Is Your Squarespace Site SEO Effective? (Free Checklist)
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Trying to get more people to your website?
While there are several great methods (like referrals, networking, paid ads, cold-pitching... and the list goes on), my personal recommendation for people just getting started in business is… to focus on SEO.
(Yes, still, even in this wonky AI age.)
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is basically the method that tells Google or other search engines what your website is about, which then lets Google serve your site to people searching.
SEO is important for a few reasons:
Visibility: SEO puts your website in front of potential clients as they search on the Googs.
Trust: Websites that rank higher in search results gain more credibility with users — similar to physical shops in primo locations getting more foot traffic.
User Experience: Good SEO means a better website – fast, easy to navigate, and full of useful content – making your website visitors more likely to stay and convert into clients, customers, or subscribers.
Cost-Effectiveness: Unlike ongoing costs for paid ads, SEO grows your visibility organically, offering a more sustainable model for attracting traffic and leads.
Competitive Advantage: If your competitors aren’t fully utilizing SEO, it’s a chance to gain ground by making your business more visible and appealing to potential clients.
For business owners and creators just starting out, SEO offers a foundation for long-term growth. If you invest your time in SEO early, you're setting up a pathway for clients to find you naturally, building trust and authority in your niche.
There's a lot more to it, but let's start with the foundations of getting your website optimized for SEO
In this guide, I'll share a free SEO checklist with some easy wins and how-tos to get your Squarespace set up and optimized for SEO.
Squarespace Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Checklist
01. Site Information
TITLE TAGS: the title of a page. In Squarespace, it’s known as the ‘SEO title’ that people see in the browser window. You want to put accurate descriptions of the page using your relevant keywords.
→ Keep it under 60 characters.
META DESCRIPTIONS: the snippet you see on a Google search result page for a specific page or blog post. Meta descriptions generally inform and interest your potential website visitors with a short, relevant summary of what a particular page is about. They are like a pitch that convinces the user that the page is what they’re looking for.
→ Keep it between 50-300 characters, with 150 being the sweet spot, and write for humans.
URL SLUGS: the exact address of a specific page on your website. (for example, in www.yourwebsite.com/about, the url slug is ‘about’)
→ Keep it short and neat, no more than 3-5 words. Tie your keywords into your meta description if you can do it organically and in a way that makes sense.
02. Site Design
IMAGE ALT TEXT: conveys the “why” of the image, as it relates to the content of an image on your website. It is read aloud to users by screen reader software, and it is indexed by search engines.
→ Keep this factual, descriptive but not detailed, and easy to read.
ALL IMAGES OPTIMIZED: using or creating high-quality images in the ideal format, size, and resolution.
→ Make sure your images are no bigger than 250KB, or 500KB at the MAX.
→ Read more: How do I Optimize Images in Squarespace?
DISCOVERABLE PAGES WITH NO BROKEN LINKS: If your website isn’t published yet, review each link and button to ensure they’re all accurately assigned. If your website is live, you can use a free SEO tool like Neil Patel’s UberSuggest (though I don’t typically recommend Neil Patel for much more that.)
HEADINGS:
HIERARCHY: Use heading tags in the correct order – ie, H1, H2, H3, H4. Use in descending order down your web pages.
DON’T use heading for aesthetic design purposes; use them for page hierarchy only.
USAGE: Only one H1 used per page, and at the top. Keep it to between 30-50 characters.
03. Speed and Security
SITE SPEED: do most pages load within 2-3 seconds? Test your site with the Google Lighthouse Chrome Extension (it’s free).
IMAGE FILES SIZES: This bears repeating: make sure every image is below 500kb at most, ideally even below 250kb.
This helps the pages load faster, which makes website visitors stick around, which THEN lets Google know your site has the goods, and therefore it will rank you higher.
If you can’t get to below 500kb by converting an image into a JPG and resizing, try compression. Optimizilla is a popular and free online tool to use to compress your images.
SSL CERTIFICATE: Make sure your SSL certificate is active. In Squarespace, this is automatically toggled on, but make sure you double check before publishing your website.
04. Post-Launch SEO Steps
SITEMAP: Ensure your website has a sitemap and is properly indexed by search engines. You’ll need to do this (very soon, like immediately) after publishing your website.
This is done differently in different platforms.
In Squarespace, here’s how you connect your sitemap to Google:
CONNECT YOUR SITEMAP TO GOOGLE:
In the Home menu, click ‘Analytics’.
Click ‘Search Keywords’
Click ‘Connect’ in the panel’s pop-up.
From there, login to the Google account you want to connect to your site. If you have multiple Google accounts, ensure you select the correct one!
Review the permissions, then click Allow.
Wait up to 72 hours for the data to populate.
❗You need to do this to let Google know you exist. Just publishing your website WITHOUT doing this is like building a house but not giving yourself an address. No one will know where to find you!
TIP: SEOSpace* (that’s an affiliate link!), the ‘Yoast for Squarespace’ is a great app with a free plug-in to help with SEO for your site.
05. Ongoing SEO Efforts
CONTENT MANAGEMENT
CONSISTENTLY CREATE CONTENT (aka - blogging): regularly add to your website with relevant, helpful, and high-authority content. This shows search engines like Google that your site is active.
I cannot impress on you enough how important creating consistent content is to actually getting your website found by people.
Read more: Seven Benefits of Blogging for Business
Grab my $17 Blog Launch Essentials: Quick Start Templates
REDIRECTS: Whenever you change a page's URL (whether that’s a static page, blog page, portfolio… anything), you need to make sure you set up redirects. This directs visitors from the old link to the new page.
It’s easy to do.
Here’s how to set up a redirect in Squarespace:
Go to Settings > Advanced > URL Mappings, and type "/old -> /new 302" to redirect from an old page to a new one.
TRACKING PERFORMANCE & RESEARCH
Utilize Analytics Tools: Use analytics features to see how people find your site and what they do there. You can use Squarespace’s basic UI, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Umami, or any combination of those to monitor visits. This includes looking at search terms, popular content, and overall traffic.
Squarespace Analytics
Actionable Summary
After reading this Squarespace SEO checklist, you should be ready to optimize your site 🥳
Here's a quick recap of what to do to optimize your Squarespace site:
Site Information: Use SEO-friendly titles, meta descriptions, and URL slugs.
Site Design: Optimize image alt texts and ensure all images are web-friendly sizes.
Speed and Security: Aim for fast loading pages and secure your site with an SSL certificate.
Post-Launch: Connect your sitemap to Google and make sure your site is properly indexed.
Ongoing SEO Efforts: Continuously update your content through blogging, and use analytics to track your site’s performance.
Ready to launch your Squarespace site?
Download my complete free Squarespace Launch Checklist, which includes this detailed SEO guide, along with seven other categories like Accessibility, Branding, Customer Journey, and a dedicated Squarespace-specific section.
I’ve seen people selling just an SEO checklist like this one for upwards of $50+ USD, but I’m giving this and more all away for free, babyyy!
This free checklist ensures your site is fully optimized, engaging, and ready to connect with your dream audience. Get your hands on this fully-loaded guide to simplify your launch process and set your new Squarespace site up for success.
