SEO for artists
How I approach content within projects

If you are an artist, having an optimized website is essential to connect with your audience and showcase your work. This guide helps you improve your website’s SEO so that viewers, organizers, and potential collaborators can easily find you.

1. Well-Organized Content

A website with a clear structure keeps users navigating longer and makes it easier for them to find what they’re looking for.

Organize your sections:

• Performances: Describe each of the available formats.
• Biography: Provide information about your career and artistic style.
• Contact: Include a simple form and clear details to make it easy to contact you.

Include calls to action (CTAs):

• “Contact to book a performance.”
• “Check availability for your event.”

2. Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

Page titles and meta descriptions are what users see in search results, making them essential for explaining what your page is about.

• Page Titles: Summarize the content in fewer than 60 characters.
• Meta Descriptions: Explain what the page covers in fewer than 160 characters, using keywords naturally.

In most cases, the title of the page, post, or custom post type automatically works as the H1 and also serves as the default meta title. Similarly, in WordPress, the excerpt is often used as the default meta description. Tools like RankMath or Yoast let you customize both the meta title and description if needed.

Examples:

• Title: Your Work Name
• Meta Description: A clear description of your work or project.

Writing a concise excerpt ensures your meta description is effective and keeps your content consistent and easy to understand.

function add_excerpts_to_pages() {
    add_post_type_support('page', 'excerpt');
}

add_action('init', 'add_excerpts_to_pages');

3. Keep Your URLs Clean

Your URLs are like labels, they should tell people exactly what they’ll find. A clean, descriptive URL helps visitors and search engines understand your content easily.

Best Practices for Clean URLs:

• Avoid unnecessary words or numbers (e.g., /page1 or /blog-post-123).
• Use hyphens - instead of underscores _ to separate words.
• Include keywords that describe the page content (e.g., /performances-2024 instead of /perf2024).
• Keep URLs short but meaningful (e.g., /portfolio instead of /my-artistic-work-portfolio).

Examples:

• Good: /contact
• Good: work/my-project-name
• Avoid: /index.php?page=12345

By simplifying and structuring your URLs, you make your site easier to navigate and improve its overall SEO.

4. Titles and Headings (H1, H2, H3)

Titles and headings are the starting point for structuring your website. These elements help highlight your artistic proposal in a clear and accessible way.

• H1 (Main Title): Each page needs a unique title summarizing its content.
• H2 (Main Subtitles): Divide content into sections, helping organize the information logically.
• H3 (Subsections): Provide more specific details within each section.

Example of structure for a performance page:

• H1: Name of the Piece or Performance
  • H2: Context and Inspiration
    • H3: Ideas that structure the piece
    • H3: Artistic references or collaborations
  • H2: Performance Details
    • H3: Available formats
    • H3: Adaptability to different spaces or audiences
  • H2: Booking Information
    • H3: Dates and availability
    • H3: Contact for further details

In WordPress, you can view and manage headings in the List View or Outline View in the backend. This shows the heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3) for easy navigation and ensures proper structure for readability and SEO.

4.1. Heading best practices for Archive Pages

Archive pages, such as blog listings or project collections, benefit from a clear heading structure that ensures readability and aligns with SEO principles.

• H1: Use this for the page title to define the purpose of the archive. Example: “On Tour.” The H1 should only appear once on the page.
• H2: Use this for introductory content or to group sections within the archive. For example: “Works that we are moving.”
• H3: Assign this to the titles of individual posts, projects, or events listed on the page, maintaining a clean and consistent hierarchy.

This approach keeps your archive pages structured, accessible, and aligned with SEO best practices, making them easier to navigate for both users and search engines.

5. Internal Links (Interlinking)

Connecting pages within your website is essential for easier navigation and improved SEO.

Tips for organizing links:

• Connect your main sections:
  • Link from the homepage to Performances, Contact, and Event Calendar.
  • From a performance description, guide users to the booking section or portfolio of images and videos.
• Use descriptive text: Avoid “click here” and opt for helpful phrases such as:
  • “Discover performances for festivals”
  • “Check the options to adapt this format for different events.”
• Relate content: If you have a blog, link articles that complement the information.

6. Image and Video Optimization

Images and videos are essential to showcase your artistic work, but they also need to be optimized to avoid slowing down your website.

Tips for images:

• Descriptive names: Replace generic names like IMG1234.jpg with clear and informative names such as performance-festival.jpg.
• Alt Text: Include a brief and precise description of the image to improve accessibility and SEO (e.g., “Artist performing on an outdoor stage”).
• Use the WebP format: This modern format offers better compression than JPG and PNG with similar quality. Most browsers support it, improving your website’s load speed.
  • You can convert images to WebP using tools like CloudConvert or XnConvert.

Tips for videos:

• Embed videos: Upload them to platforms like YouTube or Vimeo and integrate them into your website to avoid loading issues.
• Titles and descriptions: Add keywords to descriptions to improve their ranking.

7. Bonus: Valuable Content

Add elements that provide value to your website:

• Blog: Share reflections, experiences, and news related to your work.
• Event Calendar: Publish upcoming events to keep your audience informed.

By following these steps, you’ll achieve an optimized, functional, and attractive website. Your work will become more accessible to your audience, and you’ll improve your digital presence.