Improve Your Squarespace Website's Visibility: 5 Crucial SEO Strategies

Why This Matters

There’s an all-too-familiar scenario for anyone launching a website: You’ve spent hours tweaking colours, fussing over fonts, and uploading photos that capture the spirit of your brand. Everything looks superb, at least on your screen. But after your big launch, you’re greeted by that awkward silence. Your analytics dashboard is more tumbleweed than traffic jam, and your beautiful work sits there, quietly ignored by the wider world (and Google).

Building a Squarespace website is easy; making it discoverable is where the real work begins. Visibility online is essential. For small businesses, freelancers, and creators, whether your website becomes an asset or a costly vanity project depends on discovery. If people can’t find your site, it might as well not exist. That leads to missed sales, enquiries, and opportunities, while your competition gathers them instead.

Having worked with hundreds of businesses launching on Squarespace, I see the same challenge repeatedly. Site launched? Check. Content added? Check. But nothing changes in the inbox. The missing piece isn’t luck or even advertising budget. You need search visibility so Google finds your site, values it, and includes it in search results when people need your products or services.

Fortunately, you can dramatically improve your site’s odds with some focused, practical SEO. Let’s get into the details.

Common Pitfalls

Let’s be frank: most people approach SEO on Squarespace as if it's a secret menu item—nice if you know what to order, but easily skipped without much harm. Here are the classic blunders:

1. Relying on Looks Alone
   If a site looks modern and professional, many assume Google will automatically approve too. In reality, Google couldn’t care less about your drop shadow.

2. Copy-Paste Content
   Tempted to “borrow inspiration” from competitor sites or AI content tools? Google is much less forgiving of repetitive or generic material than it used to be.

3. Ignoring Mobile
   Despite checking their own site on a phone, many don’t realise Google evaluates the mobile version first, not the desktop one.

4. Bloated Images and Videos
   High resolution looks great for your portfolio shots, but if the page takes longer than a coffee break to load, visitors leave quickly and your rankings suffer.

5. Assuming HTTPS is Optional
   If your visitors see “Not Secure,” they bail out faster than you can say “SSL certificate.” Google’s trust evaporates quickly as well.

6. Set-and-Forget Mindset
   A site without new content or updates grows stale in the eyes of both humans and search engines. You don’t need daily posts, but an untouched site collects dust digitally.

If you see yourself in any of those, don’t worry. Fixing these is more practical (and far more rewarding) than you might think.

Step-by-Step Fix

Bringing your Squarespace site into Google’s good graces isn’t magic; it involves disciplined, sensible improvements. Follow these five essential steps and you'll prepare your website for genuine discovery, not just a pretty portfolio hidden away.

1. Create Engaging, High-Quality Content

Why it matters: Google aims to direct searchers to content that answers real questions, solves problems, or provides useful information. Filling your site with half-hearted posts, tired sales pitches, or copied blurbs doesn't work. Becoming a resource should be your goal, rather than simply posting a brochure.

How to do it:

• Write for your audience first. If your customers tend to ask the same three questions, answer them in depth on your site.
• Use language they’d actually Google. If you’re a wedding photographer in Bath, don’t wax lyrical about “capturing moments” in general. Talk about wedding venues in Bath, or sample timelines for local couples.
• Make it skimmable. Use headings, short paragraphs, and clear calls to action.
• Update existing pages with fresh stats, new testimonials, or industry news. Even a yearly refresh signals activity to Google.
• Avoid keyword stuffing. Write naturally, but do identify 2 to 3 search phrases people actually use (Squarespace’s built-in Analytics can help here), and focus your content around them.

2. Optimise for Mobile Responsiveness

Why it matters: Over half of web traffic now comes from mobile. In addition, Google gives priority to the mobile version when it ranks sites. If your mobile view is an afterthought—tiny buttons, overlapping images, or endless scrolling—your search position will suffer.

How to do it:

• Use Squarespace’s device preview functions to check how your site looks on phones and tablets.
• Simplify navigation; hamburger menus or clearly labelled buttons work best on smaller screens.
• Avoid large blocks of text and enormous images, both of which are harder to digest on the go.
• If you get technical, you can use custom CSS media queries to hide or rearrange elements specifically on mobile devices.
• Don’t assume it works perfectly out of the box. Each template responds differently, so check that your images, forms, and galleries look right everywhere.

3. Improve Page Load Speeds

Why it matters: Speed is crucial for both visitors and search engines. If your homepage takes too long to open, visitors quickly leave and Google factors this into your ranking. For every extra second a page loads, your potential conversions drop.

How to do it:

• Compress images before uploading. Tools like compressor.io let you shrink file sizes dramatically without visible quality loss.
• Stick to JPEG for photography and PNG for graphics or logos with transparency. Squarespace does its own resizing, but don’t upload massive photos and expect miracles.
• Limit the number of third-party code snippets, pop-ups, or auto-playing videos. Each adds a split second that slows the site.
• Audit your site regularly. Use free tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights, noting any flagged issues related to image size or unused scripts.
• Remove unneeded blocks or unused sections on pages. Less clutter leads to faster loads.

4. Embrace HTTPS for Security and Trust

Why it matters: An unsecured site sends a warning to both visitors and Google. Chrome actively highlights non-HTTPS sites as “Not Secure,” which damages credibility and search ranking. People are far less likely to enter their email address when facing a security warning.

