SEO for Artists: Is It Worth the Hype?
I’ve noticed quite an uptick in the amount of times the term SEO (Search Engine Optimization) comes up in my conversations with artists. It seems like a buzzword spreading all over the art world, taking on a mythical connotation that frames it as THE HOLY GRAIL of marketing strategies.
But is it… really?
Many think SEO is just about sprinkling keywords throughout their website to improve Google rankings. However, SEO entails a broader spectrum, encompassing technology, strategic planning, extensive research, and other intricate processes. It’s akin to understanding the hidden meanings, call-backs, and paternity of the songs in Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, and how they fit into Swiftian lore.
Here’s my take, rooted in my firsthand experience, both as a client of an SEO agency and as a brand strategist for fellow artists like yourself. As such, my work overlaps with SEO, so I’m pleased to invite you for an unvarnished peek under the hood. I’m by no means an SEO expert. As they say, I know enough to be dangerous. This post is meant to give you enough understanding of the topic to decide whether SEO is a strategy you want to pursue.
SEO for Artists: Is Search Engine Optimization the Right Marketing Strategy for Your Art Business?
Demystifying SEO
(a little bit)
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It's a marketing strategy that improves your website's visibility on search engines like Google. It involves strategically changing your website and content so it pops up higher in the results when people search for things related to your art. Essentially, it's about ensuring your website gets seen by people potentially interested in your work.
Google and other search engines want to serve valuable and relevant content. When you type something into the search bar, it goes through all the websites and pulls up what its algorithms think is the most helpful in order from most relevant to least. The higher you rank on the search results page, the more clicks you can expect to get.
But how does Google decide which websites are the best? That's where SEO comes in. SEO is a strategy you can adopt to help Google understand what your site is about and that it will be a valuable website to serve people who search for your work. And yes, strategically placing keywords on your copy is part of the strategy.
You might be wondering—you mean I just need to add keywords to my site, and I’ll magically get more clicks?
Yes, AND… no.
The Layers of Search Engine Optimization
Stuffing keywords into your website, as used to be the process, is no longer a good practice. The algorithm has gotten much smarter and has evolved to generate higher-quality search results based on multiple factors. Google also looks at other things, like:
Content Quality: The overall quality, relevance, and usefulness of the content on the website.
User Experience (UX): How easy and enjoyable it is for visitors to navigate and interact with the website, including factors like page speed, mobile-friendliness, and intuitive design.
Backlinks: The quantity and quality of other websites linking back to the website (backlinks), which can indicate the website's authority and credibility.
Website Structure: The organization and structure of the website's pages, including clear navigation, proper use of headings, and logical URL structure.
Freshness: How frequently the website is updated with new content, indicating its relevance and activity.
Social Signals: The level of engagement and activity on social media platforms related to the website, which can contribute to its authority and visibility.
Technical Factors: Behind-the-scenes technical elements like website security (HTTPS), proper use of tags (such as title tags and meta tags), and absence of broken links or errors.
Local SEO (for location-based searches): The relevance of the website's content and presence to local searches, including location-specific keywords, Google My Business listings, and citations.
User Intent: How well the website's content aligns with the intent behind users' search queries, ensuring that visitors find what they're looking for.
Site Authority: The overall authority and trustworthiness of the website, which can be influenced by factors like domain age, domain history, and overall site popularity.
Page Authority: The authority and trustworthiness of individual pages within the website, which can be influenced by factors like the number of backlinks pointing to the page and the quality of those backlinks.
User Engagement Metrics: Metrics related to how users interact with the website, such as click-through rate (CTR), bounce rate, time on page, and dwell time (how long users spend on the website).
Mobile-First Indexing: How well the website performs and appears on mobile devices, as Google now primarily uses the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking.
Structured Data Markup: The use of structured data markup (such as Schema.org markup) to provide additional context and information to search engines about the content on the website.
Content Depth and Length: The depth, length, and comprehensiveness of the content on the website, with longer, more detailed content often ranking higher in search results.
Internal Linking: How well the website internally links to other relevant pages within the website, helping to establish a hierarchy of importance and relevance.
Brand Signals: Indicators of brand authority and recognition, such as mentions of the brand across the web, branded searches, and social media activity.
Geographical Location: For local businesses, the proximity to the user's location may influence its ranking in local search results.
Gone are the days of keyword stuffing! Today’s algorithm requires substance, proof of authority, and technical know-how.
