When we first tested Squarespace three years ago, we came to the conclusion that we wouldn\u2019t recommend it for website owners who want to fully optimize their site. There are just too many on-page SEO factors that you can\u2019t control. But is that still the case in 2024?<\/p>\n
Read on to discover:<\/p>\n
- \n
- how well set up for on-page SEO Squarespace is out of the box in 2024,<\/li>\n
- how you can configure your Squarespace site to rank higher in Google,<\/li>\n
- the technical SEO issues we found on the platform<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Let\u2019s get started with a summary.<\/p>\n
Content<\/div>- In Summary: Is Squarespace good for SEO?<\/a><\/li>
- How we tested the SEO capabilities of Squarespace<\/a><\/li>
- Squarespace SEO: The good, the bad, and the ugly<\/a><\/li>
- On-Page SEO Fundamentals: How does Squarespace measure up?<\/a><\/li>
- In conclusion: Squarespace is only suitable for website owners who don\u2019t wish to optimize their site fully<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n
In Summary: Is Squarespace good for SEO?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Squarespace\u2019s main attraction for small business owners is its quick and easy, \u201cpoint and click\u201d way of setting up a website. No technical knowledge required, just click through the setup wizard and you can be online in a matter of hours.<\/p>\n
![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-home-page.png\")
<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not really a CMS designed to be tinkered with. It\u2019s designed to get your business up and running on the web. Fast. And it does that very well.<\/p>\n
But for those of us who like to tinker \u2014 looking for the ability to optimize every element of a website \u2014 that\u2019s a big drawback.<\/p>\n
So, unfortunately, our conclusion from three years ago still holds true:<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re serious about SEO, Squarespace is probably not a good choice.<\/p>\n
You can control some SEO basics. But there are either big gaping holes or (we feel unnecessary) hurdles to jump if you want to get more advanced.<\/p>\n
And everything that you can\u2019<\/em>t do to optimize your Squarespace site is something that a competitor on a different CMS might be able to do to gain an advantage.<\/p>\n
SEO is war. And you don\u2019t want to go riding into battle on a horse when your opponent is advancing towards you in a tank.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re going to cover in detail how Squarespace handles control of the SEO fundamentals.<\/p>\n
But first, here\u2019s a summary of our findings.<\/p>\n
![\"Squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Squarespace-SEO-Scoring.png\")
<\/p>\nHow we tested the SEO capabilities of Squarespace<\/strong><\/h2>\n
We set up a small site on a Squarespace business plan.<\/p>\n
![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-plans.png\")
<\/p>\nWe chose a popular theme and loaded the site with demo content.<\/p>\n
And we also tested two of the most popular themes listed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The tests included manual review, running the Squarespace sites through our own SEO audit tool<\/a>, and testing using third-party tools such as Google\u2019s PageSpeed Insights and GTMetrix.<\/p>\n
Squarespace SEO: The good, the bad, and the ugly<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Before reviewing Squarespace\u2019s control of on-page SEO factors, let\u2019s run through some of the SEO highlights (and lowlights) of the platform.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll kick things off with a positive.<\/p>\n
Good: Squarespace\u2019s HTML code is (comparatively) clean<\/strong><\/h3>\n
It\u2019s certainly not an SEO deal breaker. But we believe there\u2019s an advantage to having clean, bloat-free code on the front end of your website.<\/p>\n
Visual page builders can generate some seriously ugly code.<\/p>\n
However, we were pleased to see that the HTML code Squarespace generates is relatively clean.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s still a bit of \u201cDIVception\u201d (DIVs inside DIVs for no particular reason) when it comes to layout. But for content, a paragraph is a paragraph, and a heading is a heading.<\/p>\n
![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-HTML-code.png\")
<\/p>\nWe could do without the duplicated inline style for each tag. But at least there\u2019s no weird wrapping each paragraph in a div, and the text within it in a span like this hot mess from another CMS we tested\u2026.<\/p>\n
