Get Noticed! How to Optimise Your Houzz Profile for Broad Appeal
Reach a bigger market and turn clicks and views into paying clients by tailoring your Houzz Pro profile for wide appeal
Whether you’re just starting out and want to let people know what you’re offering, or you’ve been in business for a few years and have your sights set on a new market, your Houzz Pro profile is the way to go about it. “Houzz Pro allows you to be selective about where your brand is seen and you can use your branding to highlight your speciality. You can refine these or keep them broad, depending on your goals,” says Melanie George, manager of the client success team for Houzz ANZ. If you want as many eyeballs as possible, keep it broad, she says. “You catch more fish with a larger net, which allows you to break into a market that you might not be well-known in or get your name out there if you’re just starting out. You can then refine your profile as you go.”
We spoke to three professionals who use Houzz Pro as a key marketing tool in their arsenal to find out how they maximise their reach.
We spoke to three professionals who use Houzz Pro as a key marketing tool in their arsenal to find out how they maximise their reach.
Image: Vasileff Studio.
To optimise your Houzz profile, Viney recommends that you:
To optimise your Houzz profile, Viney recommends that you:
- Make regular time to review your public profile: Try to look at it from the perspective of a potential client. It should be clear, concise and reflect your business.
- Utilise the skills of your Houzz Client Success Manager: Their knowledge is invaluable and can help you refine your presentation to market.
- It’s all about the story: Designing projects for clients is a very personal journey. Before and after photos are great, and allow people to see what went into creating the result. For potential clients, the story helps give a picture of how and why the design came to life the way it did.
- Always re-read/proofread your work before you publish: Consider getting someone else to proofread it. Nothing looks less professional than grammatical errors or spelling mistakes.
Image: Vasileff Studio.
Hire a professional photographer: Today’s smartphones take great photos but professional photography is worth the investment, even though it is a cost that you’ll have to wear rather than one you can pass on to the client.
I use Maria Savelieva at Vasileff Studio – a photographer introduced to me by my Houzz rep. While Covid has made arranging professional photography insanely difficult over the past two years, you can tell which of my projects were photographed by Maria and which I did myself.
Find a photographer who speaks to your style and who you can work in harmony with – it makes all the difference.
Find, follow and connect with other professionals on Houzz
Hire a professional photographer: Today’s smartphones take great photos but professional photography is worth the investment, even though it is a cost that you’ll have to wear rather than one you can pass on to the client.
I use Maria Savelieva at Vasileff Studio – a photographer introduced to me by my Houzz rep. While Covid has made arranging professional photography insanely difficult over the past two years, you can tell which of my projects were photographed by Maria and which I did myself.
Find a photographer who speaks to your style and who you can work in harmony with – it makes all the difference.
Find, follow and connect with other professionals on Houzz
Image: Vasileff Studio.
Make sure your Houzz Pro profile is an authentic reflection: Of you, your business and your style. My clients come to me because they know I’ll give them something different. I don’t do neutral or minimal and I think my profile reflects that.
Work with your Houzz Client Success Manager: This is their business and they know how to do it.
Make sure your Houzz Pro profile is an authentic reflection: Of you, your business and your style. My clients come to me because they know I’ll give them something different. I don’t do neutral or minimal and I think my profile reflects that.
Work with your Houzz Client Success Manager: This is their business and they know how to do it.
“We use Houzz Pro as another feather in our marketing bow,” says Megan Bruton, a home sales consultant at Horizon Homes. “It gives us access to people who may be looking to build a custom home in Sydney, which is important. We also direct potential clients to our Houzz profile page [so they can see our work] and encourage past clients to post reviews.
“It is powerful for potential clients to be able to see photos of our work and client reviews in one spot. Since Houzz is an external website, it is seen as more genuine than a company website where the company can pick and choose which reviews are posted.”
“It is powerful for potential clients to be able to see photos of our work and client reviews in one spot. Since Houzz is an external website, it is seen as more genuine than a company website where the company can pick and choose which reviews are posted.”
“We review our Houzz profile each month,” says Bruton. “Whenever we have photos of new projects, we upload and highlight them.
“We have an external online media manager who helps us keep our profile up-to-date. She regularly links our social media posts to our Houzz profile. We also try to interact with companies that we regularly do business with so there is cross-promotion.”
Find out more about how Houzz Pro can help you run your business better
“We have an external online media manager who helps us keep our profile up-to-date. She regularly links our social media posts to our Houzz profile. We also try to interact with companies that we regularly do business with so there is cross-promotion.”
