Squarespace for SEO, your questions answered
Here are the most popular Squarespace SEO questions that clients and readers have asked us at PixelHaze Academy when looking to nudge their website higher up the Google rankings.
Whenever we get discussing the latest Squarespace developments with clients or colleagues, hot topics that are never too far from our lips includes SEO (Search Engine Optimisations), Google Algorithms and content marketing. In this short guide, we have compiled the most frequently asked questions to, hopefully, save you from losing as many hours of your life discussing the latest developments over at Google as we have.
So let’s get started…
1. What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of optimising a website (both on-site and off-site) to enable it to appear higher on search engine results pages (SERPS), for example, Google or Bing.
2. I thought website builders are really poor when it comes to SEO, is that still the case?
Yes that was certainly the case with earlier versions of website builders such as Squarespace and Wix. This is no longer the case and I can certainly speak for Squarespace when I say they have really upped their game over the past 2-3 years so that there is only a noticeable different in performance between website builders and bespoke websites when working at the ultra-competitive end of the market. Good news indeed!
3. Is SEO harder than it used to be?
Yes and no, there is far more competition than ever before due to the ever-growing number of website sand the introduction of website builders (meaning anyone can have crack at building a website). On the flip side and with our glasses half full, there is also more demand for content than ever before and so many avenues you can look down (social media, online directories and review websites) to increase the exposure of your website with out the need to spend a penny.
4. Do I need to update my website every day to rank?
It depends on how competitive your market is and your ambition, however in most cases, not at all. Having said that, if relevant content is added in a regular and consistent manner, it would certainly help your chances of ranking for your preferred keywords over time. Google responds positively to ‘positive energy’; regularly updated content that is relevant and informative to your readers. If nothing else, make sure you tick this box and your website’s performance will improve over time.
5. Are keywords still relevant?
Yes, very relevant. Although meta tags (that section in the header code of our websites where we used to cram as many keywords as we could muster) are no longer used or relevant on search engines, keywords appear on almost every page in your website, sometimes without you even knowing about it! Google needs keywords to know how you rank your websites on search engine results pages (SERPS). Keywords are often short phrases about your business, service offering or location, e.g. “Squarespace SEO UK” and should flow throughout your content. Some may appear on multiple pages/sections whilst other keywords may be page-specific. Try and repeat keywords multiple times on pages to highlight these as priority content to Google. However, beware of over-egging it. Adding keywords too frequently can be seen as spamming and have a detrimental effect on your performance. A keyword repeated as part of the title, a sub heading, in paragraph content and as an image caption would be a good example of keyword repetition without spamming.
