SEO Mistakes to Avoid Before Launching Your Squarespace Website
So, you've chosen Squarespace for your website-excellent choice! It’s sleek, user-friendly, and offers some seriously powerful features. But before you hit that glorious "Publish" button, there are a few crucial SEO tasks to tackle. Trust me, a little effort now will save you a ton of headaches later.
Why is optimizing SEO so important, you ask?
Well, imagine you've built the most beautiful website in the world, but it's like a stunning piece of art hanging in a dark, locked room. No one can see it!
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is like the spotlight that ensures your website is seen by the right people at the right time. By optimizing your site for search engines, you're increasing your chances of appearing in search results, driving more traffic to your site, and ultimately growing your business. So, let’s make sure your site gets the attention it deserves!
1. Ignoring Keyword Research
Keyword is one of the most important aspect of SEO- these are the words people are searching on the web. You can use free tool like Google Keyword Planner to find keywords that your ideal client is searching for. Focus on a mix of high-volume keywords and those golden long-tail ones. Think ‘Help with Squarespace’, ‘Squarespace SEO help’, and ‘How do I boost my Squarespace SEO rank’ - these are the words people will be searching when they need help with Squarespace SEO.
FREE Tools:
Google Keyword Planner (you will have to sign in with your google account)
2. Overlooking Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
Each page on your site needs a unique title and meta description. These are the snippets that show up in search results and can make a big difference in whether people click your link. Keep them clear, catchy, and add with your target keywords.
These titles show in the browser tabs and search results and are a key factor for Google indexing and ranking.
3. Underestimating Content Quality
Your content should be engaging, informative, and valuable. Whether it’s blog posts, product descriptions, or service pages, make sure everything you write is top-notch. Remember, it’s not just about keywords; your content should genuinely help your visitors.
4. Misusing Heading Tags
Use heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to organize your content. Your main title should be an H1, with subheadings as H2s and so on. This helps search engines understand your content and makes it more readable for visitors. As a rule of thumb- try to use one H1 in one page and use H2 H3, & H4 as needed.
5. Optimize Your Images
Images are great, but they need some SEO love too.
Renaming: Use descriptive file names and add alt text to each image. This helps search engines understand what your images are about and can improve your SEO.
Resizing: Heavy images will make your site slow. Compresses your images and try to use images less than 500kb (Tip: JEPG images are usually smaller in size compared to other formats)
6. Set Up Google Analytics and Search Console
Before you go live, set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These tools provide invaluable insights into how people find and interact with your site, helping you fine-tune your SEO strategy.
You can use your findings to target your ideal clients, understanding what is keeping them into your website and do more of that
8. Submit Your Sitemap
Squarespace automatically generates a sitemap for your website, however you need to submit it to Google Search Console ( This is very important! ). This helps Google crawl and index your site more effectively.
How to generate sitemap for squarespacewebsite? You can generate your sitemap by typing your website url follower by ‘/sitemap.xml’
Example- www.yourwebsitename.com/sitemap.xml
9. Make Sure Your Site is Mobile-Friendly
Google loves mobile-friendly sites. While Squarespace templates are generally responsive, double-check that your site looks great and works well on mobile devices.
10. Speed Matters
A slow site is a no-go. Use tools like GTmetrix and/or Google PageSpeed Insights to check your site’s speed and follow their recommendations to make it faster.
11. Secure Your Site with SSL
An SSL certificate not only secures your site but also gives your SEO a boost since Google favors secure sites. Plus, it reassures visitors that their data is safe.
Good news if you are using Squarespace, all domains correctly added to your Squarespace site are automatically protected with free SSL certificates to improve security.
12. Clean Up Your URLs
Descriptive, clean URLs are better for SEO. Instead of "www.yoursite.com/page1," go for something like "www.yoursite.com/awesome-product."
Conclusion
Taking the time to complete these SEO tasks before launching your Squarespace site can set you up for success. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process—keep optimizing and refining your strategy over time.
Need more help with Squarespace?
Whether you’re just getting started or looking to boost your SEO, We’re here to help.
Our all in one Squarespace SEO package will take care of everything. Plus, we will provide you with a scheduled plan to keep improving your rank on Google.
Let’s make your website a standout success! Contact Us Today