Super Basic SEO
I’m not going to sugar coat this one: SEO is complicated and challenging. It requires a lot of research and ongoing, active maintenance. It also requires patience. Even if you do everything right, a new website takes time to get indexed, and if you haven’t thought about your competitors, think again.
If SEO is a priority for you and your budget allows, hire an expert, even if it's short-term. If you aren't ready or able to do that yet. Here are a few basic tips to start you off on the right foot.
First of all, it’s important to understand that every page of your website is an SEO opportunity, so don’t just stop with your home page and think you’ve done enough. The basic elements of traditional SEO are (AI SEO is a whole other subject, which we will address separately):
Key words or phrases that can be used both in copy as well as SEO descriptions
SEO descriptions: these should be specific to each page
Meta Tags or SEO titles: hidden from the public but visible to Google
H1 tags: these tell Google that these words or phrases are the priority for your page
Link building: credible links to and from your site as well as links within your site
Blogs: if it feels organic to you a blog is a great tool to keep your site active and provides an easy way to include your keywords within the posts
Alt tags: adding descriptions to relevant images will not only boost your SEO but will also benefit person’s with disabilities, no need to do this for images that are simply decorative
Think local: if your business is local be sure to add the location in your SEO descriptions and make sure your address is not only listed on the contact page but under settings if your website allows.
FAQ sections: if you think about how people do Google searches, they sometimes start with a question, for example, “What is the best CMS tool for artists?” It’s still a very broad term, but could be used in an FAQ section or even as the title of a blog post.
Submit sitemap: You or your designer/developer, should index your site with Google and submit your sitemap.
Now let’s dive in with a bit more detail:
Let’s start with “keywords”. Think about what words or phrases someone would use to find you on Google. Ideally, you should research their ranking on Google. For example, I used the phrase “Squarespace Web Designer” and found that very few people search for that phrase, while “WordPress Designer NYC” ranked higher. This allowed me to update my copy and SEO descriptions to be more focused on actual, searchable terms.
For more advanced users, make a list of your competitors and their websites, and search for the keywords that they are being ranked for. Semrush is one example of a tool that you might use.
Now use them in the copy (text) on your website. Say what you mean and make it easy to read and understand for someone not in your field. Be authentic but think about AND USE your keywords and phrases (phrases are also called long-tail keywords). Learn more here.
The thesaurus is your friend. If you are a life coach, include that in your copy and SEO descriptions, but be sure to mix it up with other words and phrases someone might use: wellness coach or health coach for example.
Write and add an SEO description for each page. This is text that will not show up on the site but will show up in a search. The SEO description should be unique for each page. Do not cut and paste the same description to all pages. These should be written in full sentences - not just a list of keywords - and they should reflect the content on the page. For example, if you are writing about your services be sure to include a brief description or overview, and if you are writing for your about page, include something specific to you or your business.
Add additional phrases to your page title. For example, I have a page on my website titled "Work". That is the navigation name, but I've added the following to increase my SEO: "Work | Client Portfolio | Squarespace and WordPress Web Design".
We already discussed naming images, but adding ALT TEXT can help as well. Basically, ANYTHING you do on your site that’s considered ADAA-compliant will improve your SEO. Similar to someone who is visually impaired, Google can not "see" your images unless you add ALT TEXT. This should describe the image so if you have an image of a photo of a dog cuddling with a cat, include that.
So those are the very basics; SEO consists of far more than just keywords. It includes: site speed, link building, and oh so much more.
Again, if this is a priority for you, hire a pro, but when launching a new site something is always better than nothing. As you review your analytics, you will begin to learn what works and doesn't. My big, rather humbling takeaway from my personal experience is that originally used the phrase "Squarespace designer" over and over on my site, and after doing some research - and despite the fact that SS is 80% of my business - no one searches for it. I corrected this in my copy and descriptions, and look out, Google, I've been found.
If you are a Squarespace user, I highly recommend a subscription to SEO Space. It is a Chrome extension that scans your Squarespace site and provides actionable tips for how to improve your site to best optimize for SEO, including an AI tool that can help write your SEO titles and descriptions. There is a free and paid version. I recommend the paid version.
