The Ultimate Guide to Squarespace SEO 2023 [Free eBook]
Content
This article contains 4 key sections:
Brief
In this ultimate guide to Squarespace SEO, you’ll learn everything you need to do to make sure Google sends leads and customers your way.
The best way to get more leads and customers for your business is by getting a vote of confidence from Google. When search engines like Google send traffic your way, it’s free and high quality.
But in order to get there, you have to make sure your Squarespace website is optimized for search engines.
Enter: Squarespace SEO tips.
In this ultimate guide to Squarespace SEO, you’ll learn everything you need to do to make sure Google sends leads and customers your way.
The feeling of launching your website…
So no matter if you’re just launching your website or you want to make sure that Google shows your site to even more leads, we’ve got you covered!
Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
1. Squarespace SEO Tips: Before You Launch Your Website
Preparation is the key to success so before you launch your Squarespace website, make sure you’ve completed the following steps. Even if your site is already up and running, double-check this list to make sure you’ve set yourself up for success.
1.1. Enable Your Squarespace SSL Certificate
Google loves websites that have SSL enabled.
You’ll normally recognize them because their URLs start with https (instead of http), and when you land on them, Google displays the neat green padlock of security next to their URL.
If you got your domain through Squarespace, it’ll automatically support the SSL protocol. However, if you got your domain through a different provider, make sure that your SSL certificate is included in the package.
You should also have a custom domain, not the basic [yourname].squarespace.com sub-domain.
You can create an SSL version of your website by visiting Settings - Advanced in your Squarespace home menu.
1.2. Add Your Squarespace Website Title and Description
Make sure you write a good website description.
Your website description appears in the search results whenever someone looks up your business. Use contextually relevant keywords.
For example, if you offer photography services, your Squarespace website description should contain the words: “photography services in [your area].”
This will make sure that your website has the chance to appear whenever a lead looks up that keyword.
Aim for around 150-180 characters.
Similarly, add your website title (around 60 characters). It should also contain the appropriate keyword (e.g. if you’re a photographer, “photography services”).
You’ll find these settings in Squarespace Settings - Page Settings - SEO.
1.3. Optimize for Local Squarespace SEO
One of the most important pre-launch Squarespace SEO tips is definitely making your location known if you offer on-site services, or you have a physical business location.
For example, if you’re a photographer based in Chicago, Google will send people from Chicago to your website. Otherwise, you might rank for locations that you don’t do business in.
Add a map with your location to your Squarespace website, and create your Google My Business profile. If there are other relevant directories for your business (e.g. Yelp with photographers in your area), claim your listing there, as well.
1.4. Configure Your Squarespace URL Settings
As any Squarespace SEO expert will tell you, the URL of your content matters.
Your URL slug should state what your content is about, and contain relevant keywords.
For example, if you’re writing a blog post with 100 tips for beautiful wedding photography, your URL should look like this:
Yoursquarespacewebsitename.com/blog/100-tips-beautiful-wedding-photography
You can configure these settings so Squarespace automatically generates your URL slugs here: Home Menu - Settings - Blogging.
1.5. Customize Your Squarespace 404 Page
If a visitor lands on a page that’s no longer there, or mistakenly end up on a page that’s never existed, they’ll see an error page.
You could leave it as a blank page, but it’s much better to customize your 404 page:
Redirect them to popular, working pages on your Squarespace website
Invite them to contact you
You can customize the look and feel of your error page in: Home Menu - Design - Not Found/404 Page.
2. Squarespace SEO: At Launch
Once you publish your website, it’s time to make sure it can easily be found by Google and your potential customers:
2.1. Submit Your Website Map to Google Search Console
Visit the Google Search Console, and verify your site. This essentially lets Google know that your site exists, so it can start showing it to your potential customers sooner.
Fortunately, verifying your Squarespace website on GSC is really easy.
Visit Home Menu - Analytics - Search Keywords - Connect - Log into the Google account you’ve used to sign up for Google Search Console - Click Allow.
Then, visit the “Sitemaps” section on the left hand side of Google Search Console. Paste the following link with your domain name instead of the placeholder text:
“ www.[yourdomain].com/sitemap.xml “
This will show Google all the pages you have on your website, and help it start displaying them in the search results.
Google Search Console will show you:
What keywords your content appears for
Which keywords take your leads to your website
Links that direct to your website
Errors and issues
And more!