![\"wix](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/wix-code-bloat.png\")
<\/p>\nSquarespace\u2019s HTML code is not perfect. But it\u2019s definitely not the worst we\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n
Good: Simple integration with Google Search Console<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Google Search Console can give you valuable insight into:<\/p>\n
- \n
- the keywords driving impressions and traffic to your site from Google<\/li>\n
- any issues Google found while crawling it<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
But for non-technical users, setting up and verifying Google Search Console can be a little tricky. Squarespace makes it easy.<\/p>\n
Just head over to Analytics > Search Keywords<\/em>, click the button to connect with Google, allow access, and you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n
![\"google](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/google-search-console-integration.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"google](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/google-search-console-integration-1.png\")
<\/p>\nHere\u2019s the full (incredibly simple) process<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Bad: Out-of-the-box Squarespace sites are likely to fail Core Web Vitals<\/h3>\n
Google\u2019s \u201cPage Experience\u201d update rolled out on mobile in summer 2021 and came to desktop as well in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n
To recap, Page Experience assesses several UX and security features (HTTPS, mobile-friendly, no intrusive interstitials) and measures speed and layout stability through three \u201cCore Web Vitals\u201d metrics.<\/p>\n
![\"google](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/google-page-experience.png\")
<\/p>\nYou can read our full rundown on Core Web Vitals here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
And the bad news is that \u2014 while ticking the UX and security boxes \u2014 our test site (and the popular themes we tested) all failed Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n
![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-core-web-vitals.png\")
<\/p>\nWhile Cumulative Layout Shift may be good, the speed issues are likely harder to overcome as they are patially caused by blanket loading of core scripts and styles, even when not utilized.<\/p>\n
Indeed, JavaScript execution time accounted for over 4.5 seconds of total load time.<\/p>\n
![\"unused](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/unused-scripts.png\")
<\/p>\nThere are certainly gains to be made through speed optimization, but you\u2019re starting on the back foot.<\/p>\n
That being said, starting on the back foot doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s impossible. And, as a matter of fact, the Core Web Vitals Technology Report<\/a> shows over 65% of Squarespace sites online seem to pass Core Web Vitals which is actually a surprisingly high number.<\/p>\n
![\"Core](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Core-Web-Vitals.png\")
<\/p>\nAnd as you can see from the graph, Squarespace has constantly improved its CWV metrics over the past years.<\/p>\n
Bottom line:<\/p>\n
Out of the box, Squarespace sites seem to be slow and don\u2019t have great Core Web Vitals. However, it\u2019s clearly possible to achieve a good score with enough work.<\/p>\n
Ugly: Lack of control over advanced SEO features<\/h3>\n
Want to edit your sitemap manually?<\/p>\n
Can\u2019t do it on Squarespace<\/a>.<\/p>\n
How about your robots.txt file?<\/p>\n
Not directly.<\/p>\n
For many small business sites this might not be an issue. But we\u2019d certainly like the option.<\/p>\n
And generally, we found the platform to be lacking when it comes to control of any (even semi) advanced on-page SEO factors.<\/p>\n
On-Page SEO Fundamentals: How does Squarespace measure up?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Now let\u2019s turn our attention to control of some of the fundamental on-page SEO factors.<\/p>\n
Does Squarespace cover them all?<\/p>\n
No. As in our last test in 2021, there are still big gaps. And on top of that, certain on-page SEO tasks are harder to do than they should be.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s our summary again.<\/p>\n
![\"Squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Squarespace-SEO-Scoring-1.png\")
<\/p>\nNote<\/strong>: having control of an SEO ranking factor is not equal to its optimization. SEO audit tools like Seobility<\/a> offer advice on how to properly optimize each element and find errors in optimization which may be holding back your site. See our SEO audit guide<\/a> for more information on how to fully optimize your website.<\/p>\n
SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Control in Squarespace<\/strong>: yes<\/p>\n
A page\u2019s title continues to be one of the most important on-page ranking factors. And a well-written meta description can help you get more click-throughs (although Google won\u2019t always use it).<\/p>\n
Squarespace lets you add and amend the SEO titles and meta descriptions for each page on your site.<\/p>\n
Just click the gear icon next to the page you want to edit, then select SEO.<\/p>\n
![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-titles-and-descriptions.png\")
<\/p>\nYou can edit your page\u2019s title and description, and preview how it will look in search.<\/p>\n
Tip<\/strong>: for more advanced previewing (including mobile preview), check out our free SERP Snippet Generator tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n
All good so far. But we do have a minor(ish) grumble.<\/p>\n
Squarespace lets you set up templated title formats for your pages. Below you can see we have this set to \u201cpage title (%p) \u2014 site title (%s)\u201d which is the default.<\/p>\n
Settings > Marketing > SEO Appearance <\/em><\/p>\n
![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-default-title-formats.png\")
<\/p>\nThis is useful. And generally including your brand in your titles is a good idea.<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s the problem?<\/p>\n
Well, you can\u2019t overwrite this title format on individual pages. And if there\u2019s a page where you want to go for a longer, keyword-rich title and remove your brand name to avoid truncation\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2026well, you would need to remove the template and add your brand name to all other pages separately.<\/p>\n
Which is rather annoying.<\/p>\n
Learn more about SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions<\/strong><\/h4>\n
- \n
- How to write the Perfect SEO Meta Description<\/a> (Seobility blog)<\/li>\n
- Meta Title \u2013 Definition + Best Practices<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Page slug \/ URL<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Control in Squarespace<\/strong>: yes<\/p>\n
We recommend creating short, descriptive, 2-3 word slugs, including the primary keyword (or phrase) for each page. Use hyphens to separate words.<\/p>\n
Squarespace automatically generates page slugs based on the page\u2019s title.<\/p>\n
You can also set\/change the page slug for each page on your Squarespace site under Website > Pages then clicking on the settings icon next to the page in question. . Under General you\u2019ll find the URL Slug field:<\/p>\n
![\"URL](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/URL-slug.png\")
<\/p>\nImportant<\/strong>: if you change the slug for a page, you\u2019ll need to set up a 301 redirect to point the old URL to the new one. This guide from Squarespace<\/a> covers how to do it.<\/p>\n
Learn more about URL slugs\/permalinks<\/strong><\/h4>\n
- \n
- Permalinks \u2013 Definition and examples<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Canonical URLs<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Control in Squarespace<\/strong>: not really<\/p>\n
On smaller sites, you probably won\u2019t need to worry about this.<\/p>\n
But if you have a series of similar pages on your site \u2014 i.e. targeting the same keywords, or with very small variations in content \u2014 there may be times when you\u2019ll want to set a canonical (master) URL.<\/p>\n
This helps to avoid duplicate content issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, while Squarespace will set a canonical URL for each page on your site automatically, there\u2019s no easy way to edit it. Which kind of makes it a bit pointless\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u00af\\_(\u30c4)_\/\u00af<\/p>\n
There is a workaround that you can use, though it\u2019s not the most user friendly one and only works for pages and not blog posts.<\/p>\n
To change the canonical tags for an individual page in squarespace, go to a page\u2019s settings and navigate to Advanced. You can add custom code to the page here.<\/p>\n
![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-noindex.png\")
<\/p>\nCopy and paste the following script, making sure to change \u201chttps:\/\/example.com\/abc\u201d to the URL you want to set as the canonical.<\/p>\n
<script>
\ndocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {
