What are links?
The word link is short for hyperlink, which is active text that you can click on to go to a web page.  There are three types of links that are important to your web site: site navigation links, outbound links, and inbound links. 

The importance of links
Most people try to find information on the Internet by using search engines.  The big three are Google, Yahoo!, and MSN.  But how do the search engines determine the most relevant pages to return for a given search?  That’s a topic in itself, however, a lot of very smart people at these search engines have developed computer algorithms that attempt to determine the most relevant sites to show you when you type in some keywords.  These algorithms employ many different factors, the most important of which is LINKS. 

One Link, One Vote
Essentially, each link to a web page is a "vote" for that page.  In general, the more "votes" there are for a page, the higher its search engine ranking. There is a second part to this "vote"  - the text that is used to "Describe" the link.  This is called anchor text.  The link description text helps the search engines determine the CONTEXT of the page to which the link points.

An example
Let’s say that your name is John Q. Painter and that you specialize in painting red frogs.  Let’s also assume that your website address is www.johnqpainter.com.  In this simple example you would be interested in targeting people searching for "John Q. Painter" and targeting people searching for "red frog paintings"

Now let's imagine that an artist friend of yours offers to create an inbound link to your site.  She could create something like the following:

Check out my friend’s site at:
www.johnqpainter.com

However, this link could be greatly improved by using your target search terms in the descriptive text of the link.  For example:

Check out my friend's site at:
John Q. Painter - specializing in red frog paintings.

You see, in the second example, the second line would be the clickable link and the text of the link itself contains several of your important key words.

Site Navigation Links
Site navigation links are hyperlinks that link one part of your web site to another.  These links are important for your site visitors to navigate through your site.  However, it is equally important to consider that site navigation links are also how SEARCH ENGINES navigate through your site.  Here's something a lot of people don't think about:  search engines can only "understand" text.  This means those cute buttons designed as images or as flash animations don't mean anything to a search engine.  Bottom line: stick with text navigation links.  Site Navigation Links should always open in the same browser window.  The site navigation links are generally handled automatically and properly by the FineArtStudioOnline.com system; however, you DO have control over the anchor text of those links.

Outbound Links
Outbound links are hyperlinks that link from your website to someone else’s website.  Outbound links are important because they help the search engines determine the context of your web site.  As an artist, your site should be linking primarily to other art-related sites.  An important exception might be if you create in a very specific niche.  Our fictional artist above who specialized in red frog paintings would want to link to other sites dealing with red frogs.  Another good use for an outbound link would be to create a link under a specific artwork of a specific landmark that points to a page about the landmark.  If you paint Main Street in a small town, you could link to that particular town’s chamber of commerce page.  Outbound links should always open in a new browser window.

Inbound Links
From an online marketing standpoint, inbound links (sometimes called inlinks) are far and away the most important to your web site.  They are also the most difficult to put into place.  An inbound link is a link on someone else’s web site that points to your web site.  To garner an inbound link, you must contact the other site’s owner and request a link to your site.  If the other site owner agrees, go ahead and suggest how the link should read.  Remember, the search engines read the anchor text of the link to determine what it is about.

You should also attempt to attract links to the deep areas of your site.  A “deep area” means a page that is not the home page.  For example, if someone creates a link directly to one of your artwork pages, that is a “deep area” link.  This is one reason FineArtStudioOnline.com has an “Archive” feature for older artworks.  If you have an inbound link to an old (and hopefully sold) piece, you don’t want to just delete it and lose the inbound link, so you can simply “Archive” it.  That feature removes the artwork from your current portfolio, but keeps the page and therefore any links to that page active.  How do you check if there is an inbound link to a particular page?  Read on . . .

How many links are coming to your site?  Sala has 2,848.

A Link Marketing Strategy
Keep links in mind at all times.  Think of yourself as a politician soliciting votes. . . only better -  through your art you actually offer something useful to the world.  When you speak with galleries, customers and supporters, look for opportunities to exchange links.  If you a represented by galleries, you should  start by linking to all your galleries and they should, in return, link back to you. Remember, this linking strategy helps them too.  Over time, you should be able to greatly increase the number of inbound links to your site.  Another great way to garner links is to become vocal on appropriate blogs and forums.  Most places (including my own blog) allow you to include a link to your site with your posts. 

Great content also garners links.  The more good, relevant content you have on your web site, the easier it will be to build inbound links: after all, you have to give people something worth linking to.  In an artist’s case, this mainly means a constant flow of new artwork on the site, WITH descriptive text about each piece . . . remember, search engines can only “see” text, not images.  If you are so inclined, blogging is also a way to create an ever-increasing body of great content . . .  and a subject we will take up in more depth in an upcoming issue.  (When we plan to unveil our nearly-completed and integrated FASO blogging system).

A Caution
Do not participate in link exchange programs or link farms that promise lots of links.  If you have to pay for links, you probably don’t want them.
 
Another caution - Don't Freak if Your Link Number is Low
If you don't have many (or any) links - don't freak out.  It doesn't mean that people can't find your site.  Links are not the only marketing strategy out there - just one that you should add to your existing efforts.  I've known plenty of people who are successful with few to none.  In fact, several galleries that I track have far fewer links than Sala and manage to sell many more pieces of art than he ever will.
It looks overwhelming and it looks like a lot of work.  However, just work it in to your regular routine and, over time, you will build up a good amount of links.  Most importantly, don’t obsess about it and forget the most important task: creating art!

Sincerely,

Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic