696
4 Sep 2026119
3 Sep 2026130
2 Sep 2026121
1 Sep 2026118

Clicks haven't moved yet.

Clicks from Google, by day

No change yet. Still about four a day.

Google Search Console, web search.
Show the numbers
Clicks from Google, by day
DayClicks
24 Oct 20261
23 Oct 20262
22 Oct 20265
21 Oct 20265
20 Oct 20267
19 Oct 20264
18 Oct 20263
17 Oct 20266
16 Oct 20265
15 Oct 20264
14 Oct 20265
13 Oct 20264
12 Oct 20263
11 Oct 20265
10 Oct 20261
9 Oct 20262
8 Oct 20263
7 Oct 20262
6 Oct 20263
5 Oct 20261
4 Oct 20260
3 Oct 20262
2 Oct 20263
1 Oct 20261
30 Sep 20261
29 Sep 20262
28 Sep 20261
27 Sep 20260
26 Sep 20263
25 Sep 20261
24 Sep 20264
23 Sep 20262
22 Sep 20264
21 Sep 20264
20 Sep 20260
19 Sep 20260
18 Sep 20261
17 Sep 20262
16 Sep 20261
15 Sep 20264
14 Sep 20261
13 Sep 20261
12 Sep 20261
11 Sep 20262
10 Sep 20264
9 Sep 20262
8 Sep 20265
7 Sep 20262
6 Sep 20260
5 Sep 20260
4 Sep 20265
3 Sep 20260
2 Sep 20262
1 Sep 20264

Most of the new searches it shows for are still on page four to six. Nobody clicks that far down.

That's normal for a site with almost no links. Getting higher is what the next few months are for.

What the enquiries are worth

Clicks haven't moved much yet. Enquiries have.

Since the new site went live on 17 October, it's brought in 6 enquiries. 2 of them have booked a call.

To put a price on that, I asked SolarSave what they pay for leads. An exclusive solar lead costs them £25 to £35. A booked appointment costs £200.

  • The 4 that didn't book, as exclusive leads: £100 to £140.
  • The 2 that booked a call, as booked appointments: £400.

That's £500 to £540 of enquiries SolarSave didn't have to buy, in the first 11 days.

For context, my SEO costs £495 a month. At SolarSave's prices, it pays for itself at around 15 to 20 enquiries a month, or 3 booked appointments.

Two honest caveats. It's early, and small numbers jump about. And I can't yet say how many of the 6 found SolarSave through Google, rather than already knowing the name. I'll split that out as the numbers grow.

Rankings

I track 209 searches. Here's where they all sit.

Tracked searches by Google position

Every search we track, checked on the same day. A new bar is added at each check.

  • 1 to 3
  • 4 to 10
  • 11 to 20
  • 21 to 50
  • Not in the top 50
  • 25 Oct 202620179
Rank checks from HQ (DataForSEO), searched from the UK.
Show the numbers
Tracked searches by Google position
Checked1 to 34 to 1011 to 2021 to 5051 to 100Not in the top 50
25 Oct 2026253200179

Most aren't in the top 50 yet. The ones that are tell you where the new site is working first: the towns.

The searches it ranks for so far

Position on Google, checked 25 Oct 2026. Searches for the business name are left out.

  • solar panels retford5
  • solar pv retford6
  • solar energy retford6
  • solar energy systems retford6
  • solar panels chesterfield9
  • solar panel installers chesterfield14
  • solar panel quotes doncaster16
  • solar energy storage retford16
  • solar panels worksop22
  • solar panel installers worksop22
  • solar panel installation cost doncaster28
  • solar panel installers hull31
Rank checks from HQ (DataForSEO), searched from the UK.
Show the numbers
The searches it ranks for so far
SearchPositionPage
solar panels retford5solarsaveltd.co.uk/
solar pv retford6solarsaveltd.co.uk/
solar energy retford6solarsaveltd.co.uk/
solar energy systems retford6solarsaveltd.co.uk/
solar panels chesterfield9solarsaveltd.co.uk/areas/derbyshire/
solar panel installers chesterfield14solarsaveltd.co.uk/areas/derbyshire/
solar panel quotes doncaster16solarsaveltd.co.uk/solar-panels-doncaster/
solar energy storage retford16solarsaveltd.co.uk/
solar panels worksop22solarsaveltd.co.uk/solar-panels-worksop/
solar panel installers worksop22solarsaveltd.co.uk/solar-panels-worksop/
solar panel installation cost doncaster28solarsaveltd.co.uk/solar-panels-doncaster/
solar panel installers hull31solarsaveltd.co.uk/solar-panels-hull/

"solar panels chesterfield" is on page one with a page the old site didn't have.

