Houzz Affiliate Program: How To Make Money With It
If you’re in the home improvement or interior design niche, the Houzz affiliate program offers a straightforward way to monetize your audience. With 9+ million products to promote and a 30-day cookie window, you can earn 5% commissions on a platform people already trust. Here’s everything you need to know to start earning.
Quick Stats
💰 Commission: 5% per sale
🍪 Cookie Duration: 30 days
💳 Payment Terms: Monthly (Payoneer, Bank Transfer, Check)
🏢 Network: ShareASale
📦 Products: 9+ million home improvement items
⏱️ Getting Started: Sign up takes minutes
Join the Houzz Affiliate Program →
Why the Houzz Affiliate Program Actually Makes Sense
Let’s talk numbers first because that’s what matters.
A 5% commission might not sound like much until you realize the average home improvement purchase on Houzz isn’t twenty bucks. We’re talking furniture sets, complete room makeovers, professional services. A $2,000 order nets you $100. Get ten of those a month and you’re looking at an extra $1,000.
The real opportunity here is volume and trust. Houzz has built serious credibility in the home improvement space since 2009. When someone clicks your affiliate link, they’re not landing on some sketchy dropshipping site. They’re on a platform they’ve probably heard of or used before.
That trust translates to conversions.
Plus, with 9 million products, you’re not limited to promoting one thing. Got a blog post about small bathroom renovations? Link to shower curtains, vanities, and tile options. Writing about outdoor living spaces? Promote patio furniture, grills, and lighting. The product catalog gives you flexibility most affiliate programs can’t match.
Getting Approved and Set Up
The Houzz program runs through ShareASale, which means you need a ShareASale account first. If you already work with other ShareASale merchants, you’re halfway there.
Here’s what the approval process looks like. You apply through ShareASale with your website or social media presence. Houzz reviews your application, usually within a few business days. They want to see you’re creating real content in relevant niches like home improvement, interior design, DIY, real estate, or lifestyle.
What gets you approved faster? A clean website with original content about home-related topics. Active social media showing engagement with a home improvement audience. A clear content strategy that shows how you’ll promote their products authentically.
What might slow you down? Brand new websites with zero content. Purely promotional sites with no real value. Social accounts with fake followers or engagement.
Once approved, you get access to their affiliate dashboard through ShareASale. This is where you’ll find your unique tracking links, banners, product feeds, and commission reports. The interface isn’t fancy but it works.
Get Your Houzz Affiliate Link →
Who Actually Makes Money With This Program
Not every affiliate is right for Houzz, and that’s fine.
This program works best if you’re creating content for homeowners, renters looking to upgrade their space, or people planning renovations. Think DIY bloggers, interior design influencers, home improvement YouTube channels, or lifestyle content creators who occasionally cover home topics.
Real estate professionals also crush it with this program. You’re already talking to people who just bought homes and need to furnish or renovate them. An email to your past clients about decorating their new space with a Houzz affiliate link? That’s low-hanging fruit.
Pinterest users, pay attention here. Home improvement content performs exceptionally well on Pinterest. People use it specifically to find home decorating ideas and products. A solid Pinterest strategy with Houzz affiliate links can generate passive income for months after you create a pin.
Who shouldn’t bother? If your content has nothing to do with homes, interior design, or lifestyle topics, skip this one. Also, if you’re looking for high commission percentages, the 5% might frustrate you compared to other programs offering 20-30%.
Promotion Strategies That Convert
Let’s get tactical about driving traffic and sales.
The Content Approach
Room-by-room guides work incredibly well. Write comprehensive articles like “How to Design a Small Living Room on a Budget” or “Master Bedroom Makeover Ideas Under $3,000.” Within these posts, naturally link to specific Houzz products that fit your recommendations.
Before and after content is gold for conversions. People love transformation stories. If you’re showing a room renovation, link to the actual products used. Even if you’re curating ideas from Houzz’s inspiration photos, you can link to similar products available on the platform.
Seasonal content gives you traffic spikes. “Spring Home Refresh Ideas” in March. “Cozy Fall Decorating Tips” in September. “Holiday Entertaining Spaces” in November. Time your content with when people are actively thinking about home updates.
The SEO Strategy
Target long-tail keywords with buying intent. Instead of “living room furniture” (too competitive), go for “best sectional sofas for small apartments” or “affordable farmhouse dining tables.”
Product comparison posts rank well and convert. “Top 10 Kitchen Faucets for Modern Homes” with Houzz product links throughout. “Best Outdoor Fire Pits: Wood vs Gas” linking to options in both categories.
Local SEO works too if you want to get creative. “Home Improvement Products for [City] Homes” targeting local homeowners searching for solutions.
The Pinterest Method
This deserves special attention because Pinterest and home content are a match made in heaven.
Create vertical pins for specific products or room designs. Use rich pins to show product details automatically. Join Pinterest group boards in the home improvement niche to expand your reach.
The beautiful thing about Pinterest is longevity. A pin you create today can drive traffic and sales six months from now. Unlike Instagram posts that disappear from feeds, Pinterest acts more like a search engine.
The Email Angle
Build an email list around home improvement tips, design inspiration, or DIY tutorials. Your weekly newsletter becomes a vehicle for promoting Houzz products naturally within helpful content.
A simple sequence: someone downloads your “Room Design Checklist.” Over the next two weeks, they get emails about measuring spaces, choosing color schemes, and finding furniture. Each email includes relevant Houzz links.
Paid Traffic Considerations
Google Ads can work for Houzz promotions, but you need to be careful with margins. A 5% commission means you need high order values to stay profitable. Test keywords like “buy bedroom furniture online” or “home improvement products” but watch your cost per click carefully.
