How to Get Started with Squarespace SEO in 2024
Embark on your Squarespace SEO journey in 2024! Whether you're a complete SEO beginner seeking a step-by-step roadmap or someone who's dipped their toes in, but wants to make sure you’re applying SEO correctly, this blog post is for you!
Consider this your Squarespace SEO 101 for 2024, a meticulous guide crafted to empower your success from the get-go. Trust me, I understand the complexity of Squarespace SEO. And I know how difficult and confusing it feels when you’re first getting started. But, let me tell you, SEO is SO worth it for your business.
From increasing website traffic to attracting your dream clients to your site, Squarespace SEO IS the solution to your business growth goals. And, best yet, when used correctly, SEO can get you the most optimal results with the least amount of time invested. Your ROI with SEO is significant.
I want you to have all the benefits of SEO too. Here, it’s my mission to make Squarespace SEO seem simple by sharing my insights, typically reserved for my consultancy clients. My goal is your success.
Alright, let's dive in and kickstart your successful Squarespace SEO journey today!
Here’s How to Get Started with Squarespace SEO:
Step 1: Be Intentional About Your Keywords
Let's kick things off with an impactful and straightforward exercise to prime your thoughts on keywords and their significance in determining your website's ranking! Essentially, we're stepping into the shoes of our ideal audience, envisioning what they'd type into Google to find us.
Imagine the words or phrases you'd want someone to search for online—these are the keywords and key phrases you're aiming to associate with your website, web pages, blog posts, product pages, and more! Keywords serve as the bridge between search engine queries and the content Google indexes to present to users.
Grab a pen and your fave notebook, or open up your laptop—let's dive in! Don't overthink it; simply jot down words or phrases you'd like people to associate with your website when they search on Google.
For instance, consider your name, brand/business name, primary services (e.g., Calgary Wedding Photographer), products (e.g., eco-friendly laundry detergent), content themes (e.g., custom-designed wedding dresses), visual descriptions (e.g., wooden desk with plants in vase), and more.
If your scope spans multiple areas, include them all, but highlight the most crucial ones! Establishing clarity around your keywords is paramount. This list will serve as a cornerstone as we move forward, assisting in refining other settings shortly. So, hang tight—we'll put this into action in just a moment!
Step 2: Connect & Verify Your Squarespace Site with Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a completely free service that manages your site's visibility in Google search results. To ensure your Squarespace website is crawled and indexed, you must first link your domain and verify your site with Google Search Console. This step is non-negotiable; without it, your SEO efforts will be for nothing, yielding zero online traction. So, prioritize getting this set up if you haven't already—it's crucial.
Although connecting your domain and verifying your site with Google Search Console may seem daunting, I can assure you it's a straightforward process with a lot of tutorials and information online.
Here’s how to connect & verify your site with Google Search Console:
Log into your Squarespace website.
Connect Via Your Google Account:
In the Home Menu, navigate to Settings, then scroll down to the "Third Party Accounts" section and select Connected Accounts.
Click "Connect Account."
From the Connected Accounts menu, choose the account you wish to add (Google).
Log in with your account credentials and click "Authorize."
It's a quick process—literally taking a couple of minutes—so don't hesitate; take care of it now!
Step 3: Complete The SEO Site Description & SEO Titles
Now, let's harness the power of Squarespace's primary SEO field, seamlessly integrated into their platform. The SEO site description plays a key role in your site’s SEO health as it represents your website's homepage. Typically, search engines like Google will showcase this description in search results for your homepage if they don't find content more relevant to a visitor's search terms.
Before updating the site description & titles, be sure to take some time to write a thoughtful and accurate description of your site that incorporates the keywords brainstormed in Step 1.
When you’re ready, here's how to complete your Squarespace site’s SEO description:
Navigate to the Home Menu:
Select “Marketing”, then “SEO Appearance”.
Edit the SEO Site Description field and add in your curated description.
Add additional keywords to the SEO Title Format fields for the Home, Pages, and Items sections.
Finally, click Save.
Step 4: Add SEO Page Descriptions
Often overlooked, this next step is crucial because many aren't aware that Squarespace offers this built-in feature! In Step 3, we crafted the SEO description for your entire website, essentially informing Google about its overarching theme.
Now, in Step 4, we'll delve deeper, ensuring each page, blog post, product page, gallery page, etc., on your Squarespace website receives tailored attention. This step is about providing Google with precise insights into the content of each individual page and post, helping it understand their relevance.
I find these SEO description fields particularly valuable because they allow you to customize each section with targeted keywords, equipping search engines with comprehensive information to potentially boost your rankings in online searches. These descriptions are specific to each page/post on your site and are displayed in search results if no more relevant content is found based on a visitor's search terms.
It's imperative to add unique SEO descriptions to every single page on your website, and for optimal results, the same applies to every blog post.
To add an SEO description for a page:
Navigate to the Home Menu, click Website > Pages.
Hover over the page title, then click on the gear icon to access page settings.
Click the SEO tab, and input your description in the SEO Description field.
Save. .
Repeat this process for every page +where you wish to include an SEO description! Ensure that each description is unique and relevant to its associated page/collection item, and of course, infused with keywords.
In order for SEO to work, each page needs a unique page description. So, DO NOT COPY & PASTE SEO DESCRIPTIONS from one page to the next.
Step 5: Audit Existing Site Content on a Regular Basis
In this step, it's time to critically assess all the existing pages on your Squarespace website—every page, blog post, product page, gallery, and more. Refer back to the keyword brainstorming exercise from Step 1: How are those keywords actually integrated across your website?
Furthermore, consider if you've developed sufficient specific content around particular keywords/key phrases, or if you're relying solely on one page to generate enough traffic.
During this audit, meticulously examine each page individually with a discerning eye. While you'll primarily focus on the on-site SEO factors of the page's content, it's essential to go beyond that.
Perhaps you'll realize that while your pages are functional, there's a need to create more content around your target keywords to enhance your ranking. In this case, it's time to delve into blogging to bolster your efforts.
Alternatively, you might discover that your Services pages are not optimized effectively for SEO, and they require a revamp to become more keyword-rich and appealing for Google's crawlers. For guidance on this, I recommend checking out my video training "How to build and design SEO-friendly Services pages on your Squarespace website."
Similarly, as you review the products in your online shop, you might find that the existing information is too basic and needs to be enriched to drive potential customers closer to making a purchase decision. For assistance, refer to my video training "How to create SEO-friendly product pages and descriptions on your Squarespace website."
Additionally, it's essential to address any outdated pages or unnecessary content—delete them to avoid cluttering your digital space as we move forward.
In summary, audit each page/post/product/gallery on your website one at a time, and ask yourself two key questions: • How can I enhance this page to be more SEO-friendly? • What steps can I take to guide the visitor towards a purchasing decision?
This review stage is crucial and can significantly impact your website's performance. Invest time in improving the quality of your existing content—it's well worth the effort.
Wrapping Up
There you go! Your 2024 beginners guide to Squarespace SEO. I’ve provided 5 simple (and incredibly essential) steps to get started on your successful SEO strategy. Once you complete these steps, you’ll have a solid foundation to move forward. Remember, don’t skip the basics, they are highly impactful for your long-term business growth.
You’ve got this!
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