Friday 18th October 2013
As an artist hoping to sell your work online, you probably haven't given much of a thought to your local sales prospects. Showing your work in local galleries can be an incredibly difficult process, and even after a great deal of work it doesn't guarantee any of your pieces will actually sell. But it's undeniable that developing a local fanbase can dramatically improve your chances of successfully climbing your way up in the art world. Fortunately, it's possible to combine your online strategy with an offline one to maximise your sales potential.
We've been talking a lot about the value of SEO for artists lately, and with good reason - it's one of the most important tools to utilise when you're trying to sell your artwork online. But there's a side to search engines that industry players like Google are just beginning to get a handle on, which is known local search. This means that there are a great deal of opportunities for artists who are savvy enough to capitalise on it - and it's fairly easy to do.
As you may or may not have guessed, it would be very difficult to become highly ranked in search engines for generic terms such as 'nature photographer' or 'landscape painter' - but when you begin to couple those terms with local city/town/region names, the prospects begin to get more favourable. Instead of being discouraged by a slow response to your SEO efforts, you can choose to gradually build up your prestige by beginning at a more local level, and you can target these terms fairly easily with a bit of quick modification to your Gallereo page and the titles and descriptions of your artwork.
Consider including the location of your pieces in your titles, even if only as part of the short title description we suggested in our main 'SEO for Artists' post - but be sure to include them in the longer descriptions no matter what. This can quickly help you begin ranking for localised search keywords, and as people begin to think of you as a London-based artist (or wherever you happen to be from), they'll begin mentioning that when they link to your Gallereo page, and that will boost your local rankings even more. Many art buyers are keen to support their local artists and art communities, so some careful thought into how you choose to name and identify your artwork can make a huge difference in your success! Good luck!
Posted on October 18th 2013 on 04:43pm
