Key Words, Image Title Or Artist

Both!

Personally, I don't put the title as one long string in the keywords but any worthwhile descriptive words that are in the title need to be repeated in the keywords if you want them to work for the on-site search. i.e. if I had a work titled "Pretty Widget" - I would at least repeat widget in the keywords.

I didn't put my name in the keywords at first but then I had a friend say they couldn't find my work. They put my name in the search box.... Yes, there's an artist search but I guess some don't think to use it so I put my name in the keywords as well. And it was a friend I'd call pretty savvy, too. All the more reason I felt compelled to add my name just in case.

I'm sure there are some people searching for Ashley Tisdale who are confused, but oh well!

the search only sees the tags, and you have to add plurals to all the words. if you want the title to be seen or you name, add those also.


---Mike Savad

titles and descriptions are found by google
Our search finds keywords
Your name should really be in the keywords

The message under the Keyword box:

"This is the most important part - if you don't use descriptive keywords, no one will be able to find your artwork! If your image shows a duck in a pond, for example, don't just type 'duck'. You'll get a lot more visitors if you type something like 'duck, mallard, bird, pond, water, wildlife, nature', etc."

I think it's a good idea to repeat the title as keywords.

Like Mike said, the FAA search engine only sees your keywords, so I keyword carefully, and add my name to those keywords.

Google, Yahoo and other search engines also index your descriptions and titles, so it's important to use those wisely, too. I like my creative titles, so don't worry much about making them SEO-friendly. I do use my description box as much as possible, as I need to be found offsite of FAA, as well as onsite.

To directly address your question, Ankya, it's important to be as searchable as possible, as you never know where a potential buyer might come from.

Best of luck to you! :-)

Do not add the title to keywords if the title actually is not related to the image. Sound weird but, some images are not related as such and then you are tag spamming

Beth, it seems to me that the title is inherently related to the image -- certainly as much as the artist's name, or subjective keywords related to mood, emotions, etc.

That's like saying the word 'Beth' has no relation to you! I don't understand how the actual name of an image could ever, in any way, be considered tag-spamming for that particular image.

It can unfortunately. People want to find an orange tomcat if that is what they put in, not mice, nude or tigers

For all this talk about tags and keywords - FAA doesn't really care - until someone complains - and even then there are excuses that a bird sitting on a wood fence post is related to a "winter tree".

if i think the title matters i enter it as a phrase. yes, the search will pick up on that because it doesn't know from single words to phrases unless it is a phrase. i don't remember if the search has a search by title, but it should if it doesn't. or a search by description would be nice too. but it can be confusing to a degree depending on what the title is.

---Mike Savad

Lots of great comments and helpful ideas.

I appreciate your response everybody - Jenny, Mark, Mike, Roy, Beth, Wendy, Ricardo.

OK, I get it now....put all the words, my name, image title, included in the tag words, so everything is covered.

And for the description, guess tag words included there too is helpful, and location?

As for PInterest... that's useful to remember.... not to put up large files.... I always assume that the sites are sizing all the images down when we upload them, but perhaps that is not always the case - for PInterest. I haven't worked out how to post my FAA images on PInterest.... I just do it from my computer and then put a link to my FAA image page.

As for Blogs. Do you think this is a useful thing to start to do too?

Great to know you are all out there! Can be a bit lonely working this all out !

Ankya Klay

add plurals and singular too...

descriptions should be about the piece, with location (the location should be in the tags as well). the tag words in the description should be in the form of a sentence, shouldn't just be copied from wiki like many do, and shouldn't be too wordy or the buyer will get bored. if you upload full size images they are displaying and keeping huge images. now the buyer has your image and they don't need you. plus the rules in pinterest state that they can sell the image. and if you give them a full size... link the picture from here to there - otherwise you orphan the picture when they click on it.

any place you get your name out is good. blogs, forums, your own web page, pinterest clones, etc. for now just focus on your uploads here, then spawn out.


---Mike Savad

Ankya, Beth said not to put the title in if it has words unrelated to the image. That is keyword spamming. Key word spamming brings the whole site down and does little to help your sales. A simple way around that is to use descriptive titles. Google loves descriptive titles. I was number one in simple word searches on Google images for several images at one time or another, so I have some insights to what works.
@Wendy J: IMHO your titles are generally descriptive enough or at least related to the image.

@Bradford -- Thanks, Bradford, I appreciate your input. But (and, of course there had to be one), I believe *every* title is legitimately related to the image, simply because *it's the actual title of the image!*

For instance, I recently listed a piece called 'The Hitchhiker', but the image is not the photo of a person hitchhiking. If a potential buyer glances at that piece in a real-world exhibition, but doesn't remember my (the artist's) name -- only remembers the image was called 'The Hitchhiker' -- I'd like to think they could do a Google or FAA search for the title and have a shot at actually, eventually, locating the image.

If that potential buyer finds their way to FAA to search, the only way that scenario is possible is if I actually have that title in my keywords.

Separating an image from its title -- even if the title is not directly descriptive -- just doesn't sound practical or logical to me.

Several have said to "Put your name in the Keywords". I don't put my name in the keywords because if I put my name in the search box, my art shows up on the search whether I'm logged in, or not. So why would it not work for others? Any guesses or answers?

Beth said: "Do not add the title to keywords *****if****** the title actually is not related to the image."


:)

The title is always related to the image.

It's the *title of the image*.

It is not Wendy. I understand what you are saying but, for a search that is not enough.

We had, for about 45 minutes, titles as searchable in with the keywords

45 minutes to see the search totally skewed and people being VERY upset with what they found

Not happening again

Please, please, only use titles IF the words would be good keywrods for that image

Okay, Beth -- but only because I'm a compliant, passive, low-maintenance type of person; not because I agree. ;-)