\nvar canonicalLink = document.querySelector('link[rel=\"canonical\"]');
\nif (canonicalLink) {
\ncanonicalLink.href = \"https:\/\/example.com\/abc\";
\n} else {
\ncanonicalLink = document.createElement(\"link\");
\ncanonicalLink.rel = \"canonical\";
\ncanonicalLink.href = \"https:\/\/example.com\/abc\";
\ndocument.head.appendChild(canonicalLink);
\n}
\n});
\n<\/script>
\n<\/code><\/p>\nSo, although it\u2019s technically doable, they don\u2019t make it easy for you!<\/p>\n
Learn more about canonical URLs<\/strong><\/h4>\n
- \n
- Canonical Tag \u2013 Definition + Best Practices<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Index control (robots meta tag)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Control in Squarespace<\/strong>: partial<\/p>\n
The robots meta tag instructs Google to either index (1), or not to index (2) a page:<\/p>\n
- \n
- <meta name=\u201drobots\u201d content=\u201dindex, follow\u201d> \u2013 index this page please Google<\/em><\/li>\n
- <meta name=\u201drobots\u201d content=\u201dnoindex, follow\u201d> \u2013 ignore this page please Google (but follow the links on it)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
You don\u2019t actually need the first one as (assuming your page meets their quality standards) indexing is Google\u2019s default action. But it doesn\u2019t do any harm to have it in place.<\/p>\n
Squarespace lets you add a noindex robots tag to a regular page by checking the \u201cHide Page from Search Results\u201d box.<\/p>\n
![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-noindex-blog.png\")
<\/p>\nBut they don\u2019t let you noindex individual blog pages\u2026<\/p>\n
![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-noindex-blog-1.png\")
<\/p>\nFor some reason, they\u2019ve taken an \u201call or nothing\u201d approach in the blog. Your only option is to noindex everything<\/em>.<\/p>\n
![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-noindex-blog-2.png\")
<\/p>\nNot exactly ideal.<\/p>\n
Learn more about index control<\/strong><\/h4>\n
- \n
- What is noindex and how do you implement it?<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Heading Tags (h1, h2, h3 etc)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Control in Squarespace<\/strong>: partial<\/p>\n
Heading tags (h1, h2, h3, etc) help Google understand the structure, and topic(s) of your page.<\/p>\n
They should be properly nested.<\/p>\n
For example, an h1 tag would generally be the main topic (level 1), an h2 could be a subtopic (level 2), and an h3 could be a sub-sub topic (level 3), etc:<\/p>\n
<h1>Pets<\/h1> (topic of the page)<\/em>
\n<h2>Goldfish<\/h2> (subtopic)<\/em>
\n<h3>Caring for your goldfish<\/h3> (subtopic of goldfish)<\/em>
\n<h4>Clean your fish\u2019s tank regularly<\/h4> (subtopic of caring for your goldfish)<\/em>
\n<h2>Cats<\/h2> (subtopic)<\/em>
\n<h3>Caring for your cat<\/h3> (subtopic of cats)<\/em>
\n<\/code>
\nSquarespace allows you to set heading tags from h1-h4.<\/p>\n![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/squarespace-heading-tags.png\")
<\/p>\nWhile this should cover most content, there are definitely times when you might want to go down to h5, and possibly even h6.<\/p>\n
So the platform setting this hard limit may prevent you from fully optimizing your content.<\/p>\n
Learn more about heading tags<\/strong><\/h4>\n
- \n
- How to use headings \u2013 SEO Best Practices<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Schema markup<\/h3>\n
Control in Squarespace<\/strong>: kind of<\/p>\n
Schema markup is a type of structured data that can help Google understand:<\/p>\n
- \n
- the type of content on a page (i.e. recipe, review, product, article),<\/li>\n
- the entity behind the website (i.e. organization),<\/li>\n
- and can also be used to show additional search features (rich snippets)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If you\u2019re not familiar with schema and its impact on SEO, we recommend reading our rich snippets guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n
You can add custom schema markup to a regular page on a Squarespace site. But you\u2019re going to have to do it using their \u201ccode injection\u201d functionality, which you\u2019ll find under \u201cAdvanced\u201d in page settings.<\/p>\n
![\"schema](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/schema-injection.png\")
<\/p>\nNote<\/strong>: you\u2019ll need to generate the schema markup yourself. We recommend this free tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A little unintuitive, but at least it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n
