The Complete Guide to Squarespace SEO

What Is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s the process of making your website easier for search engines like Google to understand—and more likely to show up when people search for topics related to your work.

At its core, SEO is about two things: helping search engines recognize what your site is about, and making sure real people find it useful once they arrive. This includes small behind-the-scenes steps like setting page titles and descriptions, as well as bigger strategies like writing helpful content, choosing the right keywords, and earning links from other reputable sites.

You don’t have to be a technical expert to do SEO well. In fact, many of the most important steps are simple, logical adjustments you can make as you build and maintain your site. Over time, strong SEO turns your website from a static brochure into an active part of your marketing and outreach.

“A beautiful website without SEO is like building an award-winning, impeccably designed storefront in the middle of the desert: No matter how impressive it is, no one will find it without directions.”

Why SEO Matters for Squarespace Sites

Having a well-designed site is only part of the equation. Without strong SEO, even the most polished website can go unnoticed. SEO is what connects your work to the people searching for it, turning a static online presence into an active tool for growth.

Focusing on improving SEO can:

• Drive free, ongoing traffic
  By ranking for relevant keywords, your site can attract visitors without the ongoing costs associated with ads.
  
  

• Reach the right audience
  Effective SEO brings people to your site who are already looking for services, information, or products like yours.
  
  

• Build authority & credibility
  A strong search presence helps establish you as a trusted source.
  
  

• Make marketing more cost-effective
  Organic traffic compounds over time, creating a more sustainable marketing funnel compared to paid-only strategies.

Squarespace gives you many of the technical basics for SEO—mobile-friendly design, SSL security, clean HTML—but without thoughtful setup, you won't unlock its full potential.

Basic Squarespace SEO Settings to Check First

Before diving into more complex strategies, it's important to cover the foundational elements that every Squarespace site needs. Skipping these basics can cause bigger problems down the road.

SEO Title & Description

Every page and blog post on your site needs a properly crafted SEO title and meta description. These are the first things users see in Google's search results, and they heavily influence whether someone chooses to click through to your site. Squarespace lets you customize these fields easily under each page's settings. Instead of letting Squarespace auto-generate titles based on page names or using vague defaults like Home or Services, take the time to write clear, keyword-focused entries that genuinely describe what the page is about.

SEO Title & Description on a Squarespace page's setting

Custom Domain

Connecting a custom domain to your Squarespace site is a small step that makes a big difference. If you're using the default yoursite.squarespace.com address, visitors may question your professionalism, and search engines may not treat your site as seriously. Purchasing a custom domain—something like yourorganization.org or yourbusiness.com—signals that you're established, trustworthy, and invested in your presence online.

Suggested domain registrars:

• Cloudflare

• Porkbun

• NameCheap

• IWantMyName

• Hover

What about Squarespace Domains?

While Squarespace offers domain registration through Squarespace Domains, it’s often a good idea to keep your domain and website hosting separate. Having your domain registered with an independent provider like Namecheap or Cloudflare gives you more flexibility if you ever decide to move your site or change platforms. It’s not a major issue for most people starting out, but keeping them separate can make things simpler in the long run.

Enable SSL

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) ensures that all the information transferred between your site and your visitors is encrypted and protected. But beyond security, having an SSL certificate—which makes your site appear as https rather than http—is now a ranking factor for Google.

Clean Up Your URL Slugs

A clear, simple URL isn’t just easier for visitors to remember—it also gives search engines better context about your content. In Squarespace, every page and blog post creates a "slug," which is the part of the URL that appears after your domain name. Shorten slugs to the fewest necessary words, separate them with hyphens, and avoid filler like /page-1 or /new-post-3. Clean URLs help search engines crawl your site more efficiently and make links look more trustworthy when shared.

Set Up Social Sharing Images

When someone shares your page on Facebook, LinkedIn, or other platforms, the preview image can make the difference between getting clicked—or getting ignored. Squarespace lets you set default social sharing images under Marketing > Social Sharing, and you can also customize images on individual pages if needed. Choose images that are clear, brand-aligned, and at least 1200x630 pixels for best display across platforms. Setting this up properly avoids random or outdated images appearing when people share your site, helping your brand look intentional and polished even off your website.

