5 more answers to real Squarespace SEO questions | Squarespace SEO Series

5 MORE answers to real Squarespace SEO questions I’ve received recently

Coming in HOT with another round of real reader Squarespace SEO Q&As!

A while back I tried out a new type of blog post where I answered 5 real reader questions about Squarespace SEO. I picked questions that I get asked time and time again, and shared my answers in a public blog post so that everyone could be on the same page.

Well the numbers don’t lie - that post was a huge hit!

We’re back at it today with another round of 5 Squarespace SEO Q&As that come directly from you, my readers and audience.

As a Squarespace designer and writer who blogs/creates a lot of online content about the topic, people have come to know and think of me as an expert in this (super small) niche - heck, I literally created a whole course about it!. I don’t say this to #humblebrag but to let you know that thousands of people find my website every month through Google searches about “Squarespace SEO” and they usually end up sticking around and asking more questions. I want to share some of those real life questions about Squarespace SEO that have landed in my inbox recently, mostly coming from my newsletter subscribers (you guys are the best!).

You know how they say that there’s no such thing as a dumb question? I truly believe there isn’t - everyone starts out as a clueless beginner, a total newbie who has no idea what they’re doing. We only improve and get better by asking questions, learning as we go and seeking information from people who are a few steps ahead of us.

That’s why I’m so excited to share these real crowd-sourced Squarespace SEO questions with you today. I know that if one person is taking the time to ask the question, there are plenty of other people who have the same question but are too shy to hit ‘send’ on that email to me. I hope that many people can benefit from these answers and see that they aren’t alone in their questions!

Remember that SEO is an art, not a science. There’s so much to learn about Squarespace SEO which is why I have written about it a lot - it’s the most popular topic on my blog by far. Check out my Squarespace SEO page for more resources, blog posts & video tutorials and get your copy of my Squarespace SEO Checklist below for free!

SQUARESPACE SEO SERIES

This article is part of my series on Squarespace SEO. I have so many tips to share on the subject that it would have been crazy to put it all in one article! There are many misconceptions about Squarespace SEO which is why I've dedicate so many posts to this topic. Enjoy!

Click to view all posts in the Squarespace SEO Series

Visit my Squarespace SEO page for lots more resources.

Question 1 : “How do Youtube videos affect SEO?” / “Should I create Youtube videos to share/post on my website and will it affect SEO?”

Answer : Youtube is basically just another massive search engine except it’s focused on video content. Google owns Youtube which means that they are keeping an eye on all content, views, rankings, search terms and results on that platform as well. If you create a Youtube account and link it to your website, Google sees that, makes note of it and values your content more than random, not-connected profiles and sites.

When you create Youtube videos, you’re essentially leveraging another platform from which you can redirect people back to your website. You’re also getting double the SEO goodness from two connected platforms.

For example, you might create a blog post that contains both written text and an embedded Youtube video of you talking about subject (reiterating what you’ve already written about, doesn’t have to be anything fancy). This way, someone could find your written blog post through Google/Pinterest/whatever, but they could also find your stand-alone video on Youtube. They’d then watch the Youtube video and click through to your website from the link in your description or the call-to-action (CTA) in your video..

Or let’s say you sell a product on your website. You could create a Youtube video that showcases the features, benefits, updates, etc. to that product and share it on both your website AND your Youtube channel. You can see that I’ve done that here for my Website Growth Tracker spreadsheets.

Another creative way to use Youtube for SEO is by sharing a past live video replay on Youtube. You could upload that replay to Youtube and again, in the description make sure that you’re using lots of keywords and directing viewers back to your website.

See what I mean? You’re getting double the SEO goodness when you create Youtube videos and share them on your website. The goal here is to create content across multiple platforms because Google isn’t the only place people search online.

You probably know that Google crawls all written content on the web for keywords to deliver in search results, but did you know that Youtube pays attention to this too? If you’re creating video content on Youtube, it’s SO important to use clear, keyword rich titles and descriptions so that your content can be properly understood. If Youtube knows what your video is about, it’s way more likely to be returned in search results because you’ve given them context, content and scope.

Along those lines, if you’re creating videos to share on Youtube I definitely recommend using playlists to organize related content on your channel. It’s another way to group together related content and make sure that Youtube “sees” what type of content you’re creating, the keywords you’re focused one, and what niche you’re specializing in.

I’m not an expert in Youtube marketing but if you want to learn more about the topic, my friends Sunny Lenarduzzi and Jessica Stansberry have a TON of amazing content and will teach you everything you need to know.

Related : Check out my Youtube channel!

Question 2 : “Are video headers/backgrounds bad for SEO?”

Answer : If the video background/header slows down your website’s load time then yes, you will be penalized in search result ranking. This is because Google (another other search engines) want to return websites with quality content that have a positive user experience. If your site takes a long time to load because of the video, then Google sees this as a “bad” user experience and won’t prioritize you in search results.

