Will SEO drop if you move your website from WordPress to Squarespace?

Um wow I can’t believe it has taken me so long to write about this topic because it literally comes up allllllll the time when I work with clients! Whether it’s with my custom website projects or SEO clients, this is a question that burns strong in everyone’s minds - for good reason!

Over the past few years, Squarespace has exploded in popularity and users LOVE how easy it is to use, how functional the platform is, how much control they have over their website’s design, and also how they’re set up for SEO success right from the start.

Squarespace doesn’t mess around - they WANT your website to grow as big as possible on their platform and reach massive audiences online. Think about it, that is a great look for them so you’d better believe they’re going to do everything they can to help you out here. When it comes to SEO, Squarespace takes extra steps to make it as easy and automated as possible (much love to the Squarespace product design and development teams! xoxo)

It’s no surprise, therefore, that many people, brands and businesses choose to build new websites on Squarespace - it truly is an “all in one” platform with major bang for your buck!

But the big question people still want to know: what if you already have a website built on Wordpress and you want to move over to Squarespace? What happens to SEO and any high rankings you’ve already built up? Is your website’s SEO going to completely tank when you make the switch?

These questions and concerns are totally valid, but I’m here to tell you are probably worried about nothing!

Trust me, this should NOT be something that holds you back from moving your website from WordPress over to Squarespace and I’m going to tell you exactly why that is. Plus, I’ll also give you tips to follow so that you set yourself up for SEO success after the switch! There are best practices to follow when migrating from WordPress to Squarespace and if you keep them in mind, you will minimize any negative SEO effects.

And best of all? If you follow these instructions closely, you might even see an improvement in your website’s SEO and rankings in the long run!

Ready to dive in? Let’s go!

SEOCharlotte O'HaraApril 28, 2020seo, squarespace seo series, url, url redirects, url mapping, site map, squarespace tips, wordpressComment

Is it weird, bad, icky or shameful to focus on SEO and growing your website right now?

Today’s post might be a little controversial but what the heck, I’m throwing caution to the wind and addressing this topic head on because it’s something I have a very strong position about.

A few days ago, someone emailed me telling me to “lay off all the SEO talk, people are dying”.

If I’m being totally honest, this comment hit me like a ton of bricks and I was completely thrown off balance - probably because it’s something I already felt insecure or weird about, deep down.

I asked myself straight up if I was being insensitive by creating Squarespace SEO and website-related content during the middle of a pandemic? Are my daily Instagram Live video trainings unnecessary noise? Should I just STFU and put my business on hold for a few months? Am I completely out to lunch right now and is everyone making fun of me behind my back for having my head buried in the sand, trying to adjust to this new normal?

Look, I get it. I’m not an essential worker, I am at zero health risk sitting at my home office, and I’m beyond lucky that my business can pretty much carry on as usual during the covid-19 madness (thank god for Zoom). Adding onto this, I have not been personally affected by the virus - and neither have any of my loved ones, either personally or professionally!

I’m an easy target.

Not going to lie, I called my friend and had a low-key freakout about this comment - what can I say, it got to me and made me question everything I was doing and the way I was showing up & running my business right now! We ended up having one of the most incredible discussions about mindset and service that I’ve ever had and I’m really proud of how I feel now.

I’m mostly writing this blog post for myself - it’s kind of personal, but it’s pretty much the pep talk and point of view I needed to hear. And I hope that it resonates with you too, or that at least it opens your mind up to a different point of view.

So let’s get right to it.

I can truthfully say that in my personal and professional opinion, it is NOT an icky/weird/gross/bad/wrong time to focus on SEO and growing your website.

People are going to project their own thoughts and views onto you, especially if they believe that your actions go against theirs. This happens all the time, pandemic or not. However, everyone’s emotions are hyper-heightened and we’re all triggered like never before, so these types of comments or projections can really sting.

But it’s our job to keep showing up and being of service in whatever way we can! And yes, that includes SEO and teaching people how to grow their websites…. even if a pandemic is happening!