Find out more about how Houzz Pro can help you run your business better
“Posting quality pictures of newly finished projects is always important,” says Bruton. “We have learned to carefully select our tags to reflect what people are searching for on Houzz. Our Houzz representative helps guide us on popular tags. That also helps us in which photos we take of our completed custom homes.
“We also work with our Houzz rep to ensure that our company’s profile is coming up in the searches of people who are looking for high-end custom builders in the areas of Sydney we build in. Clearly defining the level of client we are looking to work with helps Houzz filter potential client inquiries,” she says.
“We also work with our Houzz rep to ensure that our company’s profile is coming up in the searches of people who are looking for high-end custom builders in the areas of Sydney we build in. Clearly defining the level of client we are looking to work with helps Houzz filter potential client inquiries,” she says.
“A really important part of our Houzz success is getting past clients to post reviews on the site,” says Bruton. “The number of five-star reviews we have has been noticed by potential clients and we get a lot of inquiries and work based on our reviews.
“As a high-end custom builder in the competitive Sydney marketplace, client reviews of our work have been integral to our success. Building a high-quality custom home may be the largest investment a person ever makes, so it is important they pick someone they can trust.
“Our five-star reviews have helped us define who we are as a business and it reassures potential clients that we are an organisation they would want to speak with about their build.
“We have also won several Best of Houzz Awards based on the number and quality of our reviews. We market this to potential clients too. Again, it is another way to differentiate ourselves from our competition,” she says.
“As a high-end custom builder in the competitive Sydney marketplace, client reviews of our work have been integral to our success. Building a high-quality custom home may be the largest investment a person ever makes, so it is important they pick someone they can trust.
“Our five-star reviews have helped us define who we are as a business and it reassures potential clients that we are an organisation they would want to speak with about their build.
“We have also won several Best of Houzz Awards based on the number and quality of our reviews. We market this to potential clients too. Again, it is another way to differentiate ourselves from our competition,” she says.
And Bruton’s top tips for optimising your Houzz profile? “Have a clear understanding of the type of client you are trying to attract. Work with your Houzz representative to make sure you are set up in their system to attract the right kind of client in the right geographic areas. This helps immensely to ensure you get high-quality inquires,” she says.
“Think through your photos and tags and make sure you are showing people what they want to see. That helps increase the number of views and shares your photos get, which will increase the number of inquires you receive.”
“Think through your photos and tags and make sure you are showing people what they want to see. That helps increase the number of views and shares your photos get, which will increase the number of inquires you receive.”
Help is always at hand, should you need it, says Bruton. “Our Houzz rep is there to help if we ever have any issues or questions. We have regular quarterly meetings to go through our results and they always recommend things we can do to improve our Houzz Pro package,” she says.
“Houzz Pro is very quickly proving itself to be an integral part of our marketing plan,” says Nicholas Bahemia, director at Lux Design Studio. “It showcases the quality of our design service and provides a user-friendly way to get in touch with clients. It is a great tool that connects our studio with potential future clients.”
Putting some effort into a well-planned Houzz profile is essential to success, says Bahemia. “We regularly upload new projects, carefully curate our professional bio detail, use standout tags and client reviews, all of which helps make our Houzz Pro profile inviting and appealing to clients.”
You can maximise the reach of your Houzz Pro profile in another few ways too, says George:
Your turn
How do you optimise your Houzz Pro profile for broad appeal? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, share it with your staff, and join the conversation.
More
Need advice on dealing with the media in a professional manner? Don’t miss this story: 8 Essential Things to Do When Working With the Media
- Have a variety of project types or spaces in your campaign.
- Use a boarder headline.
- Have a broader typical job cost on your profile.
- Select more services and markets that you service.
Your turn
How do you optimise your Houzz Pro profile for broad appeal? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, share it with your staff, and join the conversation.
More
Need advice on dealing with the media in a professional manner? Don’t miss this story: 8 Essential Things to Do When Working With the Media
“Living in a regional community, opening my own studio was the only real option available without relocating to the city in order to join an existing practice. Houzz and Houzz Pro have played an integral part in the growth of my design studio since its inception in 2017,” says Jo Viney, principal at design firm Brinnie T Design.
“As a small business owner, you need to be hands-on with all aspects of your business. You are not just a designer, you also play the part of admin, finance, marketing and more. Houzz Pro lets you bring all of these together in one system and, if utilised properly, makes the overall running of your business more streamlined, which means you have more time to work on your core business – designing,” she says.