The bad news however is there\u2019s no code injection option for blog posts. Which means you won\u2019t be able to add custom schema to a blog post.<\/p>\n
Learn more about structured data and rich snippets<\/strong><\/h4>\n
- \n
- Rich Snippets: Everything You Need To Know<\/a> (Seobility blog)<\/li>\n
- How to Add Schema to Squarespace Websites<\/a> (Brian Curb)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Image SEO<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Control in Squarespace<\/strong>: yes<\/p>\n
The three most important elements of image SEO are:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Alt text (description of the image for screen readers and search engines)<\/li>\n
- File size (smaller = faster = better)<\/li>\n
- File name (we recommend using descriptive file names)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Let\u2019s start with a positive.<\/p>\n
If you forget to use a descriptive filename, Squarespace will let you change it. Which is a nice touch.<\/p>\n
When it comes to optimizing your images though, you won\u2019t get much help. While Squarespace will automatically create various sizes for you, they won\u2019t compress or optimize your images<\/a>.<\/p>\n
And as for adding alt text\u2026<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very easy to do by simply filling in the alt-text field.<\/p>\n
![\"filling](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/filling-in-the-alt-text-field.png\")
<\/p>\nLearn more about image SEO<\/strong><\/h4>\n
- \n
- Image SEO: How to optimize images for SEO<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n
- Alt Attributes \u2013 Purpose + Requirements<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
HTTPS<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Does Squarespace run over HTTPS?<\/strong> yes<\/p>\n
HTTPS has been a confirmed Google ranking signal since 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n
And today there\u2019s really no excuse for any site to still be running over HTTP. Notwithstanding any SEO benefits, it\u2019s unsecure.<\/p>\n
So we\u2019re pleased to say that every Squarespace site (whether on a custom domain or not) runs on HTTPS.<\/p>\n
Learn more about HTTPS<\/strong><\/h4>\n
- \n
- What is https and why is it important for you?<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Robots.txt file<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Control in Squarespace<\/strong>: not really<\/p>\n
A robots.txt file allows you to stop search engine bots from accessing certain areas of your site.<\/p>\n
For example, you might have a section with user-generated content that you don\u2019t want crawled or indexed by Google.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately while Squarespace will create a default robots.txt file for your site, there\u2019s currently no way to edit it manually. We would like to see them add this functionality in the future.<\/p>\n
That being said, in the website settings under crawlers (Settings > Website > Crawlers), you can choose to block search engine crawlers and\/or AI crawers sitewide.<\/p>\n
This doesn\u2019t give you much control, but it\u2019s something I guess\u2026<\/p>\n
Learn more about Robots.txt<\/strong><\/h4>\n
- \n
- What is a robots.txt file and how do you create it?<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
XML Sitemaps<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Generated by Squarespace<\/strong>: yes<\/p>\n
An XML sitemap helps Google find (and index) all the pages on your site.<\/p>\n
Squarespace automatically sets up and maintains an XML sitemap for your site (pages, blog posts, etc), however, there is no way to edit it. But at least, noindex pages will be automatically removed from the sitemap.<\/p>\n
Learn more about XML Sitemaps<\/strong><\/h4>\n
- \n
- XML Sitemap \u2013 What is it and how to create one?<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Is Squarespace mobile-friendly?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
One word answer<\/strong>: yes<\/p>\n
When designing your Squarespace site, there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ll be focusing on how it looks on desktop.<\/p>\n
But mobile traffic overtook desktop traffic way back in 2017<\/a>. And Google has been prioritizing<\/a> the mobile version of your site for crawling and indexing for a while now.<\/p>\n
The good news is that Squarespace sites are fully responsive, and (speed issues notwithstanding) work well on mobile.<\/p>\n