Roundup of this week's daily Instagram Live video training replays (April 27 - May 3, 2020)

Hi there and welcome back to another weekly roundup post where I share all the replays of my daily Instagram Live training videos!

We switched up the format this week and instead of doing daily Q&A videos, we are now doing deeper-dive training videos. Each day we pick a topic about Squarespace websites, SEO and online marketing and get much more in-depth than before. These training videos are extremely actionable and filled with tips that you can use starting TODAY on your own website and digital strategy plan.

If you’re new around here or just catching up, you can read about why I'm starting daily Instagram Live Q&A video trainings to support my audience and web design & SEO clients during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Make sure you also check out the Q&A replay videos for Week 1 and Week 2 and Week 3 right here!

Here’s what you need to know about these daily Instagram Live training videos:

WHERE: on my Instagram profile, @lottieohara
WHEN: Monday-Friday @ 9am PST
WHAT: daily trainings all about Squarespace websites, SEO and online marketing
REPLAYS: uploaded onto Youtube channel and also shared here in a weekly roundup blog post

If you have a question that you’d like me to answer during these daily Instagram Lives, you can:

send me an email
send me a DM on Instagram
comment on a Youtube replay video
comment on this blog post!

Alright, I’ve included the replay videos for this week’s Instagram Live training videos and I hope you find them helpful. Enjoy :)

BusinessCharlotte O'HaraApril 27, 2020instagram, Instagram Live, weekly roundup, my business, top squarespace seo, tssComment

How to take advantage of a spike or increase in website traffic during the pandemic

Have you heard? There’s a global pandemic going on 😷

We’re now several weeks in and the initial shock over COVID-19 has passed… but now we’re faced with this “new normal” situation and everyone’s doing their best to figure out how to ride it out… and even make the most of it. Some even find themselves in the unexpected position to thrive!

Day to day life as we knew it is on hold and this pandemic has changed EVERYTHING for who knows how long. It’s an upheaval for everyone’s personal life but it also has direct implications on business, work, and finances too.

Everyone is at home, mostly indoors, and social distancing is in full swing. All I can say is thank goodness that spring is in the air and the flowers are starting to pop!

We’ve also seen a complete disruption of digital behaviour and the craziest thing is that it pretty much happened over night back in mid-March 2020! We’re all spending an insane amount of time online, basically glued to our screens, phones, laptops and TVs …. but not always in the ways that you might expect.

This situation means different things for different people, brands and businesses - and yes, that means your website and it’s traffic are going to look different from what you’re used to.

News flash: the pandemic has brought about a massive change in consumer habits and purchasing priorities, and that is seen especially clearly with people’s internet habits and what’s going on online.

For some industries and niches, the pandemic has brought a significant drop in website traffic and business. They’re taking a beating and every day is a struggle to stay afloat and figure out the best way to keep the lights on without going under. A drop in website traffic isn’t just a blow to the ego - it has a real impact on a business’s bottom line which affects real people and their families.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom for everyone!

This global pandemic has been a blessing and business for many industries and they’ve actually found that business is booming and better than ever!

You might have unexpectedly found yourself in this joyous situation and maybe you’re like, wow ok website traffic has spiked or majorly increase and business is thriving as a results! If you have, that’s awesome and I hope that you are able to make the most of this truly insane situation! I’m here to help you out as best as I can and share my tips and recommendations for fully taking advantage of this positive change in website traffic - for however long it lasts.

In this blog post, we’re going to go over what to do if your website’s traffic has spiked or increased because of COVID-19.

Whether you’re an independent content creator/blogger, a small business or brand, or a bigger company, I want you to take a step back and look at this increase in traffic & business with clear eyes and your head on straight. Now is your time to shine and truly hit the ground running so that you can make the most of this boom.

After you’ve read this post, I want you to feel like you have a plan and actionable steps that you can follow to max out your situation, and hopefully keep riding that higher website traffic and set your business up for future success.

Here’s what you need to know about these daily Instagram Live training videos:

squarespace seo checklist

DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST TODAY!

Here’s what you need to know about these daily Instagram Live training videos:

squarespace seo checklist

DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST TODAY!

Thank you!