© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved
Call Me Now
0452 512 657
Table of Contents
Squarespace SEO: How to Optimise Your Site
Are you aiming to elevate the visibility of your Squarespace website? Want to draw more visitors and engage your audience? While many factors influence the ranking of a webpage, mastering search engine optimisation (SEO) can be simpler when you grasp the essential principles. This comprehensive guide to Squarespace SEO will walk you through the key steps to optimise your site and make it more search-friendly.
Despite what the term “Squarespace SEO” may imply, the foundational aspects of SEO apply across all website platforms. Whether you’re new to website building or a seasoned user, the basics remain relevant.
On-Page vs Off-Page SEO
SEO strategies are broadly divided into two main categories: on-page SEO and off-page SEO. On-page SEO focuses on optimising the content and elements on your website, whereas off-page SEO involves external factors, such as backlinks and social signals, that boost your site’s authority. While both types are essential for driving traffic from search engines, even Google suggests that substantial results often start with minor improvements to your website:
"…there are plenty of other ways to drive traffic to your website. Paid media, social posts, and display advertising are just a few. But, when done well, SEO can provide an important — and cost-effective — strategy for organic growth."
Before delving into off-page strategies like digital PR or citations, make sure your Squarespace site is optimised with these essential on-page practices.
Is Squarespace SEO-Friendly?
The short answer is yes. While some may believe that specific SEO expertise is required for Squarespace, the platform is generally equipped with built-in features to support SEO practices. While their marketing statements such as “we build all known SEO best practices into every Squarespace site” might be a bit of an overstatement, the truth is that Squarespace offers a solid foundation for SEO. Below are some key features that make Squarespace SEO-friendly:
- Sitemaps: Every Squarespace site comes with an automatically generated XML sitemap, helping search engines index your pages and images efficiently.
- SSL Certificates: Squarespace provides free SSL certificates to ensure a secure browsing experience for your visitors.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Squarespace themes are designed to be responsive, ensuring that your site adapts seamlessly to different devices and screen sizes—a crucial factor for Google’s ranking.
- Clean URLs and HTML: The platform generates simple and indexable URLs and clean HTML markup.
- Robots.txt File: Squarespace automatically creates a robots.txt file, which you can modify if needed to block specific crawlers.
20 Tips to Do SEO on Squarespace
Step 1: Conduct Keyword Research
SEO success begins with thorough keyword research. Modern SEO is not solely about keyword frequency but rather understanding search intent and topic optimisation. Identifying keywords and key phrases helps to shape content that meets users’ needs and expectations.
Create a list of relevant keywords you wish to target. Analyse competitors in your niche by searching for these terms on Google and noting their strengths and weaknesses. Keep in mind that highly competitive keywords may be harder to rank for, so consider a balanced approach with medium and long-tail keywords to build your traffic.
Avoid over-optimisation by refraining from stuffing keywords unnaturally into your content. A best practice is to draft your content first and then strategically review it for the inclusion of keywords and related phrases. Remember, SEO is not about cramming keywords but about creating content that is genuinely useful and answers users' questions.
Step 2: Create High-Quality Content
The cornerstone of any successful SEO strategy is high-quality content. Search engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated, prioritising content that is informative, engaging, and genuinely helpful. To boost your Squarespace site’s visibility, focus on producing unique and comprehensive content that answers the questions of your audience.
According to industry insights, websites that deliver exceptional, in-depth content often outperform those that don't. Here’s how you can ensure your content stands out:
- Match Searcher Intent: Understand what users are searching for and tailor your content to meet those needs.
- Natural Language: Write as if you’re speaking directly to your audience. Avoid excessive repetition of keywords; instead, use related terms and concepts to support your main topic.
- Quality Over Quantity: It’s better to have fewer pages of high-quality content than many pages of mediocre quality. If you find thin or redundant content on your site, consider merging them into more robust, comprehensive pages.
When you create content with your readers in mind, it provides search engines with the context needed to understand and rank your page.
Step 3: Optimise Page Title Tags
In Squarespace, title tags are generated automatically based on the title of your page, blog post, or product, followed by your site name. However, these can be customised for SEO purposes to better align with searcher intent.
To edit the title tag of a page, hover over the page and select the settings icon. Click on the SEO tab and make adjustments as needed. Here are a few tips for effective title tag optimisation:
- Keep It Concise: Limit your title tags to under 60 characters to ensure they display correctly in search results.
- Use Keywords Wisely: Include your main keyword but avoid stuffing. The title should be engaging and accurately reflect the page’s content.