Just make sure to preview how your site looks on both desktop and mobile. And remember it\u2019s the mobile version of your site that Google prioritizes. So if you have a feature that displays on desktop but not mobile, then Google may not take it into account when ranking your site.<\/p>\n
You can switch to mobile view by clicking the phone icon in the Squarespace editor.<\/p>\n
![\"phone](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/phone-icon-in-the-Squarespace-editor.png\")
<\/p>\nOther SEO Features Worth Mentioning<\/h3>\n
Squarespace SEO Checklist<\/h4>\n
Squarespace has its own SEO checklist<\/a> you can use to start optimizing your website. It only covers a portion of what you can do to optimize your site and doesn\u2019t go into great detail, but Squarespace isn\u2019t an SEO company and their users are mainly beginners.<\/p>\n
Overall, it\u2019s a good place to get started.<\/p>\n
That being said, once you get your site and the basics on the checklist set up, we recommend using our own website audit tool<\/a> to optimize your site.<\/p>\n
It gives specific recommendations for your site and goes into a lot more detail, allowing you to really make a difference in your SEO performance.<\/p>\n
In conclusion: Squarespace is only suitable for website owners who don\u2019t wish to optimize their site fully<\/strong><\/h2>\n
We don\u2019t like to talk negatively about a platform.<\/p>\n
But at the end of the day, technical SEO analysis (and of course recommendations for improvements) is what our tool is all about<\/a>. So it would be remiss of us to recommend a CMS platform where you are unable to fully optimize your site.<\/p>\n
There are just too many holes. And certain optimization tasks (like editing canonical tags) seem unnecessarily hard to complete. Unfortunately, Squarespace hasn\u2019t made significant improvements in this area over the past few years.<\/p>\n
But with that being said:<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re on Squarespace already or don\u2019t need control over every factor, like in the case of a hobby site, it can still be a good option for getting your site up quickly.<\/p>\n
Whether you choose to use Squarespace or not, our advice remains the same:<\/p>\n
- \n
- run a full SEO audit (you can follow this guide<\/a>),<\/li>\n
- allocate time to fixing issues and optimizing your site (where possible),<\/li>\n
- focus on creating high-quality content that helps your users and fully answers their search queries,<\/li>\n
- build your site\u2019s authority by earning high-quality backlinks (check out our recommended link building tactics here<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Note: This CMS review has originally been written in 2021 by David McSweeney and has been updated for 2024 by Bram Vergouwen. Bram is a SEO specialist with more than 6 years of experience working with companies across different countries and industries, providing customized SEO solutions and strategies that increase online visibility.<\/em><\/p>\n
In the other parts of this series, we reviewed the on-page SEO of Wix<\/a>, GoDaddy<\/a>, WordPress<\/a> and Joomla<\/a>. And we\u2019ve compared the SEO pros and cons of each CMS in a final roundup post<\/a>, where we also revealed the best CMS for SEO.<\/em><\/p>\n
- run a full SEO audit (you can follow this guide<\/a>),<\/li>\n
- XML Sitemap \u2013 What is it and how to create one?<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- What is a robots.txt file and how do you create it?<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Alt Attributes \u2013 Purpose + Requirements<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Image SEO: How to optimize images for SEO<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n
- How to Add Schema to Squarespace Websites<\/a> (Brian Curb)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Rich Snippets: Everything You Need To Know<\/a> (Seobility blog)<\/li>\n
- How to use headings \u2013 SEO Best Practices<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- <meta name=\u201drobots\u201d content=\u201dnoindex, follow\u201d> \u2013 ignore this page please Google (but follow the links on it)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- <meta name=\u201drobots\u201d content=\u201dindex, follow\u201d> \u2013 index this page please Google<\/em><\/li>\n
- Canonical Tag \u2013 Definition + Best Practices<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Meta Title \u2013 Definition + Best Practices<\/a> (Seobility Wiki)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- How to write the Perfect SEO Meta Description<\/a> (Seobility blog)<\/li>\n
- How we tested the SEO capabilities of Squarespace<\/a><\/li>
- In Summary: Is Squarespace good for SEO?<\/a><\/li>