149 Squarespace SEO Advice

What should you do with the Squarespace SEO Tools & Updates

If you’ve recently logged into your Squarespace account and noticed a fresh new look to the SEO section, you might be hopeful that real improvements have been made. Unfortunately, as this episode of the podcast explains, the changes are mostly cosmetic. Despite the sleek new design, the underlying content and functionality remain largely unchanged—and underwhelming.

Meredith's husband, a seasoned web strategist, revisits his initial review of Squarespace's SEO checklist and finds it lacking in practical value. Although the platform’s layout may appear more modern, the core advice is still either irrelevant or overly generic. In fact, he cautions against relying on the SEO checklist at all, noting that much of it has little to do with search optimization and fails to offer real guidance to users looking to boost visibility.

More importantly, the rollout of the update seems inconsistent. Some accounts, like Meredith's, feature the new design, while others still show the outdated layout. This inconsistency can cause confusion, especially for those following along with tutorials or guides based on specific interface elements.

Instead of depending on Squarespace’s built-in guidance, he recommends two actionable steps:

• Use AI tools for efficiency: Squarespace recently released an AI feature that suggests image alt text and meta descriptions. His tip? Don’t manually enter alt text. Leave it blank and let the tool generate it for you later, in bulk—saving time and potentially improving consistency across your site.

• Skip the checklist, learn the fundamentals: Rather than relying on Squarespace’s own documentation, he has created a Squarespace Fundamentals course designed to walk users through meaningful, beginner-friendly SEO improvements. It’s currently available free for the first week via a link provided in the episode.

As a final takeaway, listeners are encouraged to look out for similar AI-powered SEO tools emerging on other platforms like Wix, Showit, or WordPress. These features are easy to implement and could become standard in many content management systems soon.