This might be my longest blog post of all time. I'm writing you now at exactly 7pm MT on January 12, 2025 in an effort to log this journey to boost my website's poor SEO over one year. The day has been tumultous, to say the least. While brushing my teeth, I googled a few common searches for my services. "Live Wedding Painter Colorado" "Colorado Wedding Painting", you get the idea. Now, typically, I come up on the first page. I've been a full time artist for five years now and somehow my online rankings came easily. I don't know much about SEO except for what I've pieced together through business podcasts and the occasional free course. I know about keywords and that the back end of my website holds important features for SEO. I dabble, but, like I said, top rankings had come easily so I didn't stress it much.
Clearly, I didn't stress it much because I don't know when the shift happened. Someone who is doing regular audits of their website would have noticed right away. I, on the other hand, am brushing my teeth as we rush out the door for church and realizing that I'm not just not showing up on the first page of google, but not on any pages.
When? How? Why?
And why hadn't I done this ages ago? My bookings for the 2025 season have been slow but I figured it was just a "down wedding market". If you're in the industry, you know this has been yelled from the rooftops for several months now. Because it is a down market, I have been updating photos on my site, writing blog posts when inspiration strikes, and rebuilding my live services pages. I even won a free website audit from one of my favorite's in the business, Ideaction Consulting. I also pulled the trigger and finally made a google business profile and sent reminder emails to past clients to write me a review. I was putting in the work. I figured everything was in tip top shape, so I could just sit in the down market and wait for whoever might come along. In the meantime, I would focus on a new collection of original paintings, selling more prints, getting work in more brick & mortars, and enjoying life with my almost 2-year-old.
Joke is on me, because this tooth brushing google led me down a massive spiral. As our pastor preached a fantastic message about Heaven, I was physically feeling the affects of this stressful google discovery and being reminded how 'of this earth' I really am. What would the first step be?
When we returned home, I jumped on my computer and began with a few things.
Fixing a URL on my page that I had altered while updating my live painting pages.
Checking the URLs on my Pinterest pins to make sure they were all leading to the proper web pages and URL redirects were in place and working.
Changing titles and meta tags as well as page descriptions on main pages of my website.
Linking my google business page to my website. I found this somewhere in the back end of my site's SEO and had not noticed this little connection feature previously.
Emailing a bride for a review (no, I hadn't emailed her yet!).
Setting up google analytics.
Adding alt text to images.
I also researched SEO specialists in my area and looked into a company, Sara Does SEO, who I have gleaned knowledge from before.
Now, where do things stand on January 12th at 7:14pm? I'm currently rethinking my plan for this year. What if i focused solely on SEO and marketing? I have, over the last five years, built a robust art business. I have plenty of archival mountain art prints that I could try to sell more of. This is my best shot at passive income and it has been on my agenda for some time now. I also have original paintings in my studio that I could put in some effort to sell. Why paint new pieces at a time such as this? I have beautiful wedding paintings and guest portraits to share with the world. My gallery is consistent and speaks to a very specific style. All this to say, I have the structure laid. Maybe the best step forward is trying to sell more of what I already have.
I'm leaning toward hiring somebody to work on the SEO of my site. The reality is, I don't know what I'm doing and I don't have time to waste. That two year old, he stays home with me and I spend his naptime on work. I can't sit and really dive into the nitty gritty of SEO in this season of life.
Hiring someone doesn't mean the work on SEO is complete. I do know that there are plenty of things to consistently add. Learning the basics is a necessary reality for small business owners unless you are paying somebody a pretty penny to continually audit your site for you.
Blog posts
Getting published in reputable sources
Pinning consistently
Adding reviews
My hope in writing this tonight is that one year from now, I can look back and remember exactly where I was in my business. Hopefully, one year from now, I am selling prints passively, sending work to many more brick and mortar shops, and painting at luxurious mountain weddings around this beautiful state of Colorado. While much of this was already my plan for 2025, it does look a bit different after the tooth brushing google. A bit more dire and bit less set it and forget it. A bit more hiring the experts and a lot more writing and computer work than painting.
I'm taking Jenna Kutcher's advice and inviting you into the messy middle. I could wait a year and back share this if I accomplish all of my goals, but where's the fun in that?
Have advice for me? Share a comment that others can learn from as well or send me an email at kelseyshieldsart@gmail.com
Check out my website, kelseyshieldsart.com to see where I stand now on branding, copy, and overall design.
Kelsey Shields is a Colorado live wedding painter and watercolor guest portrait artist. She also creates western-inspired original landscape and wildlife paintings and has a robust archival print shop that is beloved by retailers. Custom commissioned work is her bread and butter. Let's connect!
I shared many of my favorite resources for business information within this post. I urge you to check out Ideaction Consulting, Sara Does SEO, and Jenna Kutcher if you are not familiar with their work.
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