5 Simple Ways to Keep Up On Houzz

I had a check-in call with a Houzz representative for one of my clients this week and the conversation made me want to share this more widely, since it’s just common sense for managing your Houzz profile.

1.       GET MORE REVIEWS – Remember that to achieve the Best of Houzz Service badge, you have to garner 4 or more reviews before the end of the year. You may want to start with writing a review for one of the other professionals you worked with on a recent project. Remember to thank people directly on Houzz for their review on your firm.

2.       USE A STAFF PHOTO AS PROFILE PIC – This is a best practice, since as Houzz reps have told me, homeowners react positively to a photo of the owner or the entire staff. It makes the profile more personal and differentiated from other firms. If you don’t have a photo to use, put it on your to-do list and drop in your logo for now.

3.       ENGAGE THROUGH DISCUSSIONS AND QUESTIONS – Those questions about specific products used in a project photo? Answer them. Even if you don’t have the information or it’s something that you don’t feel comfortable sharing, respond and let them know. A simple response such as the following should suffice: “Thank you for your inquiry. The finish on the floor was a custom mix to match the client’s mantel. I wish you the best with your project!” Houzz rewards those who engage in questions and discussions. In fact, you could even win a Houzz Influencer badge for your engagement. 

4.       ADD MORE TOP QUALITY PROJECT PHOTOS – I feel like a broken record with this, but it bears reminding. Schedule professional photos in to your project contracts and schedules whenever possible. The difference between a photo that you take yourself and one that a professional with the correct wide-angle lens and soft lighting takes is easy to see. Did you know that Houzz chooses images to feature on their home page? Only the best are chosen from among all that are added. Just ask one of my clients who has several of theirs on the home page. The traffic for those photos is up to 20X greater than his other photos. And as a result, he gets more organic traffic. In addition, take clear “before” and “after” photos. They get lots of play on Houzz.

5.       CREATE A HOUZZ SCHEDULE – I know, I know. You don’t really have time for keeping your profile up. I would challenge you that the issue is that you don’t have it planned out. This could be as simple as plugging in a task/appointment for each of these into your online calendar. For the engagement piece, I’d put it in as a monthly appointment for 30 minutes. For reviews you might require looking at it like a project. Same for the profile photo, especially if you have to corral everyone to take the photo. For the photos, be sure to start planning for these as you begin projects.

Even if you’ve got more business than you can shake a stick at, don’t ignore your online presence, especially on Houzz. Taking a few minutes out of your day to tackle these areas will benefit you in the long run.