Who's using it for their integration business, and what are your thoughts on using it for marketing?

It's a bit discouraging to see that among the categories from which one can choose, there's not only nothing about home entertainment or electronics, there's not even a category for electricians!

Also, when I decided to look into the site a little bit, a SIGN UP page appeared and I had to actually close the website to escape it! They have to let me see a little of what they're doing before I hand over any personal information.

They do have a category called "Home Media Design & Installation". Not sure if this is new or not.

There is a category for electricians. Find Navigate to...Professionals/Home Services/Electricians

For Home Automation & Entertainment...Find Professionals/View All Pros (bottom left corner of drop down)/Home Improvement (on the left side of the page) Home Automation & Home Media


There sign up page is a landing page with no navigation. Annoying but the browser back button works just fine.

First i have heard of it. I found an integrator who has a houzz review from 2013 so its not that new. To be honest i never spent more than 5 minutes at Houzz and it was looking for bathroom remodel photos not Home Automation.

I'm not clear about the Houzz business model. Who are they charging?

Tradespeople can pay for advertising to have their results come up higher in key searches, and vendors can "tag" their products in photos to bring up a direct link to purchase the product, which I'm sure has a kickback to Houzz when someone uses it, like an Amazon affiliate link.

I have had a Houzz account at both businesses I've worked at since it started. I have never had it generate a lead that I know of...but that's the same as Facebook, Instagram, etc. Has little to do with direct lead generation and more to do with big-picture branding of the company.

Here's something to think about.

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A company I used to work for pays for Houzz and invests a lot of time into their profile. It has paid off big time for them. And has a tendency to prequalify prospective clients since every project shows the price range. All that being said the popularity seems based on the region.

I could break the internet on this topic, but instead I'll offer my .02 on the subject and  offer to answer any questions that you might have by email or a phone call.

Second, that video posted above is 100% spot on correct.   When you use sites like Houzz, HomeAdvisor, AngiesList, you're building their brand awareness, not yours.

That being said, it depends on what your specific goals are...If you're trying to use sites like Houzz, Yelp, etc. to sell your services you must stay on them on a regular basis.  Most guys that I talk to don't, and in that case, it actually hurts you.  Nobody is buying anything from anyone who's last post/comment whatever was in 2015.  It's an immediate turn off.

Third, this industry is filled with small 1-4 man shops that have a web presence, but it's poor at best, and they're not doing anything right in regard to their website...Why is that good for you?  Because you can capitalize on what they're doing wrong....as long as you do it right...

I like for my customers to use those sites  for citations.  If you're interested, send me an email and I'll send over an excel spreadsheet of places to put your business online, which will help you get ranked.  But if your site is garbage, don't bother.

Lastly, for my money I'd recommend Facebook. It's the cheapest advertising dollar you can spend, and it's highly customizable.  But there's a method to it, and if you don't keep up with it, it's not going to help.  Think about it like this, the average conversion rate for marketing is 1-2%,  People don't necessarily go on FB to buy something so let's call it 1%.  So are you necessarily selling on Facebook? Or are you building brand awareness with your followers (and their friends who are also the buyer persona you're looking for).

I looked into them a while ago, had few meetings, etc.
I can see how it can work well for designers, architects, builders and remodelers.

It's picture based.
Client sees nice picture, desires that a builder does nice work and hires them.
In our industry, if we do our job right, you might notice a keypad or touchscreen, maybe even a flat screen TV, that's about it.

For our industry, I personally don't see a big conversion rate based on pictures.
Same for electricians. What are they going to show -- a pretty chandelier?

Following up on my previous post:
Show any of the gorgeous pictures or videos that Paul posts to your wife, mother, friend.
Mute the narration.
Ask them what they noticed.
A bet you a drink that not one person will say technology.

Clear ROI every year.

Not a high frequency but high dollar kind of deal.

Thanks RC community for chiming in. I appreciate that you took the time to read and respond. Please keep comments coming with good or bad experiences. Interesting video by Palnews26, Hadn't considered this potential downside.

Mario is a wise, wise man:


An installer told me of a client who complained one day that even though he had been working all day while she was out, the place looked just the same as when she left in the morning... he started to laugh as she talked... suddenly she stopped talking, then realized that one of the goals of the installation was to make it not obvious... the new keypad, the added speakers, and of course anything in the rack; NONE of that was visible.

How do you sell that using pictures? How do you sell how well you conceal changes to the look of the home?