Before asking anyone for a solar quote, a homeowner searches for installers nearby, looks up the rebate, asks a neighbour and reads reviews. Some ask ChatGPT too. Where the request lands depends on which of those places you show up in. Some of them you own, and some you rent. We checked every rebate and program below on official government and utility pages on October 27, 2026.

Google's map pack and your Business Profile

Search "solar installers" with a town name and you'll often see a map with a few businesses under it. Those listings come from Google Business Profiles. Google says local results depend mainly on relevance, distance and how well-known a business is, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help.

So pick the right category, list the towns you actually install in, post photos of real installs and reply to every review. The profile is free and it's yours. Google forbids offering anything in exchange for a review or asking only your happy customers, and it removes incentivized reviews from Maps. Our Google Business Profile management page covers the weekly work.

Your own website and quote form

Every other source sends people here: the Website button in the map pack, the links in an AI answer, a referred neighbour typing your name into Google. Solar buyers want a rough number before they want a call. A site with one "Solar" page and a contact form gives them neither, and it has no page to rank for "solar installers Oakville" or "battery backup Burlington".

Give each service and each town its own page, put an estimate on the first screen, and put a source beside every savings figure, because a number with nothing behind it reads like a sales pitch. Our solar installer websites page shows three concept builds, made for fictional companies and labelled as concepts.

Referrals and reviews

Solar is a big purchase, so people ask neighbours and family who they used. A referral costs you nothing, but the person still looks you up, and a good referral can go cold on a thin profile. Ask every customer for a review when the job is done, the same way each time, whether it went perfectly or not.

AI answers

Some homeowners ask ChatGPT or Google's AI Overviews who installs solar near them. The answer names a few companies and often links its sources. In our October 1, 2026 test of 38 AI answers about agencies, the assistants leaned on directories and review sites more than on the companies' own websites. How a Canadian firm gets recommended by ChatGPT has the details.

Run the same check for solar. Ask five questions a customer would ask, with your town in them, and note who gets named and which sites get linked. Those sites are where you need a listing and real reviews. Nobody can promise an assistant will name you, but you can change what it reads.

Rebate and incentive searches

What a homeowner reads on the official rebate page and then on yours needs to match.

Ontario: the Home Renovation Savings Program

Save on Energy (the IESO) and Enbridge Gas run this program, with support from the Ontario government. Its solar and battery stream was taking applications on October 27, 2026, with no end date published. It pays:

  • $1,000 per kW of rooftop solar, up to $5,000 and no more than 50% of eligible costs.
  • $300 per kWh of battery storage, up to $5,000 and no more than 50% of eligible costs, for a battery paired with a new solar system.

The conditions shape how you sell. Ground-mounted systems, homes that already have solar or storage, leased systems and self-installs don't qualify. The homeowner can't buy or install anything before written pre-approval from the program and approval from their utility. The installer files the application and has 12 months from approval to finish the work.

A home that takes the rebate also can't sign a net metering agreement. Net metering, set out in Ontario Regulation 541/05, credits the homeowner for power sent to the grid, and the credits carry forward for up to 12 months. The homeowner has to pick one, so explain the choice plainly on your site.

The program's solar page also sends homeowners who need an installer to the Canadian Renewable Energy Association's Go Solar guide, whose directory lists CanREA member companies. The program says it doesn't endorse any contractor.

The federal programs are closed

Natural Resources Canada lists the Canada Greener Homes Grant as closed. It also says Canada Greener Homes Loan funding is fully committed, so new loan applications can't be approved. If your site still promotes either one, update it.

Outside Ontario, rebates and net metering rules differ by province. Write each page for the province you install in, with a link to the official source and the date you checked it.

Shared lead marketplaces and ads

Lead sites collect a homeowner's details and sell them to installers. A shared lead goes to more than one company, so you race the others to call first and often compete on price. Paid ads can bring calls in quickly, and they stop the day the budget does. Both can fill a slow month, but neither builds anything you keep.

What to own and what to rent

  • Own: your Google Business Profile, your reviews, a website with a page for each service and town, a rebate page that matches the official rules, and your referral relationships.
  • Rent: shared leads and paid ads.

The owned sources keep working after you stop paying, and each one sends people to the others.

Where we come in

Our Website build gives an installer an estimate on the first screen and a page for each service and town: up to 15 pages for $5,000 once, fixed price. After launch, Get found locally at $750 a month keeps your Google profile current every week, and SEO + AI Visibility at $1,500 a month adds local pages, AI search work and new pages every month. The free visibility check shows which installers ChatGPT and Google name for solar in your town today. Aroon reviews it and emails it to you, with no sales call.

Questions owners ask

Which lead source should a solar installer fix first?

Usually the Google Business Profile and the website, because the other sources lead there. A homeowner who hears your name from a neighbour, an AI answer or a rebate search looks you up before asking for a quote.

Are shared solar leads worth paying for?

They can fill a slow month, but other installers get the same lead, and the leads stop when the payments stop. Treat them as a top-up, not the plan.

Is the Canada Greener Homes Grant still open?

No. On October 27, 2026, Natural Resources Canada listed the Canada Greener Homes Grant as closed and said the Canada Greener Homes Loan could not approve new applications.

What solar rebate is available in Ontario?

The Home Renovation Savings Program pays $1,000 per kW of rooftop solar, up to $5,000, and $300 per kWh for a battery paired with new solar, up to $5,000. Each is capped at 50% of eligible costs, and a home that takes the rebate can't also sign a net metering agreement. We checked this on October 27, 2026.