- Avoid Boilerplate Text: If you’re using Squarespace 7.1, check for and remove any unnecessary default text like “Blog 2” or “Contact 3.”
Ensure that each title tag is unique and adds value. Following these guidelines reduces the chance that Google will rewrite your title, which can happen if best practices aren't followed.
Step 4: Use Keywords in Headings and Meta Descriptions
Utilising keywords in headings and meta descriptions enhances both readability and SEO value.
- Headings: Incorporate your main keyword in the <h1> tag and use <h2> and <h3> tags to structure your content logically. Squarespace supports multiple <h1> tags if it makes sense for the page, but make sure each instance is relevant and contributes to the user experience.
- Meta Descriptions: These brief snippets appear in search engine results and should include your primary keyword and a compelling call to action. While meta descriptions don’t directly impact rankings, they influence click-through rates. To add or edit meta descriptions in Squarespace, go to:
- Home page: Settings > SEO Appearance > SEO Site Description
- Individual pages: Pages > Page Settings > SEO > SEO Description
- Blog posts or products: Select the item > Edit > SEO > SEO Description
Write naturally and aim to entice readers to click through to your site.
Step 5: Keep URLs Simple
Simple and concise URLs improve user experience and help search engines index your content more effectively. A good practice is to remove unnecessary words to create a shorter, more readable URL structure. For instance, a blog post titled "Learn Dog Walking from a Top Trainer" could be optimised as:
example.com/blog/dog-walking-advice
Squarespace allows you to customise URLs in the page settings. Always use hyphens (-) between words for clarity and avoid using random characters or numbers. If you need to change an existing URL, remember to implement a redirect to prevent broken links and maintain SEO value.
Step 6: Optimise Your Images
Images can enrich your content, but they need to be optimised for SEO to avoid slowing down your site. Here’s how you can ensure your images support, rather than hinder, your site’s performance:
- Compress Image Files: Use tools to reduce image file sizes before uploading them to your site. This improves page load speed, an essential ranking factor.
- Alt Text: Include descriptive alt text for all images, explaining their content in a way that’s helpful for both visually impaired users and search engines. Keep alt text relevant and avoid keyword stuffing.
- Descriptive File Names: Rename your image files with relevant keywords before uploading them. For example, instead of IMG1234.jpg, use dog-walking-advice.jpg.
In Squarespace, alt text can be added when uploading images. This simple step can enhance accessibility and improve your site's image search visibility.
Step 7: Address Duplicate Content
Avoiding duplicate content on your website is essential for maintaining a healthy SEO profile. While copying content from other sites is widely discouraged, internal duplication can also create issues. When different pages on your site compete for the same keywords, it can dilute your SEO efforts and impact your rankings.
To manage this, regularly audit your site using tools like Screaming Frog or SiteLiner to identify and resolve duplicate content. Here are some practical steps:
- Consolidate Similar Pages: If you find multiple pages covering similar topics, consider merging them into one comprehensive piece.
- Canonical Tags: Use canonical tags to signal to search engines which version of a page should be indexed as the primary one.
- Check Your Built-In Domain: Squarespace users should ensure their built-in domain isn't indexed, as this can result in duplicate content in search results.
Regularly reviewing and cleaning up your content can prevent SEO issues and improve site performance.
Step 8: Activate SSL
Google has long promoted HTTPS as a standard for secure web browsing. Fortunately, Squarespace offers free SSL certificates, which are activated by default for new sites. For those using older Squarespace accounts, enabling SSL is simple and comes with several benefits:
- Enhanced Security: Protects data between your website and visitors.
- SEO Boost: Google favours secure sites, giving them a slight edge in rankings.
- Trust Signal: Shows visitors that your site is safe and legitimate.
To activate SSL on your Squarespace site, go to Settings > Advanced > SSL. Ensure that your site’s HTTPS version is submitted to Google Search Console and that any external links to your site are updated to reflect the secure version.
Step 9: Internal Linking Strategy
Internal linking is a powerful yet often overlooked aspect of SEO. Linking relevant pages within your content helps search engines understand your site's structure and context. It also encourages visitors to explore more of your content, increasing user engagement.
Consider these tips for a robust internal linking strategy:
- Link Naturally: Include links where they add value to the reader. For example, linking from a blog post about dog care tips to a related article on choosing dog food makes sense.
- Use Descriptive Anchor Text: Instead of using phrases like "click here," use anchor text that describes the linked content (e.g., “learn about dog food selection”).