That being said, most video backgrounds are very short clips (rarely more than a few seconds long) that play on loop, so that probably won’t slow down your site enough to negatively affect SEO. Be aware of the file size and video length, but odds are it’s fine. You can always double check your website’s site load time by using a tool like Google’s PageSpeed Insights.

Question 3 : “Does parallax scrolling affect SEO?”

Answer : It can, but it probably doesn’t. So long as the image/video that you use aren’t enormous (i.e., check the file size), they probably won’t slow down your site load time. This means that the user experience probably won’t be affected and you won’t be penalized by search engines for poor website performance.

So go ahead, include parallax scrolling on your website as a fun design feature and don’t fear that it will bomb SEO for your site!

Question 4 : “Is it a good idea to create related blog posts for more SEO?” / “Does related content rank higher in search results?”

Answer : You already know that search engines are constantly crawling websites to index content and see what kind of recurring keywords/keyphrases/topics are on your site. If they notice certain terms coming up over and over again, they’re more likely to see you as an authority site in that specific area because in their “mind”, you’re contributing a lot of content to that topic.

This is why I keep nagging on you to stick to a certain niche with your website!

The more quality content you create on a specific topic, the more likely search engines will be to return your content in search results. Again, this is because they see you as an authority site.

Obviously you don’t want to create useless filler content just for the sake of it, that would be a total waste of time. But yes, related content is definitely beneficial for SEO.

Blogging is a powerful way to create related content that will improve your website’s SEO. Identify your topic(s) and write valuable content about all areas of that niche.

For example, if you have a law firm website you could write a whole whack of blog post that will get picked up for SEO. Create posts that explain your services, what to know before hiring a lawyer, how to prepare for trial, what documents your lawyer will need before working with you, etc.

Or imagine you run a gardening website. There are SO many related blog posts you could create! Write about how to prepare your garden for winter, what plants will last all winter long, what bulbs to plant in the fall/winter that will blossom in the spring, what gardening tools your recommend, what to do with fallen leaves in your garden, etc.

Related content is definitely good for SEO so I strongly recommend that every website has a blog and that you create regular, quality blog posts to share with your audience that will also rank will in search results.

Question 5 : “Should I bother submitting my site to search engines besides Google?” / “Do I really need to submit my site to Bing/Yahoo?” / “Will SEO drop if I only submit my site to Google?”

Answer : I believes that your website will only benefit from being submitted and indexed by other search engines besides Google, but it’s totally up to you. Google definitely dominates online searches but it’s not the only player in the game. Even if YOU aren’t using other search platforms like Bing or Yahoo, you’d better believe that millions of other people are.

If you genuinely want to improve your website’s rankings and are interested in better SEO, I strongly recommend that you submit your website to Yahoo and Bing, at the very least.

I also recommend that you hop over to your website’s Analytics tab and see if any other search engines are referring significant traffic to your website. If they are, be sure to submit your site to them. This is especially important for sites in languages other than English or that serve international audiences. For example, if a lot of your website traffic comes from Russia, you’ll want to make sure that your site has been submitted to Yandex. I know this doesn’t apply to every website out there but it could be something to consider.

Here’s a list of the most popular search engines, in case you want to submit your site to them too.

It won’t take more than a few minutes for each one and I promise you can do it, it’s not a technical challenge. I believe in you!

Final Thoughts

I’m always thrilled to hear from my blog readers and newsletter subscribers that you’re enjoying this Squarespace SEO content. SEO can definitely seem like an overwhelming topic when you’re first starting out and I’m happy to help guide you through it!

The questions above are just a few examples of Squarespace SEO inquiries I receive on a regular basis and I hope that the answers clear things up and point you in the right direction to learn more.

Check out the other Squarespace SEO Q&A blog posts I’ve done here:

Now it's your turn to tell me, what Squarespace questions are keeping you up at night? Are you just getting started with Squarespace SEO or have you already dabbled in it? Are these answers what you’d expect to see?

Leave me a note down in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them. No matter what type of website you have, it will benefit from SEO so I encourage you to start where you are and work on improving your SEO a little bit every week.

If you want more SEO goodness, be sure to check out my Squarespace SEO page for all resources on the topic.

You can also sign up for my newsletter (right here or below), where I often share Squarespace SEO tips, tricks and high-quality exclusive content. I send out emails to my list every week and while I don’t talk about SEO every time, I can guarantee that you’ll still find the newsletter topics interesting, entertaining and worth your time.

Finally, shameless plug : hit me up with any specific questions you have about Squarespace SEO and your website because I’m your girl. You can reach out to me directly if you’re interested in working together on your website and we can talk about whether or not you would be a good fit for my consulting and ongoing services. I can’t take on every request to do SEO consulting but I do pick a few websites and businesses to work with every month and I’d love for you to be one of them.