A simple optical model for photocurrent enhancement by plasmonic metal nanoparticles atop solar cells has been developed. Our model deals with the absorption, reflection, and scattering of incident sunlight as well as radiation efficiencies on metallic nanoparticles. Our calculation results satisfactorily reproduce a series of experimental spectral data for optically thin GaAs solar cells with Ag and Al nanoparticles of various dimensions, demonstrating the validity of our modeling approach. Our model is likely to be a powerful tool for investigations of surface plasmon-enhanced thin-film solar cells.