Google Maps round Retford

The map results got better too. But I'm not giving the website the credit.

Average map rank round Retford

Lower is better. Most of the move came on 10 to 12 October, before the new site went live.

  • 10 Oct (start)
  • 19 Oct
  • solar battery storage 4.7
  • solar panel installers near me 5.9
  • solar panel installers 7
  • solar panels 7.1
  • solar companies 8.6
BrightLocal Local Search Grid: 49 points, 2 miles apart, centred on the business.
Show the numbers
Average map rank round Retford
10 Oct (start)19 Oct
solar battery storage8.94.7
solar panel installers near me11.15.9
solar panel installers12.27.0
solar panels14.47.1
solar companies18.18.6

Most of that move happened on 10 to 12 October, before the new site was live. I can't pin down why yet.

"solar panels": the 49 map points by rank

  • 1 to 3
  • 4 to 10
  • 11 to 20
  • Not in the top 20
  • 10 Oct181417
  • 19 Oct14259
BrightLocal Local Search Grid.
Show the numbers
"solar panels": the 49 map points by rank
1 to 34 to 1011 to 20Not in the top 20
10 Oct0181417
19 Oct142591

Here's what the map looks like now. Strong in Retford and to the east, weaker towards Worksop.

"solar panels" on Google Maps, 19 October

Each square is a point about 2 miles apart. The number is where SolarSave shows in the map results there.

  • 1 to 3
  • 4 to 10
  • 11 to 20
  • Not in the top 20

North is up. The ringed square is the business, in Retford. The weakest side is the west, towards Worksop.

BrightLocal Local Search Grid, 19 October 2026.
Show the numbers
"solar panels" on Google Maps, 19 October
Col 1Col 2Col 3Col 4Col 5Col 6Col 7
Row 120+1296677
Row 2191053345
Row 316733225
Row 414432224
Row 515833235
Row 6121044656
Row 71813659915

Where it's up to

  1. Starting point measured10 Oct (Done)
  2. New website planned and built10 to 16 Oct (Done)
  3. Website live17 Oct (Done)
  4. Business Profile, reviews and listingsOct to Nov (Happening now)
  5. City pages made properly localNov to Dec (Still to come)
  6. Local linksWinter (Still to come)
  7. Six-month reviewApr 2027 (Still to come)

Updates

Newest first. I add one every few weeks.

  1. 6 enquiries and 2 booked calls

    Since launch, the new site has brought in 6 enquiries, and 2 of them have booked a call.

    I asked SolarSave what they pay for leads: £25 to £35 for an exclusive lead, £200 for a booked appointment. At those prices, that's £500 to £540 of enquiries they didn't have to buy.

  2. First rankings check after launch

    I checked 209 of the searches we track. The new site is 5th for "solar panels retford" and 9th for "solar panels chesterfield", a town the old site had no page for.

    Most of the 209 aren't showing yet, including the big ones like "solar panels". I wrote the first eight days up in full: can rebuilding a website improve rankings straight away?

  3. Google noticed within two days

    Two days after launch, Google showed the site 1,977 times in a day. The week before, it averaged 134.

    Clicks stayed at about four a day. The new searches it shows for are mostly on page four to six for now.

  4. Business Profile tidied, and a 12-month plan

    The sitemap went into Search Console. I fixed the Google Business Profile's categories, description and website link.

    I also ran a full audit and wrote a 12-month plan, split into what I do and what SolarSave do.

  5. New website live

    The new site went live in the morning. A quote request came through the new form that afternoon.

  6. Built and checked

    80 pages built. Before launch I checked every page against what SolarSave actually do, and fixed anything that didn't match.

  7. Starting point measured

    I pulled 16 months of Search Console data and ran a rank check from Retford before touching anything, so there's something honest to measure against.

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