Linking Advice
General information for artists who want to get links to their websites.
There are a great number of "art directories" on the internet where you can submit your site and they will list you for free, all you have to do is provide a reciprocal link. Do not do this. Exchanging links just for the sake of a link is a scheme that can end up harming your site's ranking rather than helping it.
More about Link Schemes from Google.
Don't worry about exchanging links or linking out to sites that you find useful and want to recommend to your visitors. It's good to link to good sites.
Not a good idea to pay for links. It's okay to buy advertising for your website, what you don't want to do is buy PageRank or buy links that pass PR. For a more complete explanation read about Paid Links at Google.
So how do you get links?
Get them naturally by having a great site. Presentation is everything. Get more sales and gather more links by making sure your site is professional and well made. Here are some simple web design tips.
Have lots of great content on your site. Your art is content, but in addition to that you can blog or write tutorials about your craft. Include creative and original photos, illustrations, diagrams, and videos, things that people will find interesting and want to share.
Join an artist community site, these sites offer online gallery space and many of them also offer opportunities to interact with other artists through community forums, contests, and other activities.
Don't forget your local Arts Council. Many of them have online directories where you can list your site, plus they often offer all kinds of other great resources. Your city may have its own arts council, as well as your county, country, or region.
To find local organizations view this list from Wikipedia: Arts Councils, if your area is not listed contact the organization closest to you for more information.
Consider doing a press release, if you have the time you can learn to do it yourself, it's free and can generate a lot of links and publicity if you have something newsworthy to release.