- Update Old Content: Periodically review older pages and add links to newer, relevant content.
Squarespace makes it easy to add internal links through its editor. Prioritise linking from high-traffic pages to those you want to boost in visibility.
Step 10: Add Location Information for Local SEO
If your site represents a local business, displaying your location clearly on your pages is critical for local SEO. Ensure your address and contact details are accurate and consistent across your site and external directories.
- Add Your Location on Key Pages: Include your business address on your homepage, contact page, and any relevant landing pages.
- Embed Google Maps: Adding a map can make it easier for visitors to find you and adds a professional touch.
- Use Structured Data: Implement LocalBusiness schema markup to provide search engines with more context about your business.
These steps will improve your visibility in local search results, making it easier for potential customers in your area to find you.
Step 11: Integrate Schema Markup
Schema markup, also known as structured data, is a code that you can add to your Squarespace site to give search engines additional information about your content. While Squarespace handles some basic schema automatically, more advanced or specific schema types can be added manually.
Benefits of using schema markup include:
- Enhanced Search Visibility: Rich results that include extra information, such as star ratings or event dates, can make your content stand out in search results.
- Improved Click-Through Rates (CTR): Users are more likely to click on listings that provide quick, useful information.
Schema markup, also known as structured data, is a code that you can add to your Squarespace site to give search engines additional information about your content. While Squarespace handles some basic schema automatically, more advanced or specific schema types can be added manually.
Examples of schema types that may be relevant include Article, Event, Product, and LocalBusiness. To add custom schema to your Squarespace site, use the Code Injection feature available in Business and Commerce plans.
Step 12: Consider Hreflang for Multilingual Sites
If your Squarespace site targets users in different languages or regions, implementing hreflang tags can help search engines serve the correct language version of your page to the appropriate audience.
- Benefits of Hreflang: Prevents duplicate content issues and ensures users land on the most relevant version of your page.
- How to Add Hreflang: While Squarespace doesn’t offer built-in support for hreflang tags, you can use code injection to add these manually.
Proper use of hreflang tags helps to improve user experience and ensures your site ranks appropriately in different languages or regions.
Step 13: Optimise for Mobile and Voice Search
With the growth of mobile browsing and voice search, optimising your Squarespace site for these experiences is essential. Google has transitioned to mobile-first indexing, meaning the mobile version of your site is considered the primary version for ranking purposes.
- Mobile Optimisation: Ensure your site loads quickly and displays correctly on all devices. Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check how well your site performs.
- Voice Search: Voice queries often use more natural, conversational language. Tailor your content to answer questions directly, using complete sentences and structured data where applicable.
Since voice search typically involves longer, question-based queries, integrating these into your content can help capture this growing audience.
Step 14: Customise Your 404 Page
No website is immune to 404 errors, which occur when a page is not found. While Squarespace provides a default 404 page, creating a custom one can help maintain user engagement and minimise bounce rates.
- Include Helpful Links: Add links to popular pages or a site search bar so visitors can find what they’re looking for.
- Maintain Your Brand Voice: Design the 404 page to match the look and tone of the rest of your site. A simple message like, “Oops! This page doesn’t exist, but here are some helpful links,” can go a long way.
- Explain the Error: A brief message explaining that the page couldn’t be found can prevent user frustration.
Avoid simply redirecting users to your homepage, as this can create confusion. A thoughtful 404 page can enhance user experience and encourage visitors to stay on your site longer.
Step 15: Evaluate AMP Settings
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) were once the standard for faster mobile browsing. However, as of 2024, AMP's significance has declined, and many websites no longer prioritise it. Squarespace still offers AMP settings for blog posts, so it's worth evaluating whether this feature aligns with your site’s goals.
- Pros of AMP: Faster load times and potentially higher engagement on mobile devices.
- Cons of AMP: Limited design flexibility and reliance on third-party services for analytics and tracking.
If your site doesn’t rely heavily on blog content or if mobile speed is already optimised, AMP may not be necessary.
Step 16: Submit Your Sitemap
Submitting your site’s XML sitemap to search engines helps them crawl and index your content more effectively. Squarespace automatically generates an XML sitemap at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Here’s how to submit it:
- Google Search Console: Add your sitemap by going to Index > Sitemaps and entering the sitemap URL.
- Bing Webmaster Tools: Similar to Google, navigate to Sitemaps and submit your sitemap.
Submitting your sitemap ensures that search engines are aware of all your pages and any changes you make to your site.
