Kim Jordan Houzz is quickly becoming one of the internet’s most popular resources for homeowners and home professionals. Launched nationally in 2010, the Houzz network has since grown to 35 million unique users per month and more than one million active home professionals. The site supports home improvement by combining the image bookmarking features of Pinterest with the contractor listings of Angie’s List into one unique, helpful space.
Houzz allows homeowners to view and save projects they love, read reviews and compare professionals’ portfolios. This makes it an ideal space for home contractors to be discovered by potential customers. General contractors, landscapers, remodelers and home repair experts—anyone whose work involves home aesthetics and functionality—are excellent candidates for Houzz. However, it also can be a useful tool for realtors, photographers and other professionals who help to promote the improvement and sale of homes.
Its tremendous SEO benefits make Houzz an excellent place for businesses to invest resources. Houzz pages, profiles and marketplace items consistently rank high in organic search results for many home professional categories. These benefits are a compelling reason for a business to consider a presence on the growing site.
We’ve compiled four essential steps for setting up a Houzz profile, as well as some of the best tactics for success on this emerging site.
Appearing in Houzz search results requires a complete profile that follows the site’s guidelines. Step-by-step guidance ensures that all necessary information is included to create a new profile. A minimum of five photos, three reviews and the Houzz badge on the company’s website are required for a profile to be considered “complete.” Continually adding photos increases the quality of the profile and its visibility on the site.
Photography is extremely important for a successful presence on Houzz, so building a profile with high-quality pictures should be a priority. If a profile displays great photos, users will be inclined to add them to their Ideabooks. Getting photos added to user Ideabooks is the number one way for a business to increase its visibility and move higher in Houzz search results. So, be sure to optimize photos by naming and tagging them with appropriate keywords. This helps them appear in results when homeowners search specific terms.
One of Houzz’s unique features is Ideabooks. With this feature, users gather images from the site into themed collections. As a business, think of Ideabooks as inspiration books. Business should add content that they believe their followers and customers will enjoy. Additionally, businesses are able to add Projects, which function as miniature portfolios for individual jobs or types of services that they perform. To be successful, participate in both Ideabooks and Projects. The more content that a business circulates on the site, the better its results will be.
After a business has set up a complete profile, it needs to interact with others on the site in order to boost visibility. Try commenting on Houzz-sponsored Ideabooks or finding other professionals with whom to connect in the same industry or local area. Businesses also can submit their projects to the editors for a chance to be featured on the main site.
Houzz has helpful resources for home professionals to reference when building their presence on the site. Check out their tips for optimizing a profile here, and browse their Ideabooks for more valuable suggestions. Houzz Pro accounts are free, but businesses can invest money in their profile if they find it’s performing well. With a bit of effort, Houzz can be an excellent tool for acquiring leads and building a customer base.