Social sharing image for Venture by Studio Mesa

Choose a Concise, Accurate Site Title

Your site title is one of the first clues search engines—and visitors—use to understand what your site is about. Instead of using something generic like "Home" or "Welcome," write a short, specific title that includes your business name and, if possible, a primary keyword. For example, "Cedar Grove Counseling | Anxiety and Wellness Therapy" immediately gives search engines more useful information than just "Cedar Grove." You can set your site title under Settings > Site Title & Logo. Getting this right helps your site appear more credible in search results and builds trust at first glance.

Keyword Strategy for Squarespace SEO

SEO without a keyword strategy is like trying to hit a target blindfolded. You need to know what your potential visitors are actually searching for and shape your site around those terms.

Identify Core Topics

Before you even think about keywords, you need to define the main topics your website will cover. Core topics should reflect the services you offer, the problems you help solve, or the goals your ideal audience wants to achieve. For example, a nonprofit focused on reforestation might center its topics around "how to plant trees," "carbon offset programs," and "volunteer reforestation events." A wellness provider might focus on "stress management strategies," "nutrition counseling," or "mindfulness practices."

Use Long-Tail Keywords

Once your topics are set, start identifying long-tail keywords that fit naturally within them. Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that often signal higher search intent—things like "affordable therapy services for anxiety" or "nonprofit website templates with donation pages."

These kinds of searches tend to have less competition and attract visitors who are closer to taking action. Instead of trying to rank for a generic term like "therapy," a long-tail keyword positions you to show up when someone is actually ready to book an appointment or learn more. They’re a powerful tool for growing traffic and improving conversion rates at the same time.

Integrate Keywords Naturally

Good SEO doesn’t mean stuffing your keywords everywhere. It means weaving them into your site in ways that feel effortless and natural. Prioritize placing primary keywords in important spots like SEO titles, H1 headings, the first 100 words of your content, and image alt text. Meta descriptions are another important place to reinforce key phrases without sounding robotic. The goal is to make sure Google understands what each page is about without making your content feel mechanical.

Always write for real readers first—if a keyword feels awkward, rephrase it or leave it out. A few strong, well-placed uses are more valuable than a dozen forced mentions.

Structuring Your Squarespace Content for SEO

Good content structure helps both readers and search engines quickly understand what your pages are about. Even though Squarespace templates provide a clean starting point, it’s up to you to organize your words thoughtfully. That means using clear headings to break up sections, keeping paragraphs short enough to scan easily, and linking between related pages when it makes sense.

• Use clear H2 and H3 headings
  Breaking up content into smaller chunks makes it easier for readers & search engines to understand.
  
  

• Write meaningful subheadings
  Subheadings shouldn’t just be placeholders—they should quickly explain what the next section covers. A good H2 or H3 acts like a guidepost for both readers & search engines, helping organize the page to be easier to scan.
  
  

• Prioritize important info first
  Both readers and search engines pay more attention to what appears. Start sections with the most useful points, then work down into details.
  
  

• Keep paragraphs shorter
  Aim for 2-5 sentences per paragraph to maintain a natural reading rhythm.
  
  

• Avoid walls of text
  Use visual breaks like quotes, lists, or images to keep people engaged.

Blogging for SEO on Squarespace

A blog isn't just for writers or big companies. For service providers, nonprofits, and small businesses, a simple blog can be the secret to organic growth.

Answer Practical Questions

The best blog topics aren’t just about what you want to say, they’re about what your audience genuinely wants to know. Think about the real questions your clients, donors, or customers are already asking. For a wellness provider, that might be "how to manage anxiety without medication" or "what to expect during a nutrition consultation." For a nonprofit, it could be "how small donations make a big impact" or "easy ways to volunteer locally."

When you create content that answers real-world questions clearly and simply, you build trust—and you give yourself more opportunities to rank in search results for terms that matter.

