Your design-build firm's website, while the hub of your marketing efforts is only one element of a comprehensive marketing strategy. In order to be effective, you need to be found online. Of course, you've included relevant keywords throughout your website to aid Google in indexing your site, and have set up your blog to continue to improve your search engine results page rank "SERP", but driving traffic needs to happen over multiple channels and engagement on other sites.

One site that you're probably aware of is Houzz. Houzz is a photography based website specifically geared towards professionals in the home trades like Design Build firms, Architects, Interior Designers, Landscape Designers, Furniture makers, as well as customers who are in the market for products and services for their homes and businesses. Houzz has 40 million users whose average annual income is $125,000 and is the perfect site for not only driving traffic, but for generating leads for your business. 

When it comes to representing your brand, on Houzz as with your website, appearance is everything. You need to engage with  visitors, provide them with relevant information and lead them to your company website, where they will convert and enter your sales funnel. You can do this by providing as much detailed information as possible, highlighting your company's strengths and brand. This helps to convey your skill, build trust and drive traffic to your website.

Let's look at several ways you can optimize your Houzz profile to improve your conversions, increase traffic and attract better clients.

Developing An Optimized Profile

Much like getting found online through Google, Houzz uses keywords and key phrase searches to return relevant results for visitors. Houzz also recognizes location based keywords and including your location can help you to appear on localized lists. When you build a project on Houzz, there is a special section reserved for keywords. Always include location information, for example if you're keywords include Design Build firm, add “Boston” (or whatever city or town is relevant) to help Houzz target your profile. You should also include some of these keywords throughout your profile and project pages .

These keywords play a major function in your Houzz ranking. Houzz is also indexed by Google so you can also add value to your company website's SERP. Another effective technique for improving your ranking on both Houzz and Google, is to include reviews of your company in your profile. 

While the majority of your leads may come from word-of-mouth referrals, today most consumer's research begins online.  Reviews  act as “word-of-mouth” referrals in the online world and are highly valued when narrowing a consumers focus as the move through their buying process. On Houzz, reviews not only serve to engage with readers, they also improve your search ranking on the site.

Inbound marketing is all about engaging one-on-one with your readers. Houzz provides a questions feature that allows visitors to comment on and ask questions about your projects. You'll need to monitor your profile so you can provide timely responses to questions. This can help to build trust and develop a personalized relationship. You can then direct readers to your website where they can get more information and enter your sales funnel.

Another traffic driver and means to improve your Houzz ranking is through external linking. Linking from your profile back to a blog post on your website can redirect potential clients to your website where you can  better explain who you are, what you do, and the advantages of working with your firm. 

Next Steps For A Houzz Profile That Attracts Leads

For inbound to be effective, all roads should point visitors back to your website. Whether it's your Houzz profile, Facebook profile or other social media, your ultimate goal is to drive traffic to your website where visitors can engage directly with you.  Using calls-to-action and landing pages you can provide visitors with free premium information in return for their email contact information. You can then target and personalize your outreach through email contact and work to further develop your relationship, build trust, and help guide your prospects through their buying process.

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.