Each layer requires time, effort, and a keen analytical eye. For example, Keyword research involves digging deep into search data, such as competitor analysis, to uncover keywords and webpage length. Content optimization requires a clear messaging strategy, careful crafting, and fine-tuning to strike the right balance. Technical SEO demands attention to detail and a thorough technical understanding of website mechanics. Link building requires patience and persistence in building relationships with other website owners. Furthermore, SEO is a long-term strategy.
In the second half of 2023, I felt ready to ditch my failed cobbled-together SEO “strategy” and bring in the experts. My first and only call was to Henry Purchase and his team at SEOSpace.
By the way, this post includes affiliate links to SEOSpace, the plugin and audit tool for Squarespace websites, because I own and use it. I’ve worked with Henry since the early days and I love his customer service and pursuit to helping Squarespace website owners DIY their SEO. If you purchase SEOSpace, I will get a small kickback at no additional cost. My art supply fund thanks you!
Henry is the founder and creator of the leading Squarespace SEO plugin and audit tool, SEOSpace, which helps Squarespace site owners understand and DIY their SEO. I was an early adopter of the tool and loved what I had learned. I wanted to get as much of it off my plate as possible, so I hired his agency to help me craft and execute a proper SEO strategy to boost my site's organic traffic.
After all, I had solid brand messaging that resonated with my audience. I had a website I was proud of and proven offers. I had plenty of backlinks leading to my website, a blog I enjoyed writing for, and the means to invest in this marketing strategy.
From personal experience working with SEOSpace, I've seen firsthand the intricacies of each layer of SEO. It's a collaborative process that requires constant communication, iteration, testing, measuring, analysis, and adaptation. But when done right, the results speak for themselves—increased visibility, traffic, and eyeballs on your work.
Art & SEO: What You Need to Know
1. SEO is Only One of Many Marketing Strategies
I cannot stress enough that SEO is just another way to drive traffic to your website. Whether you use it as a marketing tool depends on many factors, such as your resources (time, energy, knowledge, money) and preferences.
Before investing in SEO, I had already utilized other marketing strategies, such as email marketing, content marketing, networking, etc. I wanted to optimize my website before running ads, continuing with the Liberated Artist Podcast and my blog to ensure my efforts were as efficient as possible. I also wanted an education on how it all worked in real life.
2. SEO Requires Ongoing Maintenance
Unlike a one-time marketing campaign, SEO is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and adjustment. This means regularly updating content, monitoring analytics, and staying abreast of algorithm changes, which can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
While SEOSpace helped me snag the #1 position on Google for specific keywords (woo! thanks, Henry!), keeping up that ranking is an ongoing hustle. SEO isn’t a one-and-done approach. You need to stay on your toes and respond to changes to the algorithm and competitors. You’ll also need to continuously freshen up your website by adding new products and content (such as blogs) in order to keep your rankings.
3. SEO Success is Not Guaranteed
While SEO can significantly improve your website's visibility, instant success is not guaranteed. It takes time to see results, and even then, competition and algorithm changes can impact your rankings. It's important to manage expectations and understand that SEO is just one piece of the puzzle.
4. DIY-ing SEO Can Feel Overwhelming
The world of SEO is vast and ever-evolving, with its language, best practices, and technical nuances. For artists already juggling the demands of their craft and business, diving into SEO can feel overwhelming. Many tools make keyword research and writing easier, but learning curves and financial investments are involved. Some are easier for laypeople, such as this SEOSpace plugin and audit tool I use and love.
5. SEO Can Feel Impersonal
In the quest for higher rankings, losing sight of the human element behind the numbers is easy. Keywords and algorithms may drive traffic to your site, but genuine connections and engagement with your audience are what ultimately lead to conversions and success.
Furthermore, finding the right keywords is an art. You want to make sure people search for those words but also that there’s not so much competition among other sites that you don’t stand a chance. And sometimes, that means choosing keywords that aren’t 100% on brand. The good news is that location-based keywords for art might not be too hard to rank for.
When I first saw SEOSpace's proposal to rewrite my website, I fell out of my chair. I remember Voxering Maci (my bestie and biz mastermind peer) having what can only be described as an adult meltdown. My website copy has taken years of research and tweaking to reach a point where my audience feels seen and understood. It’s a point of pride of mine. But the copy draft I was presented with sounded dead and robotic. Unacceptable. Luckily, after a meeting with Henry, he put me at ease and told me the door was open to collaborating on an iteration of my copy that sounded natural and genuine. And so we did. Luckily, the fact that I’m a copywriter helped us make the process smoother.