Keep Posts Structured

A blog post that’s easy to scan is far more likely to keep readers engaged. Good structure also helps search engines understand and prioritize your content. Start each post with a clear, concise H1 title (handled automatically in Squarespace), then use H2 and H3 subheadings to break up sections logically. This makes your content less intimidating and creates more natural places to work in keywords.

Cross-Link Thoughtfully

Internal linking isn’t just good for SEO, it improves user experience by guiding visitors to other useful content on your site. Every blog post you write should naturally link to a few other places: maybe a related blog post, your primary service page, or a resource page. This builds a network of relevance that both readers and search engines can follow. It also keeps people on your site longer!

Squarespace Image SEO Best Practices

Optimizing images is one of the easiest ways to improve site speed and accessibility. Squarespace also automatically generates responsive images, helping your site perform better across devices.

• Compress images before uploading
  Tools like Optimage reduce file size without hurting quality.
  
  

• Use descriptive filenames
  Rename files before uploading so Google has a clue what the image depicts.
  
  

• Write thoughtful alt text
  Describe each image naturally, working in keywords only if they fit.

Advanced Squarespace SEO Strategies

Once you have the basics locked down, you can start layering in more advanced techniques to push your site further.

Add Custom Schema Markup

Schema markup is a type of behind-the-scenes code that helps search engines better understand the content and purpose of your pages. Adding custom schema—like Event, Service, or Article schema—can increase your chances of showing up in rich results, like event listings or FAQ sections. You don’t have to write this code by hand. Free tools like TechnicalSEO.com’s Schema Generator make it easy to create JSON-LD code, which you can paste into the Page Header section of your page settings.

Build Cornerstone Content

Cornerstone pages are deep, evergreen resources that act as anchors for your entire website. These pages should cover an important topic comprehensively, bringing together everything someone would want to know in one place. For example, a nonprofit might create "The Complete Guide to Starting a Community Garden," while a wellness provider might offer "The Ultimate Stress Management Toolkit."

Earn Quality Backlinks

Not all backlinks are created equal. Focus on earning links from trusted, relevant sources in your field. This could mean contributing guest posts to aligned blogs, participating in resource roundups, or being listed in reputable local directories. Building real relationships with other organizations, nonprofits, or service providers often leads to organic backlink opportunities over time. Search engines treat backlinks like votes of confidence, so the more high-quality links you have pointing to your site, the stronger your SEO position becomes!

Set Up URL Redirects

Whenever you rename a page, delete old content, or restructure your site, it’s critical to set up 301 redirects to preserve your SEO value. A 301 redirect tells search engines and browsers that a page has permanently moved to a new location. In Squarespace, you can easily manage redirects under Settings > Advanced > URL Mappings. Redirects ensure that visitors don’t land on broken "404" pages and help maintain the rankings and link equity you’ve already built, even as your site evolves.

Tracking and Improving Your SEO Over Time

SEO is not a one-and-done task… it’s a continuous process of refining, expanding, and responding to what real users are doing. Even a well-optimized site needs regular attention to stay competitive. Search trends shift, competitors add new content, and Google’s algorithms change subtly over time. Small improvements, regular content updates, and smart internal linking will build stronger, more durable SEO gains that compound year after year.

• Set up Google Analytics and Search Console
  Track what pages are getting traffic, where visitors come from, and what keywords you're ranking for.
  
  

• Refresh content regularly
  Update older blog posts, add new links, and fine-tune SEO titles and descriptions to reflect new trends or services.
  
  

• Monitor technical health
  Watch for broken links, slow-loading images, and mobile usability errors.
  
  

• Improve low-performing pages
  Identify pages with high impressions but low click-through rates and update titles or descriptions to make them more compelling.
  
  

• Add internal links to new content
  Every time you publish a new page or blog post, add links from older related content to strengthen your site’s overall structure.

Final Thoughts

Squarespace provides a strong foundation for SEO, but true results come from consistent, thoughtful work. Instead of chasing trends or gimmicks, focus on the fundamentals: clear site structure, useful content, meaningful connections, and technical soundness.

Over time, the effort pays off—your site will not only look good but will serve the very real purpose of helping the right people find you.