Squarespace SEO Tips I Actually Give My Clients
Almost every training call ends up in the same place.
I'll be walking a client through their new site, and somewhere around page three they'll pause and ask: "But how do people actually find this?"
It's a fair question. You can have the most beautifully designed website on the internet, and if nobody's landing on it, it's not doing its job.
Here's what I don't say: Instagram more. Pin more. Run ads.
Those things have their place, but they're not where my brain goes first. My brain goes to Google. Because your dream client isn't scrolling for you right now. She's searching for you. "Brand designer for coaches." "Squarespace website designer near me." "Why does my logo look cheap." She's already typing the words. The question is whether your site is set up to answer her.
I've had clients tell me SEO feels like something only tech people understand, some invisible algorithm they'll never crack. It's not that complicated. It just needs a little intention. Here's the exact breakdown I give clients when they ask where to start.
01 - Know What They're Actually Searching
Before you change a single word on your site, you need to know what your dream client is typing into that search bar. Not the industry term you'd use for yourself. Her words.
If you're a therapist, you might call yourself a "licensed clinical provider specializing in relational trauma." She's typing "therapist near me who gets anxiety." That gap matters more than almost anything else in this whole process.
Once you know the phrase, it needs to show up in the obvious places: your page titles, your headers, your meta descriptions, the actual copy on the page. Naturally. If it reads like you're forcing it in, you are, and Google notices too.
I'm a brand partner with Go Live HQ, my go-to for premium Squarespace templates, and they've put together some of the clearest SEO breakdowns I've read. Their guide on keyword research is one I reference myself: How to Choose and Use Keywords to Rank on Google.
02 - Don't Make People Wait
Here's a scenario. Someone clicks your link from Instagram. Your site takes five, six, seven seconds to load. She's gone before she ever sees your face.
Speed isn't just a technical detail. It's the first impression your website makes before a single word of copy loads. Google ranks faster sites higher because a slow site is a bad experience, plain and simple, and Google would rather send people somewhere that doesn't make them wait.
If your images are massive, unedited files straight from your phone, that's usually the culprit. Compress them before you upload. It's a five-minute fix that makes a real difference.
03 - Confirm Google Actually Knows You Exist
This is the step almost everyone skips, and it's the one I bring up most.
You can have a gorgeous, keyword-rich, lightning-fast website, and none of it matters if Google hasn't indexed it yet. Think of it like opening a beautiful new storefront and never telling anyone the address exists.
The fix takes about five minutes: submit your sitemap through Google Search Console. Squarespace walks you through it here: Verifying Your Site with Google Search Console.
04 - Pay Attention to What's Actually Happening
I tell every client the same thing: SEO isn't a project you finish. It's something you check in on.
You don't need to obsess over it daily. But every few months, take a look at your traffic. Which pages are people landing on? What terms are bringing them there? Is anything trending up or down? That information tells you where to focus next, instead of guessing in the dark.
Squarespace's built-in analytics make this easy to track without any extra tools: Traffic Analytics in Squarespace.
05 - Prove You Know What You're Talking About
Once the technical pieces are handled, this is where you build real credibility with Google, and it comes down to two things.
Write. Every blog post is a new door into your website. A new chance to rank for a phrase your client is actually searching. I know copywriting isn't my lane (I leave that to the professionals and just hand my clients a copy prompt to get them started), but I can tell you with confidence: the businesses that publish consistently are the ones that keep showing up in search months and years later, long after a social post has disappeared into the void.
Get linked. When other reputable sites link back to yours, Google reads that as a vote of confidence. It's slower to build than the other steps, but it compounds over time.
The Part I Build In Without You Asking
Every website I build, whether it's The Styled Site or a Savvy Starter Site, already has SEO-friendly setup baked into the foundation. Page titles, meta descriptions, image alt text. You're not starting from zero the day your site goes live.
I don't offer full SEO strategy or copywriting as a standalone service, and I won't pretend I do. But I make sure the bones of your site are built to be found, so the work you put in after launch (the blogging, the backlinks, the ongoing attention) actually has something solid to build on.
If your site's been sitting there quietly instead of working for you, let's talk about what a stronger foundation could look like. Explore The Styled Site →
