My Favorite SEO Hacks in Squarespace

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an absolute must and should not be ignored. With the right SEO, your blog and income have the opportunity to grow tremendously because it will drive search engine peeps to your website. If you are a content creato…

Alright, I'll be honest, talking about SEO is boring. Seriously, Search Engine Optimization? Doesn't that bring you back to that one course with the professor who had the most monotone voice that nearly put you to sleep every class? Perhaps, but trust me, SEO is one of the most important aspects of your blog and business. I was clueless before I learned to blog, and I'm still learning. Getting found on Google is possible by implementing SEO into your posts and website. I'm going to tell you a few different things you can do for your small business as a creative entrepreneur to get found on Google. And don't forget to stick around to the bottom of this post for my own checklist I use every time I publish a blog post!

SO EMMA, WHAT IS SEO AND HOW CAN IT HELP MY OWN BUSINESS?

Search Engine Optimization refers to the different strategies and techniques used to improve your site's ranking on Google. Relevancy on Google is important if you want to get found. Every time you search for something on Google and hit "enter", Google searches for the most relevant websites to show up on top. Those businesses that pop of first implement techniques and keywords to ensure Google finds them and ranks them at the top. Google searches for sites that they trust. Trust is built and gained by developing strong SEO. The content you share on your website is the most important aspect of your site. When someone clicks into your site, do they know who you are and what you do? Is your blog consistent with the content you share? These are things to think about anytime you publish a post. Before I knew anything about blogging or business in general, my blog made no sense. I was not consistent and I struggled to find my voice. Once I found it and knew what I wanted to share with my readers, my business grew. Goggle is primarily focused on connecting its readers with relevant content. When you Google "Wedding Photographer in Seattle, Washington" I guarantee you won't find links to anything other than content relevant to wedding photographers in the Seattle area.

So what can you do to boost your SEO on your website?

START NAMING YOUR IMAGES, YEP...EVERY SINGLE ONE.

While it may be slightly time consuming please trust me when I tell you that this is one of the most effective ways that you can boost your SEO. When you name your images with proper keywords will ensure that people can find you. Give your work the proper description it needs because I can guarantee Google will not like "IMG_0525" as much as "Stunning flatlay floral arrangement photography". You get the idea. Whatever you do, give it a description. Every single image on my websites have a description. Find a window to update your website or if you haven't already established a website make sure you title every single image. On Squarespace this is easy. Hover over your images, press "Edit" and add the description under "Filename". Think of it as each time you label one of your images you are telling Google what it is because while technology is advancing, there is no way for Google to know what an image is without proper keywords and text to really explain what it is.

Twigy's Home Office Collection-25 copy.jpg

BESIDES BEING CONSISTENT WITH YOUR CONTENT, PROVIDE VALUE TO YOUR READERS THROUGH YOUR CONTENT.

As stated above, value is important. This is what we like to call Evergreen Content. Evergreen Content is content that will still be relevant in the future. Google wants to recognize sites that they trust and that provide valuable and on point information to what people are searching for. An easy way to do this is when you are working in a blog post, make sure you use keywords that not only match and relate to your post title, but that you are doing it throughout the entire post. Getting found on Google by implementing SEO doesn't have to be too hard, it just takes a little organization and planning your posts. (See? I did it right there. I matched what is in my title to body of text. I make sure to do this throughout the post. Those titles serve as keywords.)

SPEED UP YOUR WEBSITE.

I didn't realize this when I first got started, but my website was so slow. I was using high resolution images that were completely bogging down my site and causing it to perform slowly. Google does not like slow websites. It is searching for sites that are fast, functional, and relevant. A tip here is to make sure that every single image on your website is no bigger than 72 dpi. Especially if you are a photographer like me, my website is packed full of images. It is crucial for SEO on your website that you limit file sizes.

AND LASTLY, GIVE IT TIME.

Did you know that SEO takes months to build? Even years? This one is a hard one to grasp because duh, you publish a post and want EVERYONE to see it right away but that just isn't how it works. It's hard to be patient but I've learned that building trust with Google takes time but once you are established and build your SEO, your content will be shared and it will be found. So hang in there, keep posting, keep delivering excellent content and be patient.

SEO sounds boring, but when you start to learn about Google and how to really optimize your website it becomes very interesting. I'm fascinated with the Internet and how Google analytics works for my own business. My best advice is to do your homework, learn everything you possibly can about implementing SEO and if you want to take it a step further to really set yourself apart, hire a professional. SEO implementation was an investment I deemed worthy for the long term benefits it will serve my business and me. I may not see changes overnight, but I know that because of my investment I have laid the solid foundation to continue to grow my business.