Step 17: Write and Structure Content Properly
The structure and readability of your content influence both user engagement and SEO. A well-organised page is more likely to rank well and attract featured snippets. Here’s how to structure your content effectively:
- Use Headings Properly: Organise content with <h1>, <h2>, and <h3> tags. This helps readers skim through your content and improves accessibility.
- Write in Short Paragraphs: Break content into smaller sections to make it more digestible.
- Include Lists and Tables: When appropriate, use lists and tables to convey information clearly. These elements can increase your chances of appearing in featured snippets.
Well-structured content can improve user experience, increase time on site, and potentially boost rankings.
Step 18: Target Featured Snippets
Featured snippets, or “position zero” results, are the answer boxes that appear at the top of Google’s search results. Securing a featured snippet can significantly increase your page’s visibility and click-through rate.
- Directly Answer Questions: Structure content to answer common user queries in the first few sentences of a section.
- Use Bullet Points or Numbered Lists: Google often pulls lists into featured snippets for “how-to” or “top” searches.
- Provide Clear Definitions: If applicable, define key terms within your content.
Although there’s no guarantee of earning a featured snippet, following these practices increases your chances of capturing that spot.
Step 19: Review Your Favicon
A favicon is a small icon that represents your brand in a browser tab or bookmark list. While it doesn’t directly impact SEO, it can affect click-through rates by enhancing your brand’s visibility and professionalism.
- Use the Correct Size: Google recommends a 48x48px favicon but displays it as 16x16px, so ensure it scales well.
- Upload in the Right Format: Squarespace accepts favicon files in .ico, .png, or .svg formats.
A well-designed favicon can make your site stand out in search results, contributing to user trust and recognition.
Step 20: Noindex Categories and Tags
For many blogs, using the “noindex” directive for category and tag pages can prevent them from appearing in search results. This helps ensure search engines prioritise higher-value pages instead of indexing potentially thin content.
- Why Noindex: Categories and tags often aggregate content but don’t provide unique value on their own.
- How to Implement: Adjust the settings in Squarespace to exclude these pages from being indexed.
Focusing on indexing valuable pages helps improve your site's overall SEO performance and ensures that search engines spend their resources wisely when crawling your site.
Best Practices for SEO on Squarespace
The above steps cover a comprehensive approach to optimising your Squarespace website. A well-built, secure, and fast-loading site combined with quality content and proper SEO practices will set you up for success.
Remember, SEO is an ongoing process that requires continuous learning and adaptation. Implement these best practices, and you’ll be well on your way to improving your site's visibility.
Promote Your Site with My SEO Services
If you’re looking to take your Squarespace SEO to the next level, consider leveraging my expert SEO services. With years of experience in optimising websites, I can help tailor a strategy that boosts your rankings, attracts more visitors, and enhances user experience. Get in touch today to start your journey towards better SEO results.
POPULAR QUESTIONS
FAQs About
Squarespace SEO
SEO improvements typically take time, and it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to see noticeable changes. The exact timeframe depends on various factors, including the competitiveness of your industry and the current state of your site.
Unlike platforms such as WordPress, Squarespace does not support third-party plugins in the traditional sense. However, it includes built-in SEO features and settings that cover many essential optimisation practices.
Yes, but it might involve manual adjustments. You can bring over metadata, structured data, and URL structures, but you may need to reconfigure certain settings directly within Squarespace to ensure proper optimisation.
You can track your SEO performance using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Squarespace has built-in analytics, but external tools often provide deeper insights into keyword rankings, traffic, and user behaviour.
Yes, Squarespace allows for custom SEO settings for individual blog posts, including title tags, meta descriptions, and custom URLs. This flexibility makes it easier to optimise each post for search engines.
Squarespace has a built-in URL redirect feature that allows you to set up 301 redirects. This is helpful when you change page URLs or remove old content, ensuring that users and search engines are directed to the correct page without encountering broken links.
Yes, you can optimise for international audiences by using language-specific content, implementing hreflang tags through code injection, and customising content to meet the needs of different regions.
Yes, while Squarespace includes basic structured data by default, you can add more detailed schema markup using code injection. This helps improve how search engines interpret your content and can enhance your search result listings with rich snippets.
In addition to adding location details and structured data, you can enhance local SEO by creating location-based content, setting up a Google Business Profile, and encouraging customer reviews.
Yes, Squarespace e-commerce sites can be optimised using many of the same SEO practices outlined for standard websites. This includes optimising product descriptions, adding alt text for images, and setting up structured data for product pages.
