Too Good to Be True? Inside a "Free Solar Panels" Lead Gen Machine

Justin Brooke
August 28, 2024
5 min read

[Thank you to our sponsor Visiopt.com who help to keep this content free.]

In today's edition of The Edge, we're going to analyze the marketing tactics behind Sun Value, a solar panel company. Specifically, we'll look at how they leverage online ads and landing pages to generate leads.

Sun Value wants to capitalize on homeowner demand for solar power. To attract customers, they use clever digital marketing strategies. We'll break down their landing page copy, advertorials, YouTube ads, and more.  

By the end, you'll have a clear understanding of how Sun Value converts visitors into leads through savvy techniques. Their strategies provide great lessons any business can apply.

So whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a marketing enthusiast like me, you'll find this analysis super interesting! Let's dive in and explore some ingenious digital marketing together.

Finding the Campaign

I stumbled upon Sun Value's marketing completely by accident. I was browsing around on Yahoo News when an advertorial caught my eye.

Advertorials are ads designed to look like real articles. This one had a headline about homeowners getting free solar panel installation. That piqued my interest right away. Who doesn't like the idea of free stuff?

Looking closer, I realized this ad was for a company called Sun Value. I'd never heard of them before. The advertorial was clearly part of an online marketing campaign to generate leads.

Of course, me being a digital marketing nerd, I had to dig deeper. I clicked through to the Sun Value website to analyze their landing page. Then I looked up their traffic sources and ad spend using tools like Semrush and Adbeat.

In just a few minutes of searching, I uncovered the foundation of a pretty impressive online marketing strategy. Sun Value knows exactly how to target and persuade their ideal customers.

Landing Page Design Tactics that Convert Visitors  

Let's dive into Sun Value's money-printing landing page. This is where they reel visitors in and gather their lead info.  

Their page deploys proven copy and design tricks to get homeowners pumped about solar power. Let's spotlight the key tactics:

Header

Right off the bat, Sun Value discloses it's an advertorial. Smart move being straight up that it's marketing. A subtle CTA button invites visitors to take action.

Hero Section

The snazzy headline offers "free" solar installation, while the subhead creates urgency about limited government funding. This touts the main perks and lights a fire.

Bullet Points

Concise bullet points tackle big concerns like cost and available subsidies. Underlining key words drives home the most vital details.

Amplifying Pain

By displaying rising electricity costs, Sun Value taps into a pain point homeowners feel. This makes them eager for a solution.

Answering FAQs

Some common questions provide social proof and head off visitor objections.

Quiz

Asking visitors to take a short quiz gets them invested and captures their info.

Next up, we'll analyze where Sun Value's website traffic originates and how they target customers with native ads.

How Sun Value's Ads Drives 300k+ Visitors

To drive visitors to their landing page, Sun Value relies heavily on paid advertising. Looking at their traffic sources reveals where they're focusing their ad budget.

Amount of Traffic

In the last 3 months, the Sun Value website received over 300,000 visits. That's pretty substantial traffic for a lead gen campaign. Most visitors are located in the U.S., as you'd expect.

Traffic Distribution

Almost no traffic comes through organic search. This shows Sun Value is not concerned with SEO or content marketing. Their strategy is 100% paid advertising.

Paid vs. Organic

Only 2% of visits come from paid search ads. The bulk of their budget goes toward display and native advertising instead.

In the next section, we'll take a closer look at how Sun Value utilizes display and native ads to promote their offer. This is where their ad creative really shines.

Lessons Learned from Sun Value's Display and Native Ad Campaigns

Taking a look at Sun Value's display and native ad campaigns provides some great insights into their marketing tactics. Let's analyze a few examples.

Taboola

Taboola ads make up the bulk of Sun Value's ad spend. These sponsored content recommendations appear on many popular websites.

YouTube

YouTube video ads allow Sun Value to use sight, sound and motion to capture attention. Short video clips play before other videos.

Outbrain

Similar to Taboola, Outbrain ads are "recommended content" links on news, entertainment, and other sites.

The creative and messaging for each ad platform is tailored expertly. Sun Value uses compelling hooks about "free solar" and fighting climate change. The ads highlight financial savings and urgency to act fast.

Sun Value strategically targets homeowners in specific states where electric rates are highest. Their display and native ads speak directly to frustrated energy consumers ready for a better solution.

Wrap Up

After dissecting Sun Value's marketing campaign, it's clear they know how to effectively generate solar leads online.

Here are the main takeaways any business can apply:

  • Capture attention with advertorials and video ads that highlight urgent benefits
  • Drive leads with landing pages focused on converting visitors
  • Tap into consumer pain points to make your solution more appealing
  • Use display and native ads on high-traffic sites to reach your target audience  
  • Craft messaging that speaks directly to your ideal customer's needs
  • Strategically target states and demographics likely to convert
  • Follow up with quizzes and lead gen forms to capture contact info

That's a wrap!

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this inside look at how native ads and landing pages can work together to land leads. If you're ready to discuss leveraging these strategies for your business, get in touch. I'm always happy to chat marketing.

Signing off,
Jason Stogsdill

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