Instagram Insights and Google Analytics: the data an artist should track

01Why data matters for an artist

The artist who ignores their data navigates blind. They publish content hoping something works, without knowing what succeeds or why. The artist who reads their data makes informed decisions: they know what type of content draws visitors to their site, what format generates the most engagement, at what time their audience is most active, and which posts lead to sales.

German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans, represented by David Zwirner and Galerie Buchholz, is known for the attention he pays to how his images circulate, whether in galleries, books, or online. This awareness of distribution, which today includes digital metrics, is not antithetical to creation: it is an extension of mastering the medium.

You do not need to become a data analysis expert. You need to understand five or six essential metrics and consult them regularly to adjust your communication and sales strategy.

02Instagram Insights: the metrics that truly matter

Instagram provides an analytics dashboard to all professional and creator accounts. To access it, you need a professional account, which is free and configurable in a few minutes in the app's settings.

The first metric to monitor is reach, meaning the number of unique accounts that have seen your content. Reach is more important than the number of likes because it measures how many people you actually reach. A post receiving fifty likes but seen by three thousand people has better distribution performance than a post receiving two hundred likes but seen by only one thousand.

The second metric is the engagement rate, calculated by dividing total interactions (likes, comments, shares, saves) by reach. British artist Jenny Saville, whose monumental paintings of human bodies are shown in the greatest museums, generates high engagement on her posts because the visual content of her works provokes strong reactions. An engagement rate above three per cent is considered good in the art world.

The third metric is saves. When someone saves your post, it means they want to return to it. This is the strongest signal of interest on Instagram, far more significant than a like. Monitor which posts are saved most: those are the ones that resonate most deeply with your audience.

The fourth metric is the geographic origin of your audience. If you discover that twenty per cent of your followers are in London and you have never exhibited in England, that is strategic information that can guide your next prospecting efforts.

The fifth metric is the website click. Instagram shows you how many people clicked the link in your bio. This figure is the bridge between your social presence and your commercial presence. If you have many visitors on Instagram but very few clicks to your site, there is a problem to solve: either your link is not visible enough, or your call to action is not clear enough.

03Google Analytics: understanding the journey on your website

Google Analytics is a free audience measurement tool for your website. Its installation requires adding a small piece of code to your site, which most website creation platforms facilitate in a few clicks.

The first data point to track is the number of unique visitors per month. This figure gives you an overall view of your site's traffic. If it increases, your communication strategy is working. If it stagnates or decreases, you need to adjust.

The second data point is the traffic source. Google Analytics tells you where your visitors come from: Google search, link from Instagram, link from a press article, direct access by typing your URL. This information is valuable because it shows you which channels are most effective at driving people to your site.

French artist Daniel Arsham, whose work sits at the crossroads of art, architecture, and design, has built an extremely structured online presence. His website is designed to channel visitors from his social media to his works and projects pages. This digital architecture is not accidental: it is the result of regular analysis of traffic data.

The third data point is the most visited page on your site. If it is your home page, visitors are arriving but going no further: there is a navigation problem. If it is your portfolio page or your shop page, visitors are engaged and actively seeking your works. If it is your about page, visitors want to learn more about you, which is an excellent sign of interest.

The fourth data point is the bounce rate, meaning the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing a single page. A high bounce rate means visitors are not finding what they seek or your landing page is not engaging enough to encourage further exploration. A bounce rate below fifty per cent is a good target.

04Connecting Instagram data and Google Analytics

Real analytical power appears when you connect data from your different platforms. If you post a work on Instagram on a Tuesday and observe a spike in website visits the same day, you know your Instagram post functioned as an effective call to action. If you publish a long text about your artistic approach and see an increase in visits to your about page, you know that narrative content attracts an engaged audience.

American artist Julie Mehretu uses her various online presences in a complementary manner: her galleries, White Cube and Marian Goodman Gallery, publish content on their own channels, and the artist observes how these posts influence traffic to her own digital spaces. This cross-platform view allows optimisation of the overall communication strategy.

For you, the simplest method is to create a monthly tracking spreadsheet where you note five figures: the average Instagram reach of your posts, the number of clicks to your site, the number of unique visitors on your site, the most visited page, and the bounce rate. Within a few months, you will see trends emerge that will guide your decisions.

05Interpretation errors to avoid

Data does not tell everything, and misinterpreted, it can lead to poor decisions. The first error is confusing popularity with quality. A post generating many likes is not necessarily the one generating sales. Often, the most popular posts are those showing your face or your daily life, not your works. This is useful information for your content strategy, but it does not mean you should stop showing your works.

The second error is comparing your numbers to those of artists at a completely different stage of their career. Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, who has millions of Instagram followers, operates in a dimension that is not comparable to that of an emerging artist. Your metrics only make sense compared to your own past performance.

The third error is becoming enslaved to the numbers. Data is a tool, not a master. If you begin creating content solely according to what algorithms favour, you will lose the authenticity that gives your online presence its value. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei uses social media in a radically personal manner, without worrying about metrics, and it is precisely this authenticity that attracts a massive audience.

06Turning data into concrete actions

Data is useless if it does not lead to actions. Here are some direct translations. If your Instagram reach is declining, increase posting frequency or test a new type of content. If your site's bounce rate is high, improve your home page by adding strong images and a clear navigation path. If you discover that a significant portion of your audience comes from a foreign country, translate the essential elements of your site into the corresponding language.

German artist Gerhard Richter has adapted his communication strategy throughout his career in response to the evolution of his audiences. His website gerhard-richter.com is a model of clarity and accessibility that has been redesigned several times to meet visitor needs. This attention to the audience is not marketing: it is respect.

Take fifteen minutes per week to review your Instagram and Google Analytics data. Note what has changed. Identify one action to take the following week. This small time investment will produce considerable cumulative results over the long term.

On Artedusa, every artist benefits from a professional online presence that is indexed by search engines and visible to collectors worldwide. As a complement to your own website and social media, the platform strengthens your digital visibility and channels toward your work a qualified audience of art enthusiasts. Optimise your online presence at artedusa.com.