Improve Your Squarespace Website's SEO
Note: This blog post contains affiliate links.
Everyone strives to appear at the top of Google’s first page. However, only one can be at the top.
Imagine you’re starting out as a children’s coach in 2024; it’s unrealistic to expect that, within a week of launching your website, you’ll rank higher than someone who’s been actively maintaining their website for ten years.
What exactly do you want people to find you for?
The first question I always ask is: What search term do you actually want people to find you by? What should someone type into Google so that your website appears first? If it’s nothing more than “children’s coach,” then it’s going to be difficult. That term is simply too broad and general.
So make it much more specific. Are you targeting a particular area or location? Which children are you targeting? Are they a specific age? Are they in a particular situation? How do you stand out from your competitors? Do you have a specialty?
These questions already yield a variety of keywords that someone can use to search specifically on Google. Make a list of them. And don’t limit yourself to just words—include short phrases as well. Enter a keyword into Google, and you’ll see a number of suggestions appear in the search bar.
Include relevant keywords on your site
In Squarespace, you can choose from four types of heading tags: H1 through H4, from largest to smallest. The H1 heading is the most important to Google. It’s best to use only one H1 heading per page. For other headings on the page, you can use H2, H3, and/or H4. Include relevant keywords in your (sub)headings.
In addition to well-written heading text, you can also use relevant keywords in image alt text, URLs, page descriptions, and blog post titles.
Read more about this in this blog post: Practical SEO Tips for Squarespace
Make sure you have enough (relevant) content
If you have a website that consists of only one page or is mainly made up of photos with very little text, search engines will have little content to index and assign value to. Therefore, make sure your website has enough content. This doesn’t mean you have to create an encyclopedia; you can still keep each page short and to the point. Less is more, but “less” can also be too little.
If this applies to you, consider adding a blog to your website. This could also include news posts or articles. Google values the regular addition of new content to your website.
If you've added new content, upload a new sitemap for your website to Google Search Console. Be sure to read this blog post on how to link Google Search Console to your website.
A clear customer journey and website structure
Be clear about what you want from your website visitors. What is your website’s most important “call to action”? You can have multiple “calls to action,” but make sure you have one main “call to action.” For example, if discovery call an online discovery call , guide people through your site to the page where they can schedule that call.
So don’t leave people hanging at the end of a page, and make sure there are no “dead ends.” It doesn’t always have to be the same main “call to action,” but at the very least, make sure they can easily click through. The longer people stay on your website, the better. This also lowers your “bounce rate,” which contributes to better SEO.
If you offer different services, create separate pages for each one. That way, you can optimize each page specifically for SEO. Each page should have its own set of important keywords.
Build backlinks
Backlinks are links on other people’s websites that point to your website. If there are many links to your website’s content, search engines will assume that your content is high-quality and relevant. So seek out opportunities to collaborate with others and make sure to write a guest blog post, for example.
Of course, backlinks from reputable sites are more valuable than backlinks from sites that rank low on Google or whose content is unrelated to your website.
Use the SEOSpace plugin
Once you've implemented the points above (and the tips in this blog post), you're already well on your way. Now you can consider installing the SEOSpace plugin, a tool similar to Yoast but designed specifically for Squarespace.
After installation, start by running a scan, which will show you an SEO score and areas for improvement. The number of areas for improvement depends on the plan you choose. You can tackle these areas yourself. That’ll probably keep you busy for a while :-) After some time, you can run another scan to see how your site is doing.
You can try SEOSpace for free for the first week. After that, you can choose between the Free plan or the DIY version for $15 per month.
