Squarespace gets unfair criticism for SEO. The platform isn't the problem — most Squarespace sites rank poorly because of five completely avoidable mistakes that their owners don't know they're making. Let's fix that.

I've audited hundreds of Squarespace sites over nine years. The same issues come up repeatedly — not because Squarespace is bad at SEO (it isn't), but because the default settings leave too much on the table and most people don't know where to look.

Mistake 1: Not customising page titles and meta descriptions

Every page on your Squarespace site has an SEO title and meta description. By default, Squarespace often populates these with your page name or your site title — which is generic, unhelpful, and a wasted opportunity.

Your page title is the single most important on-page SEO signal. It tells Google what the page is about and determines what text appears in search results. Your meta description doesn't directly affect rankings, but it determines whether someone clicks your result.

The fix:

• Go to Pages → [Page] → Settings → SEO
• Write a unique title for every page: [Primary Keyword] — [Benefit or Business Name]
• Keep titles under 60 characters and descriptions under 155 characters
• Include your location if you serve a specific area (e.g. "Business Coach London — James Harrington")
• Write meta descriptions that tell the reader what they'll get and why they should click

Mistake 2: Ignoring image alt text entirely

Alt text serves two purposes: it tells Google what your images contain (contributing to image search ranking and page relevance), and it makes your site accessible to users with visual impairments. Leaving alt text blank on every image is both an SEO miss and a legal accessibility risk in many jurisdictions.

Most Squarespace sites have dozens of images — and most have empty alt text fields by default.

The fix:

• Edit each image block → click the image → add Alt Text in the panel
• Describe the image specifically: "Executive coach James Harrington speaking at London conference 2025" beats "image1.jpg"
• Include relevant keywords naturally — don't keyword-stuff, but don't ignore keywords either
• File names matter too: rename images before uploading (executive-coach-london.jpg not IMG_4821.jpg)

Mistake 3: No local SEO setup

If your business serves a specific city or region — and most small businesses do — local SEO is your single biggest opportunity. Yet most Squarespace sites have no local SEO signals whatsoever: no location in headings, no Google Business Profile connected, no schema markup, no NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency.

According to Google (2023), 46% of all searches have local intent. "Business coach London", "therapist near me", "web designer Manchester" — these are high-converting searches that local businesses can absolutely rank for with the right setup.

The fix:

• Include your city/region in your homepage H1 and page title
• Create and fully optimise your Google Business Profile — this is free and powerful
• Add your full business address and phone number to your footer
• Add LocalBusiness schema markup via Squarespace's code injection (Settings → Advanced → Code Injection)
• Build local citations — consistent NAP across directories like Yelp, Yell, Clutch, etc.

Mistake 4: Slow loading speed from unoptimised images

Google's Core Web Vitals measure page experience — and loading speed is a direct ranking factor. The most common culprit on Squarespace sites isn't the platform itself (Squarespace uses a solid CDN), it's images that were uploaded at full resolution without compression.

A 6MB hero image from your phone will load slowly no matter how good the platform is. Google's PageSpeed Insights reports that pages taking over 3 seconds to load lose 53% of mobile visitors before they even see the page (Google, 2023).

The fix:

• Compress images before uploading: use Squoosh (free, browser-based) or TinyPNG
• Target under 200KB per image where possible — hero images can be up to 400KB
• Use WebP format where supported (Squarespace handles this automatically in newer versions)
• Enable Squarespace's built-in image rendering at appropriate sizes (don't upload 4000px images for a 400px thumbnail)
• Test your speed: Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix — aim for 80+ on mobile

Mistake 5: Thin or duplicate content across pages

Google evaluates the depth and usefulness of your content. Pages with fewer than 300 words of meaningful content — or pages where the content is nearly identical to other pages on your site — are penalised in rankings or simply not indexed prominently.

Common examples I see on Squarespace sites: a Services page with four three-line descriptions, an About page that's just a headshot and two paragraphs, or a Contact page with nothing but a form.

The fix:

• Each page should have at least 300–500 words of original, useful content
• Your homepage should clearly communicate what you do, who for, and why — at least 500 words of substantive copy
• Service pages should answer the real questions prospects have: what's included, what's the process, what results can they expect, what does it cost
• Don't duplicate content — if you have a services overview page and individual service pages, make each page add unique value
• Start a blog — even 4 posts per year creates indexable content and demonstrates expertise

Bonus: Don't forget to submit your sitemap

Squarespace automatically generates an XML sitemap at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Submit it to Google Search Console (free) so Google discovers and indexes your pages faster. This takes under five minutes and is completely free — there's no reason not to do it.

The bottom line

Squarespace is a capable SEO platform. The businesses that rank well on it aren't doing anything mysterious — they've just handled the basics properly. Page titles, alt text, local signals, image speed, and real content. None of this is technically complex. All of it makes a meaningful difference.

If you're not getting organic traffic to your Squarespace site, start with these five things before you consider anything else.