SEO for Artists
People rarely find an artist through a general search. They come across your work on Instagram, at an open studio or in a gallery, then look you up by name. That works for people who already know you, but it leaves everyone else to chance. We help artists build a website that can be found for the work itself, its medium, subject and style, and that turns interest into sales and commissions.
Get a free SEO audit for artistsHow people look for artists
Discovery usually starts on social platforms. People see your work on Instagram or another feed, then visit your website, follow you or look you up again later by name. Others find artists through online marketplaces, galleries and fairs, and many commissions come through referrals. Search tends to be name-based, which means it mostly helps people who already know you. The opportunity is in the searches made by people who don't know you yet: they look for a medium, a subject or a style, or for someone to commission a particular kind of piece.
What artists are up against
Income from art is irregular. Sales come in bursts around exhibitions, fairs and open studios, then go quiet for weeks. Many artists depend on galleries, which take a share of each sale and decide what gets shown. Fair pay is a long-running concern across the profession. Online, the competition is enormous: print-on-demand sites and marketplaces sell cheap reproductions, and copying and unlicensed use of images can undermine your work and your prices. Social media helps people see what you make, but the platforms decide who sees each post, and a change to how they work can cut your reach overnight. And when your own website only works for people who already know your name, everything depends on channels you don't control.
Where the openings are
Selling directly to collectors is the big opportunity. A website that people can find, and that makes buying or commissioning simple, keeps more of each sale with you and builds a relationship that a gallery or marketplace can't. Commissions are a strong source of income, and people looking to commission a piece often search for the medium, subject or style they want, which gives a well-described portfolio a real chance of being found. Prints, editions and smaller works give people who admire your work an easier first purchase. And every buyer who joins your mailing list is someone you can tell about your next exhibition, open studio or new series, without relying on a platform to show them. Each of those relationships is worth more than a single sale.
How SEO helps artists
We start with how your work is described. Each series, medium and subject gets its own page, with text that says what the work is, how it was made and how to buy or commission it, so search engines can understand it as well as people can see it. Images are named, described and compressed, so the site stays fast without losing quality. A clear commissions page explains what you take on, how the process works and how to start. We also make sure the site works for people who arrive from social media or a gallery, so a name search lands on a page that makes the next step obvious. Over time, the site builds visibility of its own instead of borrowing it from a platform.
This is what our SEO service does, and every SEO package includes it.
Regulation and credentials
Art isn't a regulated profession, so there's no regulator to name here. What matters is presenting your work, prices and commission terms clearly and honestly, and keeping control of how your images are used online, and we factor that into every piece of content and campaign we build.
Last reviewed 23 October 2026
Get a free SEO audit for your art practice
We'll look at how your work shows up when people search beyond your name, then talk you through what to fix first. A person reviews every audit, so you get specific advice, not a tool export.
What we check
- Does each series, medium and subject have its own page with descriptive text?
- Is it clear how to buy a piece or commission one?
- Are images named, described and compressed so the site stays fast?
Where PPC, email and social fit in
Social media is where most people first see your work, so it stays at the centre; SEO gives that attention somewhere lasting to land. Email turns followers into buyers: a simple list, with news of exhibitions, new work and print releases, brings people back when there's something to buy. And small pay-per-click budgets can promote an exhibition, an open studio or a print release to people nearby or interested in your kind of work. We'll help you decide where your time and budget go furthest.
Get your free SEO audit
Your name, website and email. We'll do the rest.