07: Squarespace SEO Myths - Debunked!
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00:13 Welcome to Think Inside The Square, a podcast fullof quick tips and tricks that will help youcreate a Squarespace website that you're proud of.
00:20 I'm your host, Becca Harpane, creator of Insidethesquare.co, and in this episode, you'll learn aboutthe top five SEO myths that you canignore when optimizing your site for search.
00:31 For a transcript of this episode, along with the links to any resources mentioned, visit insidethesquare.co/podcast
00:43 SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it's the artof making sure that your website will rank high insearch results when people are looking for it.
00:52 Now, at the time of recording this, there arealmost 2 billion live websites out there on the Internet, and more are made every single day.
01:00 So how do we make sure that yourwebsite gets in front of the right people?
01:05 You can optimize your content so that Googlewill list your website for specific searches.
01:10 Now, we're covering a lot of specific termshere, so if all of this is newfor you, definitely check out the podcast shownotes available at Insidethesquare.co/podcast
01:20 I have links and other resources there ifyou're brand new to all things SEO.
01:24 But let's assume you get the gist.Here are the top five Squarespace SEO myths - Debunked!
01:31 The first myth is that Squarespace isbad for SEO, and that's just not true.
01:36 There is no website development platform that's better thananother one because there are so many factors that
01:42 go into the search engine ranking for a website.
01:45 Can WordPress do some things better than Squarespace can? Absolutely.
01:49 Does Wix do some things better than showit? 100%.
01:53 Every single website development platform has pros andcons that contribute to its search engine rank.
01:59 But you as the content creator, have alot of control over the other important factors.
02:04 So Squarespace is a great platform that canget you ranking high in search engine results. Trust me.
02:11 My blog is number one for quite a few search queries, and it has been for years.
02:16 Myth number two you should write alt tags for Google andfit as many keywords into those alt tags as possible.
02:23 Do not do that, my friend.
02:25 That is known as keyword stuffing, and Google considers that to be a really spammy thing to do.
02:30 It's important to remember that these alt tags, also known as alternative text, they display for a screen reader.
02:37 So if that image doesn't load or someone's using a screen reader program to understand the content of your website, they don't want a list of keywords.
02:45 They want to know what it's supposed to be a picture of.
02:48 You need to describe the image for the people who are using your website.
02:52 Now, yes, you can use a keyword or two in that description, but make sure it's an accurate description so the people using your website will understand what the image actually is.
03:02 So, myth number two, you should write alt tags for Google and fit in as many keywords into those alt tags as possible. It's just not true.
03:11 SEO myth number three.
03:12 If you launch it, Google will find it.
03:15 That is not necessarily true. Google might find it eventually, but something you can do to make sure that Google knows your website content is there is to submit your sitemap on search console.
03:27 This is a free service provided by Google, and Squarespace writes your sitemap for you.
03:32 I have a link in the Show Notes to a Squarespace support article that will walk you through the process.
03:37 It's super duper easy. And when you submit your sitemap to Google, google will be aware of all the content that you've published, and it's much more likely to list your website sooner than you ever thought possible.
03:50 Myth number four: you'll be penalized for any duplicate content.
03:54 That myth is not true.
03:56 Now, to be super duper clear, I'm nottalking about taking content from someone else's websiteand putting it on your own.
04:03 That's called stealing, and that is bad.Don't do that.
04:06 What I'm talking about is thecontent that's on your website.
04:09 Let's say there's a paragraph about a particular service, and you want to have that same paragraph on multiple pages. That's okay. Google is not going to give you any red flags or warnings for having that content on multiple pages of your website.
04:22 It really doesn't care. But to be totally honest, it's not a good idea. If that's the only piece of content where you're optimizing for a keyword because you're competingwith yourself.
04:34 I'd recommend focusing every single page on your website around one keyword.
04:38 So if you do have duplicate content, make sure it's not essential for a particular strategy or strategy for a term you want to rank for, make sure it's only a superlative or additional text that just really contributes to the actual content of the page, but it's not your main source of optimizing for a specific term.
04:56 All right, onto the fifth myth. Page speed is the most important rank factor.
05:01 That, my friend, is not true. I've heard of a lot of people being afraid of putting custom CSS on their website or making any major changes to it because they think it'll slow down their site and it won't rank for anything.
05:13 Page speed is just one of many rank factors, and a lot of the other rank factors have more importance in the overall algorithm.
05:22 Now, this algorithm that Google uses to list websites and search results is constantly changing, and they don't give away all of their secrets.
05:30 But I know for a fact that page rank is not a significant factor in that algorithm. At the time of recording this, there are many other aspects of your website content that you can modify and change to improve your rank.
05:43 So those are my top fiveqSuarespace. SEO myths that I just had to hop in here and debunk.
05:49 I've got quite a few other things to say when it comes to SEOs, so look forward to a few future episodes about this topic.
05:56 And again, to check out the show notes, I've got a lot of other links and resources that I have to share with you about optimizing your site available at insidethesquare.co/podcast
06:06 Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Think Inside the Square.
06:10 I have a lot more tips and tricks to share with you about making an amazing Squarespace website that's uniquely yours, so be sure to subscribe to this brand new podcast wherever you happen to be listening to this episode.
06:22 Thanks again for listening, and most importantly, have fun with your Squarespace website. Bye for now.
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