As I mentioned in my last post, if you’re serious about leveraging the web to grow your remodeling business, you’ve got to think strategically about your online marketing. In addition to all of the core elements of a good online marketing strategy, growth-oriented remodelers must also create a robust presence on Houzz.
Why Houzz Deserves A Place in Your Online Marketing Strategy
In case you’ve been living on the moon the past five years, Houzz is one of the largest online platforms for homeowners and home professionals alike. It is used by more than 25 million homeowners to get remodeling ideas and connect with a remodeling professional. More than 3 million remodeling professionals use it to showcase their work, attract attention from—and engage with—home owners in their local area.
Unlike other visual sites like Pinterest, Houzz doesn’t just drive traffic; it generates leads from people in your local area. That’s right—in our experience, up to 20% of visits from Houzz to your website convert will convert into leads!
5 Steps to Get More from Houzz
If you’re like most remodelers, you’ve got a profile on Houzz, but there’s more that you can—and should—be doing with it. Here are five tips from the Houzz certified and remodeling marketing experts at Blue Corona:
Step 1: Thoroughly Fill Out Your Profile
Your Houzz profile should contain:
- Your company name and contact info (obviously)
- A description of your company, making sure to include your competitor differentiators, service area, and appropriate, descriptive keywords to maximize search visibility
- Awards, certifications, and professional memberships (NKBA, NARI, etc.)
- A high-quality profile picture and cover photo (bonus tip: change your profile and cover photo every three months or so to keep things fresh. If you have a Pro+ membership, test out which ones get the most clicks and impressions. Houzz recommends using a photo of you—not your logo—as the profile picture.)
- A link to your website as well as your other social media sites
- Three or more positive reviews
- Projects and ideabooks with plenty of high-quality photos and accurate, keyword rich descriptions
Step 2: Get More Out of the Projects You Post
Let’s elaborate more on those Houzz projects. It’s not enough to upload a few photos of your project and call it a day. When done correctly, these projects have the potential to rank not just in Houzz results, but in Google and other search engine results as well!
To get the most out of the projects you post, you need to:
- Add a robust description to each project and photo
- Add a minimum of 20 keywords to each photo (“contemporary kitchen”, “subway tile backsplash”, etc.)
- Add multiple photos for each project to increase the likelihood of users adding your photos to their ideabooks
- Include before pictures if you have them
- Add product tags where applicable
- Add geo-specific information to each project to increase the likelihood that users in your service area will see your page (ex: Custom Outdoor Kitchen in Bethesda, MD)
- Add credits for other contractors you worked with on the project (read why it’s beneficial to tag other professionals on Houzz)
Step 3: Create Ideabooks
Ideabooks aren’t just for homeowners looking to create their dream homes. As a remodeler, think of Houzz ideabooks like offsite blogs for your business. Use them to answer questions your potential customers might have. Questions like:
What’s the best tile to use in the bathroom?
– or –
How can I maximize storage in a small kitchen?
This is a good SEO opportunity to build links to your website, and of course, make sure to include photos in your ideabooks, too.
Step 4: Respond to Questions
Every so often, I’ll see Houzz users leave comments on a company’s project photo, only to be met with silence. The remodelers who get the most out of Houzz aren’t just posting—they’re engaging.
Companies can also receive inquiries on their projects through messages on Houzz. Definitely make sure to check and respond to these, in addition to any questions you receive.
Step 5: Consider Houzz Pro+
There are a couple of perks to getting this “advanced” Houzz membership, including:
- Enhanced placement in the pro directory (the first ten spots in the directory are reserved for Pro+ members) and sponsored listings on other results pages:
- The ability to choose multiple categories (design build, kitchen & bath, etc.) and service areas
- Access to the Houzz Pro+ Dashboard with insights on how your profile and photos are performing
Conclusion
If you want to grow your remodeling business, you’ve got to maximize your online real estate. Having an established Houzz presence can help you increase your search visibility, drive qualified leads to your website, and promote yourself as an authority in the remodeling industry in your market.
What’s your best Houzz marketing tip? Share it in the comment section below!