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Email Sig File: The first thing to do is add a sig file to your email. Regardless of what email program you are using there should be some sort of set up preferences that you can sellect. Look for the sig. or signiture file set up. This will be where you add a link to a file that you create which will attach itself to all of you email correspondence. If you email program doesn't have a way to directly type a sig file then you will need to open your text editor or word processor and create the sig file there. Be sure you save this in .txt format or your email program might not be able to read it and you'll end up with a line of jibberish on you email. I personally have several sig files and I keep them all in the same folder on my main drive so that they are easy to find when I want to change sig. which is basicly a letter head for your email.
The reason that you want to do this is because this creates a link to your site that people can use to look at your web pages even when your message doesn't ask anyone to visit.
When putting you address be sure to type it out in full with the http:// this will make it into a hot link in the mail and people can just click on it and go to your page. To do the same for any email addresses that you put in you sig file put  mailto: in front of your email address and it will become a hot link as well. Be sure to test the addresses yourself to make sure they work before sending out a bunch of email.

Enter yourself in all of the search engines you ever hear of and on all of the arts listing sites that are linked to in on this website.

DOCTYPE

This funny line: 
< !DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN" > 
is required by some search engines. It tells them this is a public page, and which version of HTML it is compatible with. Some engines will not index your site properly if your pages don't have this as the first line. 

META TAGS

Not all search engines use the meta-tags, and not all index the content of your page. But in general, you will show up higher in the search engines if you: 

Include meta tags in the HEAD portion of your HTML. Include both 
     < META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="cubist, painting, emerging artist, art for sale
     Paris, France" > 
     < META NAME="description" CONTENT="Contemporary cubist paintings and mixed media art for sale by emerging artist Billy Williams from Chicago, Ill" > 

Make the first six or eight words the most important ones you are likely to be searched for by. Since your site refers to your or another's art use key words that describe the art what style it is, medium, related major artists whose influence can be seen in the work, etc. for instance you work in painting and mixed media works that are infulenced by early cubist paintings, painting, your name, cubist, pablo picasso, cubism, paris, 1911, eurpean modernism, 20th century art, etc
     Warning: putting appealing words in just to draw visitors will backfire: people who come to your site looking for information on picasso to find one reference to "I like how picasso makes his women ugly"   in your description are not going to tell all their friends to bookmark you. Then add some secondary words: Acrylic, collage, mixed-media, your city, your country. Use as many meaningfully related words as you can dream up; ask your friends for ideas. This is your chance to build your vocabulary. You want at least 20 good, valid words here. Now keep going. Use variations, like "cubist" and "Cubism", capitalization and lowercase, common mispellings: but try not to repeat whole words. You want to end up with fifty search words, total. 
 

Some search engines will only index your first six words; others will index 20; some will read all 50. By having the maximum in there, but arranging them with the most important ones first, you have all the bases covered. 

The contents of your first page, at least the first few paragraphs, should include the same major keywords that you put in the meta tags. Don't just start right out with your site map. Start out with a meaningful introduction that lets your visitors know what the content of your site really is -- it
will also make your site easier to find, on search engines that index the content of this first page. 
As Visual Artists we are at a distinct disadvantage from a searchable point of view becase out sites are graphic more than verbal. The way to equalize this is to use the alternative text command on your image dialog box. This is where text appears before your image loads. Use this text opportunity to write a description (full of key words) about the graphic image. Do not include information that won't be helpful from a search engine point of view such as the dimensions. Make every word count.

Submit!

Submitting takes a lot of time which isn't easy for all of us. 
I can submit your site to about 250 seach engines and lists for $50.00 and for an extra $150.00 hand submit your site to all of the Arts lists. If your interested click here: [email protected] 

Check It Out

It will take anywhere from moments to weeks for your site to begin to show up in the various search engines. Be patient -- but keep checking. Search various engines every few days on your favorite keywords. Type in your name and see if you show up at all. Check on whether you actually are registered at the site, if the site lets you do that. 

Check on how high you rank in the searches. If you come in #206 on a search for "conservation of paper artifacts", and you have the most exhaustive site on conservation of paper artifacts on the Web, go back and tweak your meta tags and the content of your page. 

off the web

• If you have the bucks put classified ads in the back of arts magazines with your web address on it. 
• Put ads in the arts section of your local newpaper.
• put you web address and email address on your stationary, 
• Write you web address on your artwork under your signiture or on the back of the art.

Please be cautious about doing this. 

   1.You tie up space on the free webservers. 
   2.You can seriously annoy people. 
   3.Search engines are getting annoyed at this and beginning to drop anyone they catch doing
     it, completely  out of their listings. 
   4.Searchers who spot this kind of thing may just avoid you -- or come by only to drop off
     flames. 

Well, that's what it is. Freebies. Giveaways. Services. 

Offer a free service or resource that is related to your main subject: for instance in my case the site you are at now or  The International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction

Put in meta-tags and get that page indexed in the search engines. 

Make sure it has clear links back to your main page...

Create a links page. Put all your friends on it, and any sites that have useful resources relative to your interests. Ask them first -- and ask if they can link back to you. 

If you have special-interest information on your site, seek out other sites that cover that area -- they will probably be happy to put you on their links page. 

Webrings are another way to link up with other sites -- and it's easier than link exchanges or banner networks. Check it out at http://www.webring.org. 

The best way to get an immediate jump in traffic is to join an established webring. If there is no webring for collage artists, however, and you are willing to go to the effort of starting one.

You will also want to promote your webring. Most of the methods listed for promoting your webpage also hold for promoting your webring.
 

• Create a separate homepage for your webring. 
• Make it as helpful and informative as  possible; include meta tags; include content that uses the same search words as the meta tags. 
• Register it with the search engines, link pages, and banner networks. 
• Join ringmaster-l mailing list and announce your new ring there. 
• Announce your new ring on all relevant mailing lists and newsgroups. 
• If there are mailing lists and newsgroups on your subject that you are not a member of, join. Introduce yourself and contribute to the list discussions -- don't just promote and run. 
• You will be more likely to make friends -- and new ring members. 
• Search the web for related sites, and invite them to join your ring. 
• Be sure to stress the advantages to them from joining you -- as well as complimenting what they are doing. 

Showing awards on your site tends to impress visitors and make them decide to look around. Announcing that you've gotten an award can encourage people to come visit, or sway them to linking up or joining your ring. And the award site also posts a link to you. 

You have to register for awards -- or get your friends to register you -- it's far too big a Web for the reviewers to come looking for you.