Ultimately, I was thrilled with what I learned working with SEOSpace. Henry and his team are experts at what they do, and together, we executed the strategy they created in a way I was happy with.
6. SEO Can Be Frustratingly Inconsistent
SEO is Not An Exact Science, and what works for one website may not work for another. It can be frustrating to see fluctuations in rankings or to feel like you're constantly chasing elusive algorithms. Patience and persistence are key virtues in the world of SEO.
7. SEO Won’t Necessarily Align with Your Brand and Values
While SEO can help increase visibility, ensuring that your optimization efforts align with your brand identity and values is essential. Sacrificing authenticity, genuine connection, and story for the sake of SEO may ultimately alienate your audience and undermine your long-term goals. See #5.
8. SEO Challenges for Image-Driven Websites
Unlike traditional text-based websites, artists primarily showcase their work through visual content such as images and videos. Optimizing visual content for SEO presents unique challenges, as search engines primarily rely on text-based cues to understand and rank web pages. To find the right balance between visual appeal and SEO optimization, you must have robust and meaningful written content on each page and image alt text.
9. SEO Alone Does Not Equal More Sales
The ultimate goal is to turn website visitors into paying customers, which requires more than high search engine rankings. If your website is not inspiring trust with your audience, if it takes forever to load, if you don’t already have proven offers that sell, or if your content fails to engage, all those hard-earned clicks will be in vain.
10. SEO Requires Investment, Whether Time or Money
Implementing effective SEO strategies often necessitates a significant time investment to learn and execute best practices and/or a financial investment in hiring experts or tools to manage SEO efforts. You must weigh the costs and benefits of investing in SEO against other marketing initiatives and determine the most practical approach based on your resources and goals.
Moving Forward with SEO as an Art Marketing Strategy
Leveraging search engine optimization can help you expand your online reach and attract a broader audience. However, before integrating SEO into your marketing strategy, it’s essential to establish a solid foundation. This section explores the prerequisites for implementing SEO effectively, guiding you through the critical elements that need to be in place to maximize the impact of your SEO efforts and drive meaningful results.
Pre-Requisites for Implementing SEO (i.e., SEO Foundations)
Rushing headfirst into creating a website solely focused on SEO optimization without first establishing a strong messaging strategy, you risk getting lost in data and writing for clicks rather than genuine connections. This approach isn't aligned with my philosophy, nor does it align with many artists’ strategies. I always say that there are no paint-by-the-number solutions. While SEO is undoubtedly a valuable marketing tool, it works best when layered on top of a solid and proven foundation:
A website that effectively converts visitors into email subscribers, collectors, etc.
Proven offers or products that resonate with your target audience
A clear messaging strategy and engaging copy that communicates your artistic vision and unique selling points
A well-defined customer journey that guides visitors through the purchasing process
A content strategy crafted to draw your target audience
Otherwise, you will drive traffic to a site that doesn't truly represent your artistic vision, missing out on the crucial aspect of conversions—the percentage of visitors who become collectors.
The Top 5 SEO Baby Steps
You don’t need a fully strategic and researched SEO strategy to get started with SEO. Here are some basics I recommend to get started:
Choose Clear Titles and Descriptions: Make sure each page on your website has a clear title that tells people what it's about. Descriptions should be short sentences that describe what's on the page. They’re usually called Meta Descriptions. This helps search engines understand your site better.
Pick the Right Words: Think about the words people might use to find your art online. Use those words in your website content, like in your titles, headings, and the words you write about your art. This helps search engines show your website to the right people. You can consider the type of work you make, your location, your medium, etc.
Share Interesting Stuff: Regularly add new and interesting things to your website, like new work and stories about your art or how you make it. This will make people want to come back to your site, and search engines like sites that change often.
Describe Your Images: When you put photos on your website, give them names that describe what's in the picture. If you’re using Squarespace, you’ll find a place for this description in the image’s settings under Alt Image Text. Write a short sentence or two to describe the picture. This helps search engines know what your pictures are about.
Get Friends to Link to You: Ask other artists or art websites to link your website on theirs. This helps more people find your site, and search engines like websites with lots of links to them.
BONUS: List Your Website on Google: If you're feeling a bit more tech-savvy, you can list your website on Google using something called Google Search Console. It's like giving Google a map to your website so it can find it more easily. Go to Google Search Console, sign in with your Google account, and follow the simple steps to add your website. You might need to search some articles to learn how to complete the process. If you’re on Squarespace, I recommend this video by Henry Purchase. This can help Google show your website to more people when they search for things related to your art.
