Welcome to Part 3 of our series on SEO Tips for Artists. In Part 1 we looked at keywords, meta descriptions and backlinks. You can read this article at https://artworldblog.com/2021/05/13/seo-tips-for-artists-2021-part-1/

In Part 2 we considered using more header tags, writing a blog linked to your website, and using Instagram consistently to send the right social signals to Google. You can find that article here https://artworldblog.com/2021/05/15/seo-tips-for-artists-2021-part-2/

In this article we are going to jump right into some more extra valuable tips for SEO, and relate them to artists in particular.

1 SEO Tips for Artists – Use Alt Text Under Your Pictures

Artists will obviously want to populate their websites with as many visually enticing images of their artworks as possible. This is where you can optimise the alt text (which is a description of what users can see in the image) for SEO purposes.

The purpose of alt text is to describe what the image looks like for the visually impaired user (who will be listening to an audio description of your website), so that they might have some idea what it looks like. 

For the purposes of SEO it is another great opportunity to optimise your image for search engines, using your focus keyword. For example if your focus keyword is “abstract painting,” you can use it naturally and legitimately as alt text to describe your image/painting.

2 SEO Tips for Artists – Use Natural Language, Correct Grammar and Spelling to Add Value to Users

Google’s algorithm has evolved to become very intelligent and capable of identifying attempts to play the system. 

In the past it was possible to use keywords over and over in an unnatural way to rank high in searches. This lead to disreputable, poor content websites getting to the first page. This practice is called ‘keyword stuffing’ and Google’s update in 2012 dealt with this issue. 

Google’s algorithm is now capable of detecting overuse and abuse of keywords, and it favours the use of natural language that reads well and provides value to search users. Correct spelling and word order help add to your website’s authority and make you seem like an expert in your niche.

If you are able to address pain points (things people find difficult and want to find out about) all the better. For example ‘how to transfer photos to canvas without gel medium,’ is a problem for some abstract artists who would like to clear up this specific confusion. It could earn you around 140 visits a month at least if you could get to the top spot with it.

You could provide tips, a video or your complete process showcasing your own abstract artwork to help with this and so rank for this keyword from your blog (which of course links to your art website) or your website itself. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to have a Youtube Channel with some videos of your art process on it. In the description of your video add a link to your website, and make sure to optimise the video as much as possible with related art hashtags. 

The algorithm is also able to detect keyword related words to make decisions about how to rank your art website. If we take ‘abstract painting,’ as a focus keyword related keywords would be ‘abstract painting techniques,’ ‘abstract painting ideas,’ ‘abstract painting for living room,’ ‘abstract wall art.’ As ever, you obviously want to aim for a keyword that doesn’t have huge search volume that you could definitely rank for. If it feels unnatural to include your keyword in your text use a related keyword to help your sentence make sense. This allows for ranking for other keywords as well as your focus keyword. 

The thing to take away here is that you should use your keywords sparingly and wisely rather stuffing them in everywhere. Write in a natural manner (not like a robot) using your keywords in your artwork descriptions, and sections of your website in a way that flows naturally and normally for your users. 

3 SEO Tips for Artists – Understand How Important Questions Are

It’s so important for artists and businesses to understand how important questions are. Google has become the go-to portal for questions of all kinds. There are many, many searches on Google that are queries, and begin with either ‘why,’ or ‘can’ and it is advantageous to try and answer existing questions about art in a video, blogpost or product description. 

If you are offering art commissions, as so many artists are, try to answer questions that a potential customer might have. ‘How much do art commissions cost?’ could be a great title or subheading, and it would be well worth considering the keyword phrases, ‘art commissions,’ ‘art commission,’ and ‘commission an artist,’ to be part and parcel of your write ups on your art website. 

Aim to answer questions in one article or section of your website, or it is also possible to answer multiple questions in one article or website section e.g. frequently asked questions (FAQs) based around a specific keyword. Always try to keep the user intent in mind, don’t use the question word ‘where,’ because that will trigger Google’s algorithm to the local search feature which is based on the word ‘where,’ and you will have to compete with the Local Pack or Map. ‘Why,’ and ‘Can,’ are the kinds of questions that work here.

4 SEO Tips for Artists – Put a Date on Your Art Content

A lot of websites don’t put a date on their content because they want it to seem relevant for as long as possible. Although that seems to be good idea it isn’t always as user-friendly as it might appear. Recent content might be favoured by Google but interestingly older articles/website sections still rank well if they have provided the best answer to the search query. 

Dated content is useful because it builds trust, particularly when it has been updated recently to provide more current information. It can also reduce frustration for the reader because it provides a sense of authority and shows that there is an underlying historic understanding of the topic. 

We will back soon for more SEO Tips for Artists. For the moment why not put these tips into practice and sign up for a free trial with the very helpful award-winning team at SEMrush. Their SEO and marketing tools are second to none. Simply click the banner beneath.

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