Using the right tags to get your art SEEN

WHAT:  What are Tags?

“Tags” are the searchable keywords that allow you to catalog your art or images so they can be easily searched for and found by both you and your visitors. Think of it as assigning keywords to your art, in order to create an organized, and easily searchable art portfolio. Artonomo’s state-of-the art tagging and searching software makes it easy for artists to display and organize their work, as well as for visitors to find exactly what they are looking for.

WHY: Helping your visitors find your art

The benefits of strong tagging is two-fold. First and foremost, visitors will be coming to your gallery (or the Artonomo public gallery) looking for something specific – maybe a black and white sketch of a guitar, an abstract circle, a floral pattern, an uplifting quote. Mastering tags requires putting yourself in your visitors’ shoes. Providing RELEVENT and DESCRIPTIVE tags will help them find exactly what they are looking for – and help YOU get your work in front of the people that are looking for it. Additionally, relevant and clear tags will help you find any piece in your own portfolio without digging and scrolling through hundreds of images. That way, you can put your hands on what you need quickly and effectively, and create stunning submissions of specific themes or mediums to present to potential licensees.

HOW: Have the right tags from the start

• Tip #1 – Be thorough from the beginning! At first, we’d even go so far as to suggest you over-tag rather than not have enough keywords. The more all-encompassing your tags are, the more easily each design will be found when using a search tool. Ask yourself the top 3 words a stranger might use to describe this image – and then think of 3 more after that. So don’t just go with butterfly – but also tag with wings, bug, insect, Monarch, Spring, flying, and metamorphosis.

• Tip #2 – Review each design thoughtfully and think outside of the obvious descriptive words that might come to mind. Go beyond the concrete visual elements and think about any abstract or emotional aspects the piece may represent. Obviously, we’ve got lamb, sheep, and meadow from this image right away – but this may be the perfect piece for an end-user searching for love, parenting, or maternal.

• Tip #3 – Know what tags are inherent to the software you are using. Artonomo allows you to indicate a color palette for each image separately, so there is no need to add colors as tags (saving you valuable time). But you may want to include shapes, patterns, mediums, or themes if they are relevant to this specific work.

Effective tags benefit both the artist and the visitor – helping to get your art in front of the people that are looking for it.

Still feeling intimidated?  Register for Artonomo and schedule a consultation with one of our portfolio experts today!