Squarespace takes care of a lot of the technical side of SEO for you. Clean code, mobile-friendly layouts, an SSL certificate and a sitemap come out of the box. What it can’t do is tell Google who you are, where you work and why someone should hire you. That part is up to you, and it is mostly a matter of filling in a handful of fields properly and writing pages that say something useful.
Below is the checklist we would follow for a photographer’s or coach’s site, in the order that makes sense: first the setup, then the pages, then the habits that keep working after launch. Squarespace changes the names of its menus now and then, so if a setting is not where we say it is, search for it in the help panel.
Get the basics right before anything else
Start with a custom domain. A yourname.com address looks more professional than a squarespace.com one and it is yours if you ever move platforms. Then check that SSL is set to secure, so the site loads over https.
Next, fill in the site title and site description. Squarespace suggests keeping the site title under 60 characters and the description between 50 and 300. Skip the slogan and be plain: “Anna Ruiz, wedding photographer in Valencia” tells a search engine far more than “Timeless stories, beautifully told”.
Finally, connect Google Search Console, verify your site and request indexing for your main pages. Without it you are guessing which pages Google can see. Adding Bing Webmaster Tools takes a few minutes and it feeds other search tools too.
Give every page a title and a description that a person would click
Each page has its own SEO title and SEO description in its settings. Two things to aim for: the title says what the page is and where, and the description reads like a sentence a human wrote. Squarespace says descriptions should be between 50 and 300 characters, but the part people see in results is much shorter, so put the important bit first.
For a photographer that might be: Wedding photography in Valencia | Anna Ruiz. For a coach: Career coaching for burned-out managers | Marta Vidal. If the same title appears on five pages, change it. Each page should have a reason to exist.
Do the same with your URLs. /wedding-photography is better than /services-2. If you rename a page that already has traffic or links, add a URL redirect from the old address so nothing breaks.
Write real text on your main pages
This is where a lot of creative sites lose out. A portfolio page with 30 beautiful photos and no words gives Google very little to work with, and it also tells a potential client very little.
For photographers, a couple of paragraphs above or below each gallery is enough: what kind of sessions you do, where, what the day looks like, how to book. For coaches, your services page should say who you help, what problem they have, what working with you involves and what happens after they get in touch. Write it the way you would explain it to a friend, then tidy it up.
Use headings to organize the page (one main heading, then subheadings for each section), and link to your other pages when it makes sense, for instance from a blog post to the service it talks about.
Photographers: look after your images
- Rename the files before uploading. bride-and-groom-valencia-vineyard.jpg says more than IMG_4821.jpg.
- Write alt text for the images that matter, describing what is in the photo in a short sentence. It helps people who use screen readers as well as search.
- Keep file sizes down. Squarespace recommends images under about 500 KB. Heavy galleries slow the page, and visitors leave before they see your work.
- Say where you work. Put your city or region in your titles and page text, add your address and map to the contact page, and set up a Google Business Profile if you see clients locally.
Coaches: show who you help and prove it
- Have one page per main offer instead of a single “Work with me” page that tries to cover everything.
- Add genuine testimonials, with the client’s permission. If you do not have any yet, leave them out rather than inventing them.
- Write a blog post for the questions people ask before they hire you. “How do I know if I need a coach or a therapist?” is more useful than a generic motivational article.
- Make the next step obvious: a contact form or booking link on every important page.
Small things that still matter
Add a social sharing image so links to your site look good when shared. Create a custom 404 page with links to your main sections, so a broken link does not become a dead end. And set up a favicon, the little icon in the browser tab, because it makes the site feel finished.
If you are not sure what is missing, Squarespace has an SEO report tool that flags things like missing alt text and descriptions. It is a good first pass, though it will not tell you whether your pages are actually helpful.
After you publish
SEO is slow, and most of the work is boring consistency. Look at Search Console once a month to see which pages get impressions and which queries bring people in. Update pages when prices, services or availability change. Publish a new post when you have something worth saying, not to hit a schedule.
If you are still choosing a design, our guides to the best photography Squarespace templates and the best Squarespace templates for coaches are a good place to start, and How to Create a Website With Squarespace covers the first steps. If you are weighing it against Showit, read Showit vs Squarespace for Creatives. And for how AI search tools find sites, see How to Get Your Website Recommended by ChatGPT and Google AI.
Disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them, Market WP Themes may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and details come from each designer’s listing and can change, so check the product page before you buy.
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