Assessing Readiness for Full SEO Implementation
Before diving into SEO as an art marketing strategy, assessing your readiness for implementation is vital. This involves evaluating various aspects of your online presence and marketing strategy to ensure they align with the goals and requirements of SEO. Consider the following factors:
Website Optimization: Review your website's current state and assess its readiness for SEO implementation. Ensure that it is technically sound, mobile-friendly, and optimized for user experience.
Content Quality & Quantity: Evaluate the quality, quantity, and relevance of your website content, including artwork descriptions, blog posts, and artist statements. High-quality, engaging content attracts visitors and encourages them to stay and explore further. Having more words than your competitors will also give you an edge.
Keyword Research: Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant search terms and phrases related to your artwork and target audience. This will inform your content creation and optimization efforts.
Competitor Analysis: Analyze your competitors’ SEO strategies and performance to identify opportunities and challenges in your niche. Understanding the competitive landscape can help you refine your approach.
Resource Availability: Assess the availability of resources, including time, budget, and expertise, for implementing and maintaining an effective SEO strategy. Consider whether you can handle SEO tasks in-house or outsourcing to professionals is more viable.
Taking the Leap: Committing to Your SEO Journey
Embarking on your SEO journey requires a thoughtful approach and careful consideration of your options. Here are some resources on crafting and executing your SEO strategy, whether DIY or hiring.
DIY Route
DIY-ing SEO can be empowering, but it requires dedication and the right resources. This is a good fit for you if you have a penchant for tech and a low budget. Start slowly to avoid overwhelm. Here are some valuable tools and platforms to aid you in your journey:
SEOSpace: Their plugin and audit tool for Squarespace websites is awesome. The plan I’m on includes website monitoring and access to the community which is so helpful!
Moz: A comprehensive SEO toolkit offering guides, tutorials, and tools for keyword research, link building, and site audits.
SEMrush: An all-in-one SEO platform providing keyword analysis, competitive research, and site auditing tools to optimize your website's performance.
Ahrefs: A powerful SEO toolset for keyword research, backlink analysis, and competitor research, empowering you to make data-driven decisions for your SEO strategy.
Hiring Route
I’m not sugarcoating this: navigating SEO properly is overwhelming, and and enlisting professionals' expertise can provide invaluable support and save energy. This is the proper route for artists who have a great website, a solid grasp of their messaging, and the financial means to hire an agency. When considering hiring an SEO agency or consultant, look for the following criteria:
Experience in the Art Industry: Seek out agencies or consultants with a proven track record of success working with artists and creative professionals.
Transparent Communication: Choose agencies prioritizing clear and open communication, informing you about their strategies, progress, and results. Ensure they’re open to collaboration so that their highly strategic approach doesn’t dull the vibe of your messaging.
Customized Approach: Look for agencies that tailor their services to meet your needs and goals, rather than offering one-size-fits-all solutions.
If you have a Squarespace website, I recommend booking a discovery call with SEOSpace and asking about their packages. They may be able to develop a hybrid approach where they craft the strategy, and you execute it.
Cultivating an Authentic Online Presence: Beyond SEO
There are many sustainable, less technological ways to connect with people, draw them to your site, and drive sales that aren’t as complex or technology-heavy. It begins with crafting a website and messaging that authentically reflects who you are as an artist.
If your work or messaging doesn't connect with your people, no amount of SEO will help you get more collectors.
This foundation is paramount whether you’re running ads, using social media marketing, doing SEO, email marketing, etc.
Building an aligned online presence takes time, and even once established, it requires ongoing attention and driving the right kind of traffic to it. While SEO can certainly play a role in boosting your visibility, it's essential to recognize that it's just one piece of the puzzle and may not be the right fit for everyone marketing strategy-wise
Ready to Establish Your Online Presence and Build Your Art Empire?
While SEO can effectively bring potential clients to your digital doorstep, the strength of your messaging and the appeal of your website keeps them there. That’s where the Liberated Artist Blueprint comes in. This comprehensive program is designed to ensure that once visitors arrive, they are captivated by what they see, compelled by your story, and ready to engage deeper with your art.
Transform your online presence into a powerful collector magnet. Learn more about the Liberated Artist Blueprint and take the first step towards a more aligned online presence today.
