SEO For Artists: 5 Game-Changing Tips You Need To Know

Career/Marketing

SEO For Artists: 5 Game-Changing Tips You Need To Know

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How To Utilise Your Online Content In The Best Way With SEO For Artists

As artists, we’re creative individuals at heart. This means that we’re much more likely to be in the studio than sitting in front of our computers. However, it’s important to not neglect the online space and instead take advantage of the potential that it holds. This is where SEO for artists comes into play.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization’, the process of organically ranking your content highly on search engines. The more optimised your webpage is – the more traffic you’ll generate.

If you’re putting your artwork on the web in any shape or form, whether that be on Etsy or through your artist website – the words you use will determine how many people see it. This differs from how you gain attention on your social media profiles. Being seen on Instagram and Tiktok relies on some level of algorithm luck. Whereas in the world of web pages and search engines; there are solidified methods of achieving traffic.

But why is this useful for artists to know? In this article we’ll explore why SEO is a great tool for creatives and how to use it effectively.

Why do artists use SEO?

Using SEO as an artist drives traffic to your online content and work. It’s a free and natural way to build website traffic from people who are actually interested in what you do. If you’re a beginner, you won’t need to worry about spending money on running ads. There are a bunch of simple SEO techniques that anyone can employ to boost their webpages higher on search results. This is particularly important if you’re looking at selling art online.

Ultimately, Google wants to give the searcher results that accurately match their search term – so by optimising your content correctly; artists can be connected to the right audience, and vice versa.

How do artists use SEO?

Step 1: Conduct Keyword Research

At its core, SEO focuses on keywords and how you use them. Before an artist can build content around a keyword, they’ll need to conduct keyword research to find the most relevant ones.

What are some keywords for art? This all depends on your practice. Start by brainstorming topic ideas that your audience would be interested in. You could use a mind map to formulate your ideas, like the example below.

It’s likely that you can already talk about your art quite well – but you’ll also need to find keywords that others may use in relation to your work. Try using a thesaurus to find alternative words that the public may use instead.

If you’re struggling, start by asking yourself some basic questions to get the ball rolling.

– What does your art look like?

– What themes is your art communicating?

– How would someone else describe my work for the first time?

These topic ideas and areas of interest aren’t your keywords yet. They’re probably very short and broad – which we call ‘single-word’ or ‘head terms’. These keywords are highly competitive, meaning they have a higher search volume and are difficult to rank highly for.

As an artist just starting out, you’re more likely to find success with long-tail keywords. These usually consist of 4 or more words and are a lot more specific.

Long-tail keywords are easy to find. Simply begin typing your head term into the search bar and take note of the automated predictions that begin to appear. You can also scroll down to ‘Related Searches’ to find other relevant long-tail keywords that link to your original head term or topic.

Each one will be more specific and detailed. Although they’re searched less frequently, the amount of webpages geared towards them is also lower. This means, your chances of ranking highly on search engines is increased if you optimise efficiently.

Sites like Reddit, Wikipedia and specific keyword tools like ‘Keysearch’ and ‘Keywords Everywhere’ are also great for building a database of the best SEO keywords for artists.

Step 2: Optimise Your Artist Website

Once you’ve settled on a main keyword and collected relevant ones alongside it, you need to use them in various ways to optimise your webpage. Using keywords in strategic ways is vital if you’re wondering how to get your website seen.

How To Use Keywords

– In the body of text, your main keyword needs to appear evenly and regularly. The amount of times you include it varies depending on the length of text – but as a general rule, your keyword shouldn’t appear more than once for every 200 words. Focus on optimising the keyword placement by avoiding them appearing all in one paragraph.

– Include the keyword and its variations in headings and subheadings. For the main title, you should try to include the primary keyword exactly at the beginning. But remember; your embedded keyword should read naturally and make sense. Don’t force it in where it’s not needed.

– Also, don’t forget to include your primary keyword in your URL/domain name. If you’re using WordPress, make sure to change the ‘slug’ from what it is automatically.

– A meta description is the first thing someone will see on the search result page underneath your website title. Think of it as a mini overview of what the reader can expect to find out by visiting your website. For this reason, including your keyword in artist meta descriptions is a good SEO tip.

How To Use Images Effectively

As an artist, you’ll already know how important the visual side of your online presence is. However, when it comes to SEO – your images can also play a crucial role in increasing your search ranking and reach.

Images can be searched for directly on Google Images and other search engines, providing a perfect opportunity for artists to reach audiences with instant visual attraction. Here’s a few tips on how to optimise them for the best results.

– Resize your images. Higher resolution images slow the load time on your page and may make it clunky and hard to use.

– Title your images accordingly. These are important for user engagement as well as SEO purposes. Make it relatable to the image content and include keywords if you can.

– Use alt tags. Like titles, these descriptions help viewers understand the image, but they’re also great indicators for search engines. You can go into a little more detail with alt tags – but don’t go overboard with the amount of keywords. Make sure the alt text is relevant and makes sense, as they’ll be used to make your webpage accessible to the visually impaired too.