Facebook and Instagram ads work better if you’re promoting content rather than products directly. Run ads to your blog post about designing home offices, which then contains Houzz affiliate links. This approach often performs better than direct product promotion.
The Real Numbers Behind Earning Potential
Here’s how the math works out based on different scenarios.
Scenario One: The Casual Content Creator
You run a home lifestyle blog with 5,000 monthly visitors. Three percent of them click your Houzz links. That’s 150 clicks per month. If two percent of those clicks convert (industry average for home products), that’s three sales. Average order value on Houzz is around $500. Three sales times $500 equals $1,500 in sales. At five percent commission, you make $75 monthly.
Not life-changing money, but it’s passive income from content you’d create anyway.
Scenario Two: The Pinterest Strategist
You focus hard on Pinterest, growing to 100,000 monthly viewers. Your pins drive 10,000 clicks to Houzz monthly. Same two percent conversion rate gives you 200 sales. At $500 average order value, that’s $100,000 in sales generating $5,000 monthly in commissions.
Now we’re talking about meaningful income.
Scenario Three: The Email List Builder
You’ve built an email list of 20,000 home improvement enthusiasts. You send weekly emails with Houzz recommendations. Five percent open and click through, that’s 1,000 clicks. At two percent conversion, twenty sales per week. Times four weeks equals eighty sales monthly. At $500 per order, that’s $2,000 monthly in commissions.
The key insight? Scale matters with a five percent commission. You need either high traffic, high conversion rates, or high order values. Ideally all three.
Maximizing Your Commission Per Sale
Not all Houzz promotions are created equal when it comes to your bottom line.
Focus on higher-ticket items when it makes sense. Furniture sets, major lighting fixtures, professional services all increase your earnings per conversion. A $3,000 living room set earns you $150 instead of $7.50 from a decorative pillow.
Bundle recommendations naturally increase order values. Don’t just recommend a dining table. Show the complete dining room setup with chairs, lighting, and decor. People often buy multiple items when they’re in purchasing mode.
Target shoppers at the right stage of their journey. Someone planning a full room renovation will spend more than someone looking for small decor updates. Your content can attract both, but know which one you’re targeting.
Promote during high-spending seasons. Spring and fall are huge for home improvement. Tax refund season in late winter. The months before summer when people want their outdoor spaces ready.
Common Challenges You’ll Face
Let’s address the stuff nobody talks about in most affiliate reviews.
The Commission Rate Reality
Five percent is lower than many affiliate programs offer. You’ll need more sales to hit the same income levels compared to programs paying twenty or thirty percent. This isn’t necessarily bad, just something to factor into your expectations.
The trade-off is Houzz’s conversion rate might be higher because of brand recognition. Would you rather get twenty percent of nothing or five percent of something? That’s the question.
The Competitive Landscape
Thousands of affiliates promote Houzz. Your affiliate link isn’t unique or special. You’re competing with established home improvement sites, big lifestyle influencers, and everyone in between.
Your edge comes from your specific audience, your unique voice, and your ability to provide value beyond just dropping affiliate links. Generic product roundups won’t cut it anymore.
The Cookie Duration Factor
Thirty days is solid for home improvement products. People often research for days or weeks before buying furniture or starting renovation projects. That said, if someone clicks your link but doesn’t buy for thirty-one days, you get nothing.
Some affiliates get frustrated when they see traffic but delayed conversions that fall outside the cookie window. It happens. The solution is consistent promotion so you’re always capturing people at different stages.
The Attribution Challenge
ShareASale’s reporting is good but not perfect. You might see clicks without clear conversion data. Some sales might not get properly attributed due to technical issues or cross-device shopping.
Accept that your actual earnings might be slightly higher than reported because some conversions slip through tracking cracks. Not enough to worry about, but worth knowing.
Who This Program Isn’t For
Being honest here because your time matters.
Skip this if you need fast cash. The 5% commission and monthly payment schedule mean you won’t see money quickly. Your first commission won’t arrive until at least thirty days after your first sale, possibly sixty days depending on ShareASale’s payment schedule.
Avoid this if you have zero interest in home improvement content. Promoting products outside your niche or expertise rarely works well. Your audience can tell when you’re being inauthentic.
Pass if you’re expecting hands-on affiliate support. Houzz provides basic marketing materials but don’t expect dedicated affiliate managers or personalized help. You’re largely on your own to figure out what works.
Look elsewhere if you want higher commission rates. Programs in other niches like software or digital products often pay significantly more per sale. The trade-off is potentially lower conversion rates.
Making Your First Dollar
Here’s a simple action plan to get started this week.
Pick three high-quality articles you’ll create around home improvement topics. Research keywords with decent search volume and manageable competition. Write genuinely helpful content that solves specific problems.
Join ShareASale and apply for the Houzz affiliate program. While waiting for approval, start building your content. Get at least two articles published so when they review your application, they see active content creation.
Once approved, naturally integrate Houzz product links into your existing and new content. Don’t force it. Link to products that genuinely fit your recommendations.
Set up basic tracking to see what content drives clicks and conversions. This data tells you what to create more of. Double down on what works.
Build an email list from day one if you haven’t already. Even a small list of engaged subscribers can drive consistent affiliate sales month after month.
The Bottom Line
The Houzz affiliate program works if you’re already creating content in the home improvement space or willing to start. It won’t make you rich overnight, but it can generate steady supplementary income with the right strategy.
Your success comes down to three things: consistent content creation that provides real value, strategic product placement that feels natural, and patience while you build traffic and trust.
Is it the highest-paying affiliate program? No. Is it one of the most credible programs in the home improvement niche? Absolutely.
For content creators in this space, it’s worth having in your affiliate portfolio alongside other programs. You might as well earn commissions when recommending products your audience needs anyway.