Does Houzz Pro+ Help You Find Design-Build Construction Clients?

Your design-build firm's website is one facet of your inbound marketing strategy. In order to drive traffic to your site and generate leads you need to incorporate other media channels like blogging, SEO, email marketing, social media and content marketing techniques. Each element works together to help you get found online and drive traffic to your website.

One proven online winner for businesses in the home sector is Houzz. Much like Facebook advertising, Houzz allows home industry professionals to set up a free profile to showcase their company and projects and then advertise on the platform to increase views of the profile page. Houzz is a highly targeted home renovation and design website and it attracts millions of homeowners seeking design-build, renovation, interior design and architectural services. The site is searchable, visual, and free for both users and home industry businesses.

Your profile contains information about your business, contact information, photo galleries and more. Homeowners researching for their project use Houzz to find companies that offer the services they're seeking, engage with those companies and build “ideabooks” of photos to inspire their creativity.

All of this functionality is free for businesses, including linking to information on your design-build firm's website and engaging with visitors. Along with this free service, Houzz also offers a paid service called Houzz Pro+. As a Pro+ member you gain additional benefits including higher visibility on the site and on the mobile platform, your business shows up more frequently in local search results with higher placement on SERP pages. You can also list your business in multiple categories and locations.

Let's look at some of the differences between “free” Houzz and Pro+ to help you decide if Pro+ is right for your design build firm.

First, Complete Your Profile!

Your Houzz profile is the first impressions visitors to the site will take away about your firm. Make sure you complete your profile and include highly searched keywords! Give your reader a chance to learn who you are, what you do, and why your company is the best choice for their project. Explore the platform, engage with users. Houzz can be a great platform to drive traffic and generate leads. Utilize it fully before you invest in paid positioning.

Houzz Pro+ can help you in terms of local search and exposure for your business, but it is critical that you develop your profile, include ideabooks and project pages. The algorithm Houzz uses bases Search Engine Results Pages, "SERP" results on the quality of your profile, images, keywords, and descriptions. The better and more fully developed your profile, the greater the results you'll get with Houzz Pro+.

The Pros and Cons 

Houzz Pro+  offers some benefits, but to get the most out of your Pro+ advertising dollar you need to have fully taken advantage of the platform. Let's look at some of the pros and cons of Houzz Pro+.

THE PROS

1. Increase Visibility
For a monthly fee, (usually $250 per geographic location) Houzz Pro+ will expose your profile to more users. Homeowners searching for design-build firms in your local area will be more likely to see your profile. Houzz lists some professionals on each results page. Ten spots are reserved within the search results page for Pro+ members and paid listings are posted in every other spot.

2. Choose Multiple Categories and Locations
When you open a free Houzz profile, you're able to list your business in a single category in a single location. Pro+ opens you up to other categories and expands your location to give you more visibility. This is especially beneficial for companies like design-build firms who can list under contractors, home design, design-build and more. 

3. Gain Insight Into Your Profile Activity
Pro+ offers in-depth analytics which allows you to see data on your profile and pictures are performing. This can help you to refine your profile and make it even more effective.

THE CONS 

1. The Cost
If you have a small budget, Pro+ may not be right for you.

2. Tracking Leads
To accurately assess your ROI on any platform you need to track where your leads are coming from. In general, social media is not the best lead generator, which being said if you are paying for a premium service you want more out of it. Unfortunately, Pro+ does not track where leads are generated from, whether it is from organic (free) Houzz, or Pro+.

3. Photo Impressions
Houzz is a photo-driven site. While Pro+ does will increase impressions and clicks, which is what you are paying for, it doesn't seem to make a difference regarding photo impressions, which is the key driver of the platform. High-quality photography is imperative whether you are using Houzz Pro+ or the free service. You must invest in a substantial number of great images, that have keyword-rich project descriptions. This is where most firms fail at using Houzz for lead generation.

More impressions and greater visibility will increase the prospect of generating leads. Pro+ users do get more traffic. If your profile is not complete, you have a small number of images on your projects portfolios, or you have a small budget, it's probably best to wait before joining Houzz Pro+. If you have a well-developed profile, lots of high-quality photography, and have enjoyed some success on Houzz, Pro+ may be worth a look. Either way, a free Houzz profile is a must! It allows you to engage with a community seeking design-build services, generate leads, build authority and drive traffic to your design-build firm's website.

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About Michael Conway

I'm the owner and strategist at Means-of-Production. My firm builds Squarespace websites, Houzz profiles, and content marketing and advertising solutions for architects, interior designers, design-build contractors and landscape design firms. Our all-in-one marketing tactics attract the right clients with exceptional architectural photography and brand messaging that sets you apart from the competition.