SEO for Squarespace Websites: 5 Ways To Boost Your Rankings
You’re here, so you probably know that SEO is essential for boosting your organic visibility on search engines. But just in case you’re wondering, “Why should I bother?” lemme explain!
When your site appears naturally in search results, it opens doors to increased brand awareness and more meaningful website traffic. All of this can translate into more opportunities to connect and build trust, and hopefully convert your readers into raving fans.
SEO can sound like a big, scary term, but improving your website’s search ranking doesn’t have to be complicated.
Whether you're just starting out or feel like your site needs a little TLC, these three simple SEO tweaks can help you attract more visitors, get your brand seen, and make sure your website works as hard as you do.
1. Tweak your meta descriptions
Meta descriptions are those little snippets of text that show up in search engine results. They’re often the first impression a potential client will get of your website, so it’s important to make them count.
It’s best tokeep your meta descriptions around 155-160 characters and make sure they clearly explain what your page is about in a user-friendly way. So, instead of just listing services, try writing something that speaks to your audience’s needs, for example: “Helping coaches and wellness brands create soul-led websites that convert lurkers into clients”
2. Add alt text to your images
Alt text doesn’t just help your website be more accessible; it’s also an SEO goldmine. By adding descriptive alt text to your images, you’re giving search engines more context about what your website offers. Those Google spiders love ‘em.
Be specific with your descriptions, like “An example of soul-led website design for wellness coaches” instead of “image of a website”. This is a super easy, actionable tweak that can make such a big difference, especially if you’ve got lots of visuals on your site and you want to cater for a diverse audience.
3. Optimise your headings
One of the biggest mistakes I see on small business websites is using headings for stylistic purposes, for example, using multiple H1s to make all headings look bigger. But your headings (H1, H2, etc.) aren’t just there to break up text or be used for styling purposes. They actually help search engines understand the structure of your content. So it’s important to use clear, keyword-rich headings to boost user experience (UX) AND SEO.
Make sure each page has one H1 tag that clearly describes what the page is about. Break your content into smaller sections using H2s and H3s to guide both readers and search engines (like I’ve done in this blog post).
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.
4. Resize your images for faster loading time
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, so before you upload any new images to your Squarespace website, 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 business-related 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.
You might like: 8 Recommended Website Pages For Your Small Business
5. Check your website is secure
Website security isn’t just a preference or nice-to-have, but 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!
So that’s 5 simple SEO tweaks you can make!
Making small, intentional adjustments like these can have a big impact on your SEO and help more people find your website. And that’s what we want, isn’t it?! No point having a website if it stays hidden away gathering dust! Let’s get you seen!
But if - even after reading this - SEO still feels like a mystery, or maybe you’re wondering why you’ve got people landing on your site and not hanging around…I’m here to help. You can book a Website Clarity Session - it’s a done-with-you audit to make sure your website is bringing you more connections!
