Promoting your website

As part of MesArt, your website is included in our listings, therefore, it is automatically discovered by search engines which regularly crawl MesArt. So, you have search engines covered. What can be done beyond this?

Here are some tips that may help promoting your website for free.

Add quality links to your website. On your links page, you can place links to one or several websites that you consider valuable for your visitors. This may positively affect your ranking by search engines - they like when people link to websites that they already consider valuable.

List your website in online directories. Online directories such as Yahoo and Dmoz.org list websites for free and allow other people to discover your site.

Have other websites link to you. Having other sites linked to you helps people discover your website, and also improves your search results. Avoid link exchange schemes such as so-called link farms - search engines will penalize you for doing this.

Ubiquitous website address: add your website URL to your business card, collateral and any other advertising that you have. This may even include the bumber of your vehicle.

Word of mouth: let your friends, colleagues, people you network with, you name it, know about your website. Some people even engage in conversations with strangers.

Online word of mouth. Add your site URL to your user signature at online forums. Anytime you post a message to a forum, there will be a link to your website. Send an announcement about your website to relevant blogs and internet newsgroups.

Create a postcard featuring your best artwork and bold letters of your website. Postcards may be printed cheaply these days at most online printers just require you to send them a digital image of your card.

Try to have a story published about you in a local newspaper, business magazine, or local radio and be sure to include your website in it.

Join organizations that help small businesses, such as your local chamber of commerce or small business administration. They will often allow listing member websites on their websites for free.

image:Judith Greathouse Success Story - Judith Greathouse Photo.jpg

Judith E. Greathouse, Ph.D., is a designer of “functional” jewelry, and a MesArt artist. She owns and operates Stretchies by Judith Functional Jewelry, a website powered by MesArt. Judith has become one of our best selling artists, who is getting new orders on a weekly basis. We asked her if she can share some advice with other MesArt members about her achieving such levels of success in promoting her website and art business. She kindly agreed.

"When I started putting my web site together, I went to selfpromotion.com. It is an old site, put together when people who wanted web sites had to use markup language. I merely used his advice in putting in my text.

I also did research on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While I didn't understand all the nuances of their technical language, what I gleaned was to maximize the use of the title of your web site and to use keywords in context, not spamming the sentences.

I don't know if you are aware that 'functional jewelry' was added to the title of my home page because I learned that the weight given in search engines skews mostly by the title that is used.

After the change, I went from about the 7th page on a Google search return for 'functional jewelry' to consistently #1. Yahoo has me at about #5 (and to get any higher I'd have to pay $299 per year) and MSN or Bing return me on the first page as well."

"After reading your site promotion tips, I found that I have done all of these. There were five thoughts I had that I didn't see listed:

1) The weight of the title of your home page. I discussed this above.

2) I designed a rear windshield vinyl film for my SUV with my web site address. I don't know whether or not this has bumped my direct traffic from less than 20% to almost 25% or not.

3) I joined a fine arts association miles away from my home location because it is prestigious, moneyed people live in that area and the University of Florida has museums which feature artists' work. I am now carried in two prestigious art galleries in that city. (And, I link every site that carries my jewelry to my web page.)

4) I access Google Analytics through your site often to see where my hits are coming from. I try to maximize the info I glean from that site such as landing page and the search requests.

5) I utilize the keyword opportunities you provide in three ways: A) In the header of a collection, B) In the footer of a collection, C) Within each individual item I upload. This is, I think, the major reason, besides the title of my home page, that brings people to my site.

I know you are aware that I have been featured in 3 articles and I'm always plugging for more. This has been a tremendous help to me.

Thank you for considering my ideas. It is a huge compliment to the work I have put into my web site. If someone wants to be a successful seller from their web site, your service is a great way to do so. You have always considered my suggestions and keep improving your product. But, the artists have to do serious work, especially with the text they enter."

Judith E. Greathouse, Ph.D.
Stretchies by Judith Functional Jewelry
StretchiesByJudith.com

If you would like to share your advice or experiences in
promoting your art business and website, write to us.