Sunrun Organic Growth Opportunities

This play creates hyper-specific bill explanation pages for every utility in the US, helping homeowners understand their current costs and the impact of recent rate hikes. By decoding complex line items like delivery charges and fuel adjustments, Sunrun captures problem-aware users at the very start of their solar journey.

Example Keywords

• "[Utility Name] bill breakdown"
• "why is my [Utility Name] bill so high"
• "[Utility Name] price per kWh 2024"
• "[Utility Name] delivery charge vs supply charge"
• "[Utility Name] rate increase schedule"

Rationale

Homeowners often search for clarity on their rising utility bills before they ever search for solar. Providing this clarity builds trust and positions solar as the logical solution to uncontrollable utility costs.

Topical Authority

Sunrun’s national footprint and Authority Score of 50 allow it to compete for these high-intent, problem-solving queries that generic news sites often miss.

Internal Data Sources

Use internal quote data, utility tariff databases, and customer support logs regarding billing complaints to provide unique, localized insights.

Estimated Number of Pages

40,000+ (Covering thousands of utilities across multiple rate classes and years)

This strategy generates dense, programmatic landing pages for every ZIP code Sunrun serves, detailing specific local incentives, tax credits, and utility rebates. It targets the extreme long-tail of search where users are looking for financial validation in their exact neighborhood.

Example Keywords

• "solar incentives [ZIP Code]"
• "solar tax credit [ZIP Code]"
• "battery rebate [ZIP Code]"
• "solar savings estimate [ZIP Code]"
• "local solar programs [ZIP Code]"

Rationale

Solar is a local decision; by providing ZIP-level data, Sunrun can capture high-intent traffic that city-level pages might miss. This significantly expands the keyword footprint beyond the current 44k keywords.

Topical Authority

Sunrun already has successful state and city pages; extending this to the ZIP level is a natural progression of their existing topical authority in residential solar.

Internal Data Sources

Leverage ZIP-to-utility mapping, local program eligibility databases, and historical quote data for typical savings in those specific areas.

Estimated Number of Pages

60,000+ (Covering all serviceable ZIP codes in Sunrun's footprint)

These pages provide model-specific guides for EV owners, explaining how many solar panels are needed to charge their specific vehicle and how to optimize charging with a home battery. It bridges the gap between EV ownership and home energy production.

Example Keywords

• "home charging cost [EV Model] solar"
• "best charger for [EV Model] solar"
• "how many kWh to charge [EV Model]"
• "solar panels for [EV Model] charging"
• "[EV Model] V2H backup power"

Rationale

EV owners are the highest-intent prospects for solar and batteries. Providing technical, model-specific charging math captures this audience during their transition to electric mobility.

Topical Authority

Sunrun’s existing success with Ford F-150 Lightning content proves that Google views the domain as an authority in the EV-Solar intersection.

Internal Data Sources

Use EV model specifications, charger compatibility matrices, and internal data on solar+EV bundling rates.

Estimated Number of Pages

5,000+ (Covering hundreds of EV models across various year and battery variants)

This play creates programmatic pages for every major permitting jurisdiction (AHJ) and utility, providing realistic expectations for project timelines. It answers the critical mid-funnel question: "How long will this actually take in my city?"

Example Keywords

• "solar permit requirements [City]"
• "how long does solar permitting take [City]"
• "PTO timeline [Utility Name]"
• "solar inspection checklist [County]"
• "interconnection wait time [Utility Name]"

Rationale

Project duration is a major friction point in the sales process. Providing transparent, data-backed timelines builds credibility and captures users who are serious about starting a project.

Topical Authority

As a leading installer, Sunrun has the operational data to speak authoritatively on permitting bottlenecks that generic publishers cannot access.

Internal Data Sources

Aggregated internal cycle-time benchmarks by jurisdiction, AHJ-specific permit checklists, and utility interconnection logs.

Estimated Number of Pages

10,000+ (Covering thousands of cities, counties, and utility service territories)

This strategy targets the emerging "Virtual Power Plant" (VPP) market by creating pages that explain how homeowners can earn money from their home battery. It focuses on utility-specific programs that pay users for sharing stored energy during peak demand.

Example Keywords

• "virtual power plant program [Utility Name]"
• "get paid for home battery [Utility Name]"
• "battery demand response [Utility Name]"
• "[State] battery grid services"
• "how to join [Utility Name] VPP"

Rationale

VPPs are a massive differentiator for Sunrun. These pages drive high-value battery leads by highlighting the financial return on investment beyond just backup power.

Topical Authority

Sunrun is a pioneer in VPP operations, giving them unique authority to explain these complex programs to residential consumers.

Internal Data Sources

Program participation statistics, average credit/earnings data from existing VPP customers, and program-specific eligibility rules.

Estimated Number of Pages

25,000+ (Covering various utility programs, state-level incentives, and ISO/RTO regions)

Improvements Summary

Expand each /solar-by-state/ city and local-branch page from mostly branded terms into non-branded “solar + city” coverage, backed by deeper localized copy. Add stronger internal links from state hubs and relevant articles so priority pages move from page 2 into page 1 for high-intent queries.

Improvements Details

For each city page, target primary terms like "solar panels in [city]", "solar installation [city]", and "solar company [city]" plus modifiers such as financing, battery, incentives, and net metering (e.g., "solar power fresno", "solar panels las vegas", "solar incentives california"). Rewrite titles/H1s to be keyword-forward and add localized sections (why solar works locally, utility/rates, incentives, permitting timeline, solar + battery, cost/savings), plus an 8–12 question FAQ with FAQ schema and local reviews/areas served. Build a linking pattern: state hub → city pages, city pages → /solar-plans-and-services, /solar-battery-storage, /free-solar-quote, and add “local next step” modules in educational articles pointing to the nearest major city page.

Improvements Rationale

Many pages are thin and primarily ranking for “Sunrun + city,” while non-branded local queries with meaningful volume and high CPC show little to no traffic. Adding unique local depth, broader keyword coverage, structured data, and stronger internal linking improves topical relevance and helps capture more qualified non-branded demand.