3 Technical Squarespace SEO Changes You Can Make in Minutes
Did you know that there are 2 different types of SEO (search engine optimization) you can implement on your Squarespace website? Or really any website for that matter…
Most online business owners think of the content side and where on their website they can add in keywords to move them higher in the search results.
But the when it comes to implementing SEO on your Squarespace website, there should be the same amount of focus on the technical side as there is on the content side. If you want your website to rank high in the search results, you need to take into account both the content and technical SEO pieces.
Today, I’m diving into 3 easy technical Squarespace SEO changes you can make to better optimize your website in a matter of minutes.
Sure, there is more to technical SEO than the 3 tips I’m about to walk through…but these are to help get you started ASAP if you’re wondering how to do SEO on Squarespace.
1. Make sure you have clean URL’s
If you duplicate a page with the hopes of replacing that one with your current page, make sure you go back and change your URL.
For example, many times I’ll see /about-1 or /contact-2 on a website.
You want to remove the dashes so it’s just /about or /contact.
I’ll also see this mistake on a blog post. Your blog post URLs should only include the keywords. Remove any dates or fluff/transition words (to, the, and, from, etc). It takes up space in the URL and moves the keywords farther away from the front of the URL.
2. Add keywords to your homepage title tag
A title tag is not only what appears as the title of pages in the Google search results (see photo below), but it also appears in the browser of a website.
Many times, people just include the name of their biz here.
But this is prime real estate for where you want to add keywords. This is because it tells Google and other search engines what your website is about and impacts ranking potential.
Add a pipe (|) after your name and then add the keywords. You can also add an additional pipe if you want to be location-specific.
Example:
[Biz Name] | Online Health Coach
[Biz Name] | Wedding Floral Design | Dallas, TX
Best practice:
Include keywords that your audience would be searching for in Google
Keep it under 60 characters or else it gets cut off in the search results
Don’t keyword stuff
Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence. And instead of helping your chances of ranking, you’re sending spammy signals to Google. Which as you may have guessed, is no bueno.
An example of a spammy title tag is:
[Photography Biz Name] | Photography | Engagement Sessions | Destination Wedding Photographer | Wedding Photography
Believe it or not, as silly as it looks, I’ve seen this many times.
You can change your title tag under Marketing - SEO.
>> Read more: Squarespace SEO Guide: How to Optimize Your Website <<
3. Use headings correctly
Your website has a least three headings - H1, H2, H3.
You need to be thinking about these in terms of hierarchy.
H1 is the title of your page or your blog post title, and there should never be more than one H1 on your page. However, you can have endless Heading 2 and Heading 3 tags.
So how do you use these other heading tags?
Good question 😉
You want to use those H2 and H3 tags to structure the content on your website.
Let’s take your services page as an example...
Your Heading 2 could be “FAQ”
Your Heading 3 could be your FAQ questions.
Then your regular paragraph text would be the answer.
Think of it the same way with your blog posts. Your title is your Heading 1 and the main pieces are Heading 2.
Make sense?
>> Read more: Squarespace SEO: Ultimate Blog Post Guide to Rank in Google <<
Exception - Squarespace index pages
Because Squarespace 7.0 has index pages that are pages stacked inside one main page, you only have to worry about the individual pages.
But Squarespace 7.1 recently got rid of index pages, so the rule of only including one Heading 1 would apply on a whole page. However, they’ve now added a Heading 4 so there are more styling options…phew!
And there you have it! That’s how you improve the technical SEO elements on your Squarespace website.
Have questions or comments on how to improve SEO on squarespace? Drop them below and I’ll be happy to reply :)
Struggling to drive traffic to your website, grow your leads and make more sales?
After implementing SEO strategies for billion dollar global brands and high profile individuals, I help position my clients at the top of the Google search results so they can get seen by the people that need their services most.
Looking for more Squarespace SEO tips? Check out these blog posts: