10 Squarespace SEO Hacks to Boost Your Website's Rankings

You know you should be optimising your Squarespace website for SEO and we get it, SEO isn’t the most exciting thing on the planet but if want people to visit your website, you need to know at least some basic SEO.

So if you’re ready to learn about the best SEO practices for Squarespace then keep reading!

Squarespace is a fantastic platform for creating beautiful and user-friendly websites, but if you're not implementing proper SEO techniques, you're missing out on a lot of potential traffic and visibility. In this post, we'll be covering all the best SEO practices you need to know to ensure your Squarespace site is optimised for success.

Choose the Right Keywords

Keywords are the backbone of SEO. They're the words and phrases people type into search engines to find what they're looking for. The first step to optimising your Squarespace site for SEO is to choose the right keywords. Start by brainstorming a list of keywords that are relevant to your business or brand. Once you have a list, use a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find out which keywords have the most search volume and the least competition. Once you've identified your primary and secondary keywords, use them strategically throughout your site, including in page titles, meta descriptions, header tags, and content.

Optimise Your Page Titles and Descriptions

Your page titles and descriptions are crucial for both SEO and user experience. They provide search engines and users with a quick summary of what your page is about. Your page title should be descriptive and include your primary keyword. Your page description should also be descriptive and include your keyword, but avoid keyword stuffing. Instead, make sure your description is well-written and compelling, encouraging users to click through to your site. To optimise your page titles and descriptions in Squarespace, go to the Pages panel and click on the gear icon next to the page you want to edit. From there, you can edit your page title and description under the SEO tab.

Use Header Tags

Header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) are used to organise content on your page and make it easier to read. They also help search engines understand the structure of your page and what's important. Use your primary keyword in your H1 tag, which should be your main page title, and use H2 and H3 tags to break up your content into sections and subsections. In Squarespace, you can easily add header tags by highlighting the text you want to format and selecting the appropriate header tag from the formatting options.

Create High-Quality Content

Content is king, as they say, and that's true for SEO as well. Create high-quality, informative, and engaging content that's relevant to your audience and your business. Use your keywords throughout your content, but don't overdo it. Keyword stuffing can actually hurt your SEO so make sure you are creating content for humans and not Google. Make sure your content is easy to read and visually appealing, with plenty of images and white space. In Squarespace, you can easily add text, images, videos, and other multimedia elements to your pages using the content blocks.

Optimise Your Images

Images are important for both user experience and SEO. Make sure your images are high-quality and visually appealing, but also optimised for search engines. Use descriptive file names and alt tags (which are used by screen readers for visually impaired users) that include your keywords. Also, make sure your images are compressed and load quickly. Slow-loading images can hurt your site's SEO, make sure that your images are between 1500 and 2500 pixels before you upload them to your site. In Squarespace, you can optimise your images by using the Image Editor to crop, resize, and compress your images.

Use Internal Linking

Internal linking is when you link to other pages on your own site. This helps search engines understand the structure of your site and also helps users navigate your site more easily. Use descriptive anchor text (the text that's hyperlinked) that includes your keywords. But don't just link for the sake of linking; make sure the links are relevant and provide value to the user. In Squarespace, you can easily add internal links by highlighting the text you want to link and selecting the appropriate page from the drop-down menu.

Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly

Mobile-friendliness is an essential factor in SEO. More than half of all internet traffic now comes from mobile devices, so if your site isn't mobile-friendly, you're missing out on a lot of potential traffic. Make sure your site is responsive, meaning it adapts to different screen sizes and orientations. Use large fonts and buttons that are easy to tap, and make sure your content is easy to read on smaller screens. In Squarespace 7.1, you can now edit your website design for mobile so you can control exactly how your website design displays on phones.

Speed Up Your Site

Site speed is another important factor in SEO. Slow-loading pages can hurt your site's rankings and user experience. Make sure your site is optimised for speed by compressing images, minimizing code, and using a content delivery network (CDN) to speed up the delivery of your site's assets. In Squarespace, you can use the built-in CDN to speed up your site, and you can also use third-party tools like GTmetrix to analyze your site's speed and find areas for improvement.

Get Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other sites that point to your site. They're important for SEO because they signal to search engines that your site is authoritative and valuable. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the better. To get backlinks, create high-quality content that other sites will want to link to, and reach out to other sites in your industry or niche to ask for links. You can also guest post on other sites and include a link back to your site in your author bio. In Squarespace, you can use the built-in social sharing buttons to encourage others to share your content and link back to your site.

Monitor Your SEO Metrics

Finally, it's important to monitor your SEO metrics to see how your site is performing and make adjustments as needed. Use a tool like Google Analytics to track your site's traffic, bounce rate, and other metrics. Keep an eye on your rankings for your target keywords, and use tools like SEMrush to identify areas for improvement. In Squarespace, you can use the built-in Analytics feature to track your site's traffic and other metrics.

So while Squarespace is a great platform for building beautiful and user-friendly websites, if you want to rank well in search engines, you still need to implement proper SEO techniques (and this goes for all website platforms). By choosing the right keywords, optimising your page titles and descriptions, using header tags, creating high-quality content, optimising your images, using internal linking, making your site mobile-friendly, speeding up your site, getting backlinks, and monitoring your SEO metrics, you can ensure your Squarespace site is optimised for success. Happy optimising!