– This may be less relevant for artists and creatives – but try to avoid the overuse of stock images. Original photos and illustrations are better for SEO and for your professional look of your artist website.

Step 3: Create Content for SEO

It’s harder for artists to naturally slip SEO tactics into their websites compared to help sites and shops, but here are some content ideas to drive SEO for creatives.

Tip: If you’re really keen on pushing your SEO, then you may want to opt for a CMS (Content Management System) for your website. Platforms like Wix and Squarespace are great for smart online portfolios – but the best SEO advice and success will come from sites like WordPress that are designed for such content.

How To Incorporate SEO Into Your Art Content:

Start an art blog

As well as showcasing your creativity and talent through an online portfolio – artists can set up blogs where they discuss everything and anything. Consider writing a piece about a particular technique you’re good at, or how to use a certain art material. This kind of content will be searched because people want to learn from artists – and it’s a great place to include lots of keywords. From there, the reader might take a look around the rest of your website.

Write an artist statement

At some point in your art career, you’ll be tasked with writing an artist statement – but did you know that it can be a great place to include SEO keywords? As you’re explaining your practice in detail – the artist statement will naturally use words that relate back to your work. So although you can strategically place certain SEO keywords for that Google search boost – it’s best to keep it sounding as real and authentic as possible.

Captions and descriptions

Most of your work imagery should have clear labels anyway, but you could also consider writing brief captions to accurately describe what is going on in the picture. Not only will this help viewers understand your work but it also helps Google find relevant audiences.

As important as SEO is, you don’t want to sacrifice your creativity for the sake of gaining internet traffic. Focusing too much on the technical side of SEO could mean that you produce content for the wrong reasons.

Step 4: Build Backlinks

Links are a pivotal part of SEO for artists and internet traffic in general. When an external site links to your page – this is called a backlink. These links in particular give your website credibility and validation. They tell both readers and Google that your website is trustworthy and legitimate, which in turn gives a higher search engine ranking.

Tips On SEO and Artist Backlinks

Search for websites that relate

If you’re looking to boost your SEO as a painter, there’s not much use being linked by a cooking website. To provide Google with a good indication of your subject, it’s best to gain backlinks from other sites that relate to yours in terms of theme. This doesn’t have to be a strict rule – just make sure there is a tangible connection somehow.

Find good quality, secure websites

You don’t want to be linked by anyone and everyone on the internet. In fact, being linked by an unreliable source may damage your SEO instead. If you’re going to have a backlink, make sure it comes from a reputable website by checking these several things:

– The ‘lock’ icon next to the URL, meaning the site is SSL secured.

– The website’s PA (Page Authority)

– The website’s DA (Domain Authority)

– The website’s spam score.

Ideally, you want the website to have high scores for PA and DA (or at least higher than your own) and of course, a low spam score. These aspects can be checked by third party extensions like MozBar for example.

Make connections with similar people

We tend to forget that there’s another human being on the other side of the computer or phone. Try reaching out to the owner of the site if you feel your passions and interests align. Making connections with people who share the same interest will not only benefit your artist SEO – but also go towards building a supportive network of creative individuals. After getting to know someone and their craft’ they’ll be more likely to link to your work.

Once you’ve found a good option, reach out to the contact directly to strike conversation. When it comes to asking for backlinks, be sure to ask for a DoFollow link rather than a NoFollow. DoFollow is much better for boosting your SEO and website authority.

Step 5: Utilise Social Media

As an artist, you should already be utilising social media to its full potential. But, in terms of your SEO, the effect is actually indirect – as social media cannot contribute to your SEO score.

So although your followers, likes, shares and comments won’t impact SEO directly – they still boost your visibility and exposure which can organically influence SEO.

How can social media benefit SEO for artists?

– Direct links provided on social media take the viewer off the platform, straight to your website. If your website is engaging and accessible, they’ll hopefully spend a good amount of time on there, driving an increase in traffic. Return visits and direct searches on Google can also come from this initial link on social media.

– Having a good social media presence as an artist increases your recognition and reputation. If your audience already has your art in mind from seeing it on Instagram – then they may directly search for your website on Google as and when they need.

Even though the link between SEO and social media is indirect – it’s good practice to employ the same tactics on your social channels as well as your website. This involves using the same relevant keywords, optimising your images and making content easily accessible.

Summarising SEO for artists

In essence, artists should use the same basic SEO tactics that brands and businesses do. As much as your talent and creatively speaks volumes – you need the search engines to push your content to the relevant audiences in order to grow. Sure, you might become successful without it – but why wait to find out? By implementing these simple SEO tips now, you’re likely to find out how they can be beneficial very soon after.

WHAT TIPS DO YOU USE WHEN IT COMES TO SEO FOR ARTISTS? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

Don’t forget you can always share your art with us! Become the next Artist of The Month or tag us on Instagram @darkyellowdot.

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