Driving more traffic to their art websites is the number one challenge for new and emerging artists who are just starting out. However it can be done. It's not difficult but takes time and commitment and it can be free.

Having an art website does not guarantee artists will sell their work since an art website will not sell art by itself.  An art website needs targeted traffic which is the real beginning of the overall sales process.  The following are eight free methods in which artists can begin to bring more traffic to their art website.

Promote on Social Media – Artists need to at least have the following social media sites: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.  Besides being a member of each network, be active, have a full and interesting profile and join as many groups as possible.  Network inside the groups and post interesting content.

Guest Blogging – Offer to create and share new and interesting content to other bloggers in the art industry.  At some point, a blogger runs out of content ideas, time to create or both.  Offer your services and give them some ideas that would fit with their target audience.  Find out what their article specifications and parameters are.    Also, have a 1 paragraph biography, along with your website URL for all guest articles that you submit.

Responsive Website – Estimates indicate that more than 60% of all search traffic is from a mobile device (Phone or Tablet).  Is your website responsive?  A responsive website automatically resizes pages, graphics, and images to the device which is being used by the visitor.  This allows a website visitor to read and navigate your website and content properly.  If your site is not responsive, you may be driving 60% of your visitors away by having an “unresponsive” website.

Post Content to LinkedIn – By being active and involved on LinkedIn through their groups, this a great platform in which to post your own content and other interesting posts created by others.  By doing this consistently, you will not only increase your professional network but also your visibility. 

Commenting – If you see and read an interesting art blog post or article post and you have a positive opinion or something more that you can add to the content, do so, in an upbeat and positive manner.  Add your website with your name.  This will create an active link and hopefully more traffic back to your website.

YouTube Video Channel – 25% of all Google searches are through YouTube.  If you do not have a YouTube Channel you are missing out on a very large percentage of visitors.  As with all social networking, make sure that the profile page is attractive, done well and is complete. At every chance, have a link back to your website, along with links back to your other social networks.

Directories – Research and join as many art directory sites as you can.  These sites offer various ways in which to promote your art, art website, art blog, art events, etc.  They also have many ways in which an artist can network.

Post to Pinterest – Pinterest is a perfect platform for visual artists.  What do you see when you go exploring on Pinterest?  You see beautiful pictures of everything, especially of art.  Besides posting your own blog posts and art, whenever you see something beautiful that you think that your networks would enjoy, post and comment.  Also, be sure to like and comment on other’s postings as well. 

Bonus Ideas:    

Search Engines - Make Sure Your Site Can Be Found on Google, Bing, Yahoo – This will cover 97% of all Search Traffic on the internet.  Each search engine will tell you how to submit, register and have your website indexed.

Facebook Groups – Much like the paragraph on LinkedIn (see above), join as many groups as possible and be an active and positive member. In doing so, you will eventually attract new viewers to your art website.

As you can tell from above, there are many ideas and all do not have any cost to them in terms of driving new or more traffic to your art website.  The only expense involved is the artist’s time and effort. 

If you are serious about the art business and about creating more traffic to see and buy your art, then all of these ideas mentioned above will help. 

If lack of time is an issue in doing this, here is a post that will help you discover platforms which can help to get your posts out to multiple sources, “21 Tools To Help Distribute Your Content.”