Most architects that do custom residential work are aware of Houzz, a website with a focus on residential design. If you aren't aware of Houzz, you should take a look by.
You can showcase your portfolios on Houzz. It's free and having a presence on Houzz is a terrific marketing tool. There was a recent piece in Business Week about how useful Houzz is for generating work and I can attest that my profile on Houzz has led to a few projects (one of which is proposed for an ocean front site in New Zealand).
So if you decide to create a profile on Houzz or already have a profile that needs updating, some things to keep in mind are:
- Houzz is a visual platform where homeowners discover professionals via their portfolio. The more images you upload, and the higher the quality of your images, the greater the exposure. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't include a photo taken by yourself that shows some important feature of the project. For example, the most popular photo of mine is of a built in ironing center. Homeowners are searching for what's practical, not what's just beautiful.
- Houzz is a technology company and has built tools like search into the platform. Adding all applicable keywords and a meaningful description to each image (part of the process when you upload images) will ensure your images show up more often in search results. And there's a tagging feature that enables us to list product information. So whether it's a wall color or make and model number of an appliance, the more tags the more your image will show up.
- Make sure your profile is complete and accurately describes your particular expertise. If your focus is on restoring and renovating old barns, say so. If you follow in the footsteps of the Sarasota School, say so. The more focused and defined you are, the more likely you'll be discovered when someone is looking for just such expertise.
- And most importantly, make sure you have the rights to the photography. Though this is just common sense, there have been instances where the uploaded photography had to be removed to the chagrin of all involved.
Disclaimer: I'm a featured writer for Houzz. As such, I'm always looking for images on the site that will work with the piece I'm writing. So do me a favor and provide really complete descriptions of the images you upload. Thank
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Harold "Bud" Dietrich AIA, NCARB
Valrico FL
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