How to do it:

• One practical benefit of Squarespace: HTTPS is enabled automatically once your custom domain is live. There’s nothing extra to buy, install, or configure for basic coverage.
• Be sure you’re actually visiting your domain at https://yourdomain.com, not the “http” version. If you see a padlock in the browser, you’re set.
• If you inherited a legacy domain or custom configuration, triple-check that HTTPS is forced for all visitors. Squarespace’s settings panel lets you force secure connections site-wide.
• Mention your secure site status in forms, especially those collecting sensitive information. This reassures privacy-minded visitors.

5. Keep Your Website Fresh and Updated

Why it matters: Google values freshness and ongoing activity. A site last updated several years ago suggests to both Google and visitors that nothing new is happening. Regular updates, even if small, signal that your site is active.

How to do it:

• Set a recurring calendar reminder: every quarter, review your main pages. Update your services, swap out old staff bios, add recent testimonials, or check that all links work.
• Even “evergreen” content can use a date tweak, a new featured image, or a minor rewrite to keep it current.
• Add occasional news updates, case studies, or portfolio work to demonstrate you’re still active in your field.
• If blogging isn’t your thing, add an FAQ, event timeline, or resource list—something of value that can grow over time.
• Tie updates to key events in your year: launch of a new product, seasonal offers, or insights from recent projects.

What Most People Miss

Consistency is a hidden but important advantage to Squarespace SEO. Too many site owners focus on image compression one week or a blog post another, but do not maintain a routine. Google doesn’t reward a sudden burst of activity. It prefers ongoing signs of attention. Repeating small efforts carries much more weight than occasional, intense updates.

Another key point: SEO becomes much less effective if your site is hard to read, confusing, or obviously thrown together. Usability always underpins search performance. When your content helps real people, Google will notice. Neglect visitor experience and you’ll end up chasing technical fixes for minimal progress.

The Bigger Picture

If you manage SEO effectively, your work produces significant results beyond rankings. The impact includes:

• Effortless Discovery
  You stop paying for every click or mention. People searching for your product or expertise actually find you.

• Compound Benefits
  Every blog post, testimonial, or new snippet adds fuel to your search fire. Good SEO builds on itself over months and years.

• Professional Credibility
  Clients and collaborators feel more confident when Google reveals a regularly updated, fast, professional site for your business.

• Time Savings
  Answer questions proactively, filter out irrelevant visitors, and spend less time convincing people who aren’t a fit.

• Peace of Mind
  You get steady new opportunities reflected in your analytics, because your site is shown to the right people who need your services.

From my own projects, I can say the best-performing Squarespace sites I’ve seen aren’t the fanciest in appearance. The websites that answer their ideal customer’s real problems, avoid technical clutter, and stay current—even with minor monthly updates—consistently perform best.

Wrap-Up

Search engine visibility isn’t something you do just once. Think of it like garden maintenance: if you keep trimming, feeding, and making repairs as you go, you'll prevent weeds from taking over.

To sum up:

• Invest in content worth reading
• Make mobile a priority, not an afterthought
• Shrink your images and keep pages light and fast
• Only operate in secure mode—no excuses
• Keep showing signs of life through regular updates

If your Squarespace site isn’t performing, you don’t need to start from scratch. Focus on these five points. Consistently working on your site, not just in it, can produce real improvements surprisingly quickly.

Looking for more no-nonsense systems for better results? Join Pixelhaze Academy for free at https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership.

FAQ

Q: Why isn’t my Squarespace website showing up on Google?
A: Check for indexable content, make sure your images and pages load fast, and confirm you haven’t left large sections as ‘Coming Soon’. Also, submit your sitemap to Google Search Console. Squarespace generates one automatically at /sitemap.xml.

Q: Are Squarespace’s built-in SEO tools enough?
A: They cover the basics, but you still need to create quality content, use alt text, target the right search queries, and check performance regularly. There’s no “set and forget” button.

Q: Do I really need a blog?
A: You don’t have to blog, but you do need signs of recent activity. New case studies, guides, photos, or even updated FAQs will keep Google interested.

Q: How do I know what people are searching for?
A: Analyse your site’s own search queries in Squarespace Analytics, or look for common keywords in Google’s free Keyword Planner.

Q: Is compressing images really that important?
A: Yes, absolutely. Even beautiful sites can rank poorly if visitors bounce before a single photo appears. Always shrink files before uploading and let Squarespace resize from there.

Jargon Buster

• SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): The process of making your website more visible in search engine results.
• Mobile Responsiveness: An approach to design ensuring your website works easily on all device sizes, such as phones, tablets, and laptops.
• HTTPS: A secure way for your website and visitors’ browsers to exchange data, indicated by a padlock icon in most browsers.
• Alt Text: Text describing an image for accessibility and SEO; it helps search engines and screen readers understand what’s shown.
• Page Load Speed: How long, in seconds, it takes for your web page to become usable after clicking a link.
• Analytics: Tools and reports that show how many (and who) is visiting your site, what pages interest them, and how long they stick around.

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About the Author

Elwyn Davies is the founder of Pixelhaze Academy and an advocate for making great design genuinely accessible. He’s built and reviewed over a thousand Squarespace sites, coached new businesses through the visibility maze, and maintains an unreasonably strong opinion about button placement. When not helping others succeed online, he’s probably drawing cartoons or perfecting his tea-making process.

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