3 ways to boost your website’s SEO | Dmarzdesigns

Your Squarespace website SEO won't change overnight, but...⁠

By stepping away from downloading yet another 10-point checklist (yeeeah, I see you! 😆) and actually taking inspired action to check three key things, you can help to set the process in the right direction.⁠

Check how many H1 tags are on each page

One aspect of SEO that often gets overlooked is the use of proper header tags on your website. Specifically, the H1 plays a role in defining the primary subject of your pages to search engines and is also useful for anyone using assistive technology to read your content.

The biggest mistake I see on websites is using headings for stylistic purposes, for example, using multiple H1s to make all headings look bigger when that’s not the proper use case.

Ideally, there should only be a single heading at the top of the page, as this tells search engines what that page is about. Instead, use a structured hierarchy of heading tags from H2 to H3 to organise your content effectively.⁠ H1 is the most important header, H2 is the second, and so on.

By creating a clear visual hierarchy, you’ll help your website visitors navigate your content more easily and enable search engines to index your site’s structure more efficiently, which can positively impact your SEO.

Check your website is secure through HTTPS.

Website security isn’t just a preference or nice-to-have. It’s a necessity to safeguard your visitors and enhance your SEO. A secure website, indicated by HTTPS at the beginning of the URL, is crucial as sites lacking this are often flagged as insecure by website browsers, deterring potential visitors.

Squarespace makes it super easy to secure your website. Head to Settings > Advanced > SSL > toggle on 'Secure' and 'HSTS Secure'.⁠ This change reassures your website visitors and search engines that your site is safe and secure to browse!

Optimize your images for faster loading time

In today’s fast-paced online world, people don’t enjoy waiting for websites to load, so decent site speed is critical to a good user experience and SEO.

Images and videos with large file sizes are among the primary culprits of slow-loading websites. Before you upload any new images to your Squarespace site, check that their file sizes are below 500kb. Also, rename them with descriptive titles (e.g., holistic_website_design.jpg instead of img_4872.jpg), using keywords you want to rank for.

Free tools like TinyPNG for compressing images can help significantly reduce file sizes without compromising quality. You can check your website loading speed using a tool such as Pingdom.

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Improving your Squarespace website’s SEO takes time and requires consistency and patience. Implementing the above steps—optimising headings, securing your website, and compressing images before uploading—can set a solid foundation for your SEO efforts.

These changes may not skyrocket your ranking overnight, but they are crucial steps to take towards building a more user-friendly, visible website that gets found.