2.2. Sign up for Bing Webmaster Tools
A lot of your potential customers are using Bing, so it’s important for Bing to display your pages, too.
First, add your domain and site information to Bing Webmaster Tools.
Then, follow the instructions for verifying your Squarespace site with Bing.
2.3. Register Your Squarespace Website with Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a great tool for understanding how visitors behave once they arrive to your website, which pages are most popular, where they come from, and more! It’s a well of useful data, so SEO experts recommend signing up for Google Analytics immediately after you launch your website.
First, visit the Google Analytics site and sign up. Find your GA tracking ID by following the instructions in this short guide.
Then, go back to Squarespace and connect your Google Analytics account with your website here: Home Menu - Settings - Advanced - External API Keys - enter your tracking ID in Google Analytics Account Number.
2.4. Enable AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) for Your Squarespace Website
AMP is a must if you plan on blogging on your Squarespace website (and we recommend it)! It makes sure your content loads super fast when someone clicks on your links in the search engine results while using their phone.
Enable AMP by visiting: Home Menu - Settings - Blogging - Accelerated Mobile Pages - Check ‘Use AMP.’
3. Improve Your Squarespace SEO after Launching Your Website
After you’ve launched your website, it’s time to add your content; product pages, blog posts, and more!
However, there are a few things you should keep in mind when it comes to Squarespace SEO:
3.1. Make Your Website Lightning-Fast to Improve Squarespace SEO
Search engines (and your leads) want websites to load super fast. However, if you have a lot of content, your pages might not be as fast as they need to be.
This little tool is going to show you how fast your pages load, and what you can do to make them load even faster. Aim for 1-2 seconds.
If your Squarespace website isn’t loading fast, try the following:
Upload smaller images (less than 500kB), or compress them with TinyPNG. Truly, Squarespace does a great job with image compression but it’s always worth double checking if there is any size improvements you can work on.
Keep the rich media on your pages to a minimum - Don’t add too many videos, custom code, and widgets
Don’t use too many fonts - Squarespace recommends using only 2 fonts. We recommend up to 3 fonts.
Use AJAX loading if possible with your template - AJAX only loads the visible parts of the page to visitors, which makes your website load much faster initially. However, if you have custom code on your website, AJAX may cause problems with your customizations, so you may want to keep AJAX turned off.
3.2. Keep an Eye on Your Squarespace Analytics
You can significantly improve your Squarespace SEO by setting your website up for success, but you should also continuously optimize it.
As Squarespace SEO experts, we recommend monitoring your GA and GSC accounts:
Google Analytics: Where is your traffic coming from? How are visitors using your website?
Google Search Console: Which keywords do people use to search for your website? Who is linking to your website?
And more!
Squarespace has its own analytics which are pretty powerful (and you should keep an eye on that, too). However, it’s always good to get data from multiple sources so you can plan your content and marketing strategies even better.
3.3. Create URL Redirects for Squarespace SEO
If you’ve changed your URL slugs, or removed some links, make sure you redirect changed or broken links. This way, visitors won’t land on error pages.
This part is a bit trickier but absolutely necessary if you have broken links on your site.
If you want to permanently change links (e.g. you’ve permanently removed a page from your site, or changed its URL), use 301 redirects.
If you’ve temporarily changed a page (e.g. you’re updating the page for new information), use 302 redirects.
You can create Squarespace redirects in: Home Menu - Settings - Advanced - URL Mappings, or read this guide for step-by-step information.
3.4. Regularly Add and Update Content
When you regularly add and update content, that sends signals to Google that your website is still active, so it can show it to more visitors.
Diverse blog content also lets you attract more leads. Some leads might be interested in one topic, others care about the second, and by covering all of them, you’re expanding your pool of potential customers.
Content plays an incredibly important role in Squarespace SEO, so read on for best practices that make will sure Google shows your site to as many leads as possible!
4. Squarespace SEO Tips: Content Best Practices
Visitors come to your website for content - be that blog posts, or your product listings. Make sure your content does the trick and increases your sales!
4.1. Leverage Keywords for Squarespace SEO Success
Keyword research and keywords themselves are crucial to Squarespace SEO and SEO in general. However, don’t get overwhelmed.
In the beginning, it’s enough to start with one questions: what are my customers looking up on Google when they want to find a product/service like mine?
You can use the following tools to find relevant keywords:
After a while, you’ll also see relevant keywords in your Google Search Console dashboard.
You’ll notice that keywords you get are mainly split into 2 types:
Short keywords
Long-tail keywords (3+ words)
If you only use short keywords, you’ll have to compete with everyone else who’s using them. Your competitor’s website may be around longer, so Google may not even display your pages to everyone looking for services like yours.
In the beginning, use long-tail keywords in your Squarespace content.
As Squarespace SEO experts, we know long-tail keywords are much better for increasing your sales, too.
Long-tail keywords normally include areas, specific services, and more details (e.g. “boho wedding photographers in Chicago”). They’re used by people who are on the lookout for a service/product just like yours, and they’re ready to buy.
They’re much easier to rank for, too!
Conversely, if you optimized for short keywords (e.g. “photography”), you’d get a lot of people just looking for general, Wikipedia-style information.
Create a list of all the keywords relevant to your business, and then use the appropriate ones in:
Your website description
Your product pages
Your blog content
4.2. Optimize Your Squarespace Content with Keywords
Speaking of keywords, you should pepper them throughout your content:
In titles
In body text
In headings
Categories
You can even use keywords for image and file names, alt text, captions for your gallery images, and more.
Don’t overdo it: write like you speak, and use relevant keywords when they come up in “the conversation.”
4.3. Structure Your Squarespace Pages and Posts
Google knows that searchers have questions, so it does its best to give them straightforward answers.
This means that, if you want to improve your Squarespace SEO, you should also structure your content similarly to a FAQ section.
Use your content headings to show Google what that page is about.
You could also structure entire posts so that you place questions your visitors might have in the headings, and then answer them in the body text below.
Make sure your headings are descriptive, and contain the right keywords. However, another important purpose of headings is to let the readers skim the content until they find the section they’re interested in the most, so make sure they’re interesting, too.
Once your page is ready, make sure you add the relevant tags and categories. They help visitors (and Google) navigate your site with ease.
For example, if you often write about boho weddings and glamorous weddings, create the right categories and sort the posts accordingly.
This will make your content more comprehensive, and you’ll keep leads reading until they’re convinced you’re the right brand for their needs.
4.4. Blog Regularly
One of the most important Squarespace SEO tips is blogging regularly. Like we said, blogging shows Google that your website is still active, and it also helps you provide more value to your leads. When they see that you’re knowledgeable, they’ll trust you and be willing to buy from you.
How to come up with blog ideas:
Join social media groups and discussions to see what your potential customers care about the most
Find new ideas on YouTube, Google, and Answer The Public
Check out what your competitors are doing
However, don’t just rewrite what others have written. Instead, offer your own insights and knowledge to help readers connect with your brand.
4.5. Update Your Squarespace Blog Content
If you’ve been running your website for a while, you might have some older content that’s no longer relevant. Review your blog content periodically to see which information is still valid.
If there have been significant changes, update that content. This will make it more relevant, and ensure that Google still shows it to searchers.
4.6. Add Social Sharing Icons and Descriptions to Your Squarespace Website
Make sure you’ve added a SEO description to every Squarespace page. The description should be relevant to the particular page’s content, and include the right keywords.
Similarly, you want to make sure your content is shared far and wide so that it can reach even more potential customers!
Do this by adding social sharing icons in: Home Menu - Design - Social Sharing.
4.7. Link to Your Content
Make sure you add links to other relevant pages on your website from your content body.
For example, if you’re writing a blog post about boho wedding tips, you could link to your boho wedding product page, or another blog post you’ve written on that topic.
4.8. Optimize Your Images
If you haven’t already, make sure the images you upload don’t exceed 500kB.
Make sure you also add image alt text that uses keywords to describe the image for visually impaired visitors and search engines.
You should also use descriptive file and image names.
Learn More about Squarespace SEO
This guide has shown you everything you need to get more traffic from Google for your Squarespace website, even if this is the first time you’re hearing about SEO.
If you’d like to learn more about Squarespace SEO, visit our Guide section.
You can also enroll in our Squarespace SEO course that will give you all the information you need to optimize your website and rock your audience’s socks off!
And if you’d rather focus on your products and communicating with your customers, take a look at our Squarespace SEO packages. Our team of experts will make sure Google is sending your website lots of love (and even more traffic).
It’s time to succeed!
