DeviantArt is one of the most vibrant, high-quality art communities on the web. It's a great way to make new friends, get feedback on your work, and find cool new artists. But DeviantArt is just one part of the massive community of artists and art lovers on the Web. In this article, I'm going to show you some easy ways to promote your art and make it easier for new people to find you on the Web.


Website Title and Description

One of the most basic ways people will find your website is through search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Ask. It's tough for the average website to get noticed in these searches, which can return hundreds of pages of search results with millions of websites. The TITLE and DESCRIPTION tags in your web pages play a key role in getting visitors from search websites.

Each of your web pages should have a brief, descriptive title that tells the searcher exactly what's on the page. For instance, instead of making the title of your homepage "My Art", make it "Digital Art and Photography by Joe Smith". Now, if someone searches for "digital art" or "joe smith", they have a much better chance of finding and clicking on your page. The description tags on your pages are another opportunity to lure the searcher to your page. Keep it short and tell the user in plain language exactly what they can expect to see.

Be sure to give each page on your website a unique title and description. Your home page might have a title like "Surreal Artist Peter Gibbs", but your gallery page would be better off with "Surreal Landscapes and Portraits" or "Surreal Painting and Sculpture". This gives you a better chance of being found when people search for these specific terms.


Get Links!

One of the most valuable commodities a website can have is lots of links coming from other websites. Links can channel new visitors to your website and they also help you get more visitors from search engines. When other websites links to yours, it tells search engines that your site is worth showing in their search results.

Fortunately, there are plenty of websites and directories that list artists and link to their websites for free! Here's a link with some of the best:

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You can also submit your website to countless general web directories. Just look for a link that says "submit a website" or something similar, and be sure to read the submission guidelines. Make sure you put your site in the correct category!

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The best links you can get for your website are from other art-related sites. There are tons of art webzines and blogs out there that are more than happy to link to new artists. Look for websites in your specific niche of art (manga,sci-fi,fantasy,etc) and search for opportunities to promote your site. Many webzines are looking for cool artists to profile and interview for features on their sites, don't be afraid to email and ask.

You can also drop a link here and there in forums and blog comments. Many blog comments will allow you to link your website and forums often allow signature links. The key to doing this successfully is to actually make good, relevant comments. If you show up at a forum and start plugging yourself shamelessly, the community will not accept you and you may even be kicked off the forum. You need to participate and contribute to the conversation or your link will probably go unclicked!

Always observe good web etiquette when promoting yourself. Don't spam people's pages or make tons of junk posts just to get lots of links. It won't get you anything, and you'll end up with fewer places to show your art. Stay away from websites with lot's of ads and nothing useful (or art related) on them...links from junky or unrelated websites are a waste of time.



Blogging for Art

Everyone and their sister has a blog these days, and you should too! They are a great way to keep fans updated on your shows, projects and new creations. People may also enjoy learning how your art is created, or what inspired you. Even just the occasional posting of new artwork can be an incentive for people to return to your website regularly. Some of these visitors could end up at your next show and maybe buy a painting or two!

You don't need your own website to create a blog; there are tons of great blogging sites out there that you can use free:

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You can use posts in your own blog to attract links and visitors from other art blogs. When writing your posts, take opportunities to link to art blogs and websites that you like. Sometimes, other bloggers will post their reactions to your posts and/or a link to your blog. Hopefully, some of their visitors will come to your site and become readers of your blog.

Another way to attract readers (and links) is to look for a hot topic being discussed on many blogs. If you can write a provocative or original post about something people are talking about, you can get lots of attention. Bring your unique perspective and talents to the conversation, rather than echoing the words of other bloggers.

Most blogs let you display a list of links to other blogs, called a Blogroll. This can be a great tool for promoting your site. Link out to cool blogs that your readers might be interested in (or that you'd like a link on), and many of them may give you a link in their own blogroll.

One of the most overlooked and powerful ways to promote a blog is with an RSS feed. Most blog software creates a feed that can be viewed by subscribers in different ways. Feeds allow subscribers to view your posts on their own terms: in a web browser, email application, RSS reader, or even on a cell phone.

I recommend going to [link] and using their "Burn" tool to optimize your website's RSS feed. This will configure the feed so it can be viewed in any RSS or mobile reader, and give you tools that you can add to your blog to help attract subscribers. Once you've burned your feed, you're ready to submit it to RSS directories.

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These directories will make your feed available to a wider audience of potential subscribers who are just as valuable as your website visitors. Just look for a "Submit Feed" button and follow the instructions.


Social Networking Websites

Just about any social networking site you run into is likely to have a community of artists and art lovers. Websites like DeviantArt, Myspace, and Facebook also give you great tools for talking to everyone in your network. It's a great opportunity for artists to find new fans and business connections. Here are a few links to get you started:

Maccaca [link] for all types of artists.
Flickr [link] for visual artists.
Hypercomics [link] for comic artists.
Renderosity [link] for digital artists.
GFX Artist [link] for digital artists.
Myspace [link]
Facebook [link]

Link to your website (or your DeviantArt gallery) within your profile and add some images to your photo gallery. Use the blog (as I've described above) to give people a reason to return to your profile. If you already have a blog somewhere else and you don't have the time to make posts on many websites, you can go to [link] and create a "Blidget" for your blog. They let you show your own blog posts right in your profile and work with the major social networking sites.

Spend a few minutes each day to participate in these communities: comment on someone's artwork, join art groups and post in them, and seek out new "friends" for your network. Quality is far better than quantity when it comes to expanding your network of friends. Look for people who have lots of artists in their network, and ask them to join yours.

Most of these sites have some sort of "announcement" or "bulletin" feature that let's you send a post to your entire network. Use these carefully: if you post too frequently, people will stop reading your bulletins. Make sure what you post is of interest to the people in your network.


Just Be Yourself

No matter what kind of art is your passion, there is an audience for it on the World Wide Web. The best thing you can do to promote yourself is be a part of the community and find ways of standing out in the huge crowd. The tricks and techniques I've shown you here will help you establish a presence on the Web, but ultimately your art will be the key to your success. Good luck!