Squarespace is a popular website builder known for its easy-to-use templates and drag & drop editor. With its all-in-one platform, Squarespace makes it simple for anyone to create a professional looking website without needing to know coding.
However, some people question if Squarespace is actually bad for SEO. Compared to WordPress which offers endless customization, Squarespace can feel restrictive. There are concerns around whether Squarespace allows enough flexibility to optimize pages for search engines.
In this 2024 update, we clear up common concerns around Squarespace and SEO. We’ll walk through tips to optimize Squarespace sites for search along with an SEO comparison to other popular site builders. By applying key best practices, you can maximize organic traffic even within the constraints of an all-in-one platform.
What Does Squarespace Offer for SEO?
While not as customizable as WordPress, Squarespace does come prepared with some helpful built-in SEO features:
- Metadata Fields: Squarespace allows you to customize title tags, meta descriptions, alt text, and more. This metadata shows up in search engine results and helps engines understand your content.
- Structured Data: Enable structured data to have Squarespace automatically generate rich snippet markup. This can result in eye-catching search appearances.
- Sitemaps: XML sitemaps are created to guide search bots in indexing all of your site pages.
- SEO Preview: See how your pages will look in search to optimize content.
- Analytics Integration: Easily integrate Google Analytics to track important traffic and performance data.
In terms of page speed and technical SEO, Squarespace also performs well. Default Squarespace templates are clean and speed optimized.
So while Squarespace does limit extreme customization possibilities, it certainly offers the SEO capabilities needed for most small businesses. With its user-friendly approach, Squarespace makes SEO accessible for non-technical site owners.
Potential Downsides of Using Squarespace
While Squarespace is designed for simplicity, this does introduce some limitations:
- Limited Design Flexibility: The template-based approach restricts heavy customization of site design and layout. You must rely on Squarespace for template upgrades rather than freely modifying CSS and structure.
- Technical Constraints: Sites are hosted on Squarespace’s shared servers, meaning you can’t configure backend settings. Migrating away from Squarespace also introduces challenges.
- Fewer SEO Plugins: The plugin ecosystem doesn’t compare to WordPress. If you want niche site enhancement tools, they likely don’t exist.
The Strengths of Squarespace for SEO
However, don’t write Squarespace off. Their design and performance make SEO success possible for small sites:
- User-Friendly SEO Features: Metadata fields, sitemaps, and SEO previews allow tweaking content for search without needing technical skills.
- Integrated Performance: Default Squarespace templates are speed-optimized for site performance metrics search engines measure.
- Some Design Flexibility: While templates do limit options, users can still edit HTML/CSS code for further customization.
Is Squarespace Bad for SEO?
No – Squarespace offers ample SEO capabilities out of the box for many small businesses. However, be aware of its limitations if you require heavy customization or advanced configurations.
Built-in features like customizable metadata, sitemaps, and decent performance scores do benefit SEO. But the inability to modify templates heavily or change server settings can be restricting.
Overall Squarespace is SEO-friendly given its balance of simplicity and customization – but won’t match WordPress for maximum modification potential.
Optimizing Squarespace Sites for SEO
While Squarespace is not inherently bad for SEO, site owners do need to take advantage of built-in features and best practices to maximize search visibility.
Take Advantage of Built-In SEO Features
Squarespace offers basic on-page SEO customizations right within its template settings. You can set up descriptive page titles, meta descriptions to improve click-through rates, and structured data to help search engines understand your content. Additionally, all premium Squarespace templates allow adding alt text to images to aid visual searches.
Improve Page Speed Score
Fast load times are a ranking factor for Google and other search engines. To optimize speed:
- Compress and resize images properly
- Enable caching plugins to lower server response time
- Minify CSS and JS files through available extensions
Enhance On-Page SEO
Creating SEO-friendly content is key. When publishing pages and posts, be sure to:
- Craft descriptive headers and titles
- Structure content with heading tags
- Use keywords appropriately
- Interlink related content
The optimized on-page elements help search bots crawl and index Squarespace sites effectively.
Build High-Quality Backlinks
Like any site, Squarespace sites rely heavily on backlinks from external sites to improve domain authority. Some proven tactics include:
- Guest posting on niche blogs
- Securing brand mentions and link inserts in publications
- Running digital PR campaigns
The more quality sites linking back, the better a Squarespace site will rank in SERPs.
Squarespace vs. Other Platforms: An SEO Comparison
How does Squarespace stack up against other popular site builders when it comes to SEO? Here is a brief comparison:
- WordPress offers more SEO customization with open-source plugins but requires more technical expertise.
- Wix and Weebly have similar SEO capabilities as Squarespace but lag in site speed.
- Squarespace has better SEO than pure website builders like Webflow or Duda which focus on the front end.
Overall, Squarespace strikes a solid balance in SEO features among closed-source no-code platforms. It isn’t as customizable as WordPress but enables basic on-page SEO without web development skills. The sleek templates and performance optimizations also give it an edge for organic search compared to competitors.
Future of SEO on Squarespace
As search algorithms and trends evolve, Squarespace will need to iterate their products to help users adapt. We may see upgrades like:
- Built-in schema types for more industries
- Smarter content editing aids related to SEO
- Further page speed and image optimization options
- More granular analytics related to search performance
With Google increasingly focusing on sites tailored to mobile devices, Squarespace may have a leg up. Its modern templates account for the shift to mobile-first indexing.
Squarespace seems committed towards democratizing good SEO for anyone building a professional online presence. While some technical users may still prefer WordPress, Squarespace should only continue improving its native SEO capabilities in the years ahead.
What SEO Professionals Say About Squarespace
Many industry leaders recognize Squarespace strikes a balance between usability and customization. Here’s what a few top SEO practitioners think:
“Squarespace has come a long way in SEO capabilities. With its fast load times and mobile-friendly templates, you can absolutely get Squarespace sites ranking.” – Aleyda Solis, SEO consultant and founder of Orainti
“It’s not as configurable as WordPress but Squarespace offers the SEO fundamentals today. Just focus on creating quality content, links, and leveraging the built-in metadata and speed optimizations.” – Rand Fishkin, Wizard of Moz
“I’ve ranked Squarespace sites well for competitive keywords before. You have to play smart with technical and content priorities. But it can be done without having to migrate platforms.” – Ahrefs, SEO blog
While more customization in open-source CMS can make complex SEO easier, Squarespace now provides reliable SEO basics for the average user.
Recent SEO Improvements in Squarespace (2024)
Squarespace continues enhancing SEO capabilities:
- Added more control over alt text, link labeling
- Further improved page load performance
- Launched Squarespace Metrics for search analytics
- Expanded e-commerce structured data schemas
By listening to user feedback, Squarespace now rivals other closed-source site builders in SEO while maintaining its simpler user experience.
Conclusion
Squarespace does come with some SEO limitations compared to open-source CMS. However, for many website owners, the benefits of fast setup and built-in mobile optimization outweigh the need for advanced configuration.
By focusing efforts on publishing high-quality content and securing backlinks rather than technology restrictions, Squarespace sites can absolutely perform well in SEO.
The platform continues to rapidly evolve its native search capabilities. For the average personal brand or small business not requiring complex functionality, Squarespace provides an optimal balance of usability and customization.
