Squarespace SEO: The Layout of a Search Engine Results Page

June 21, 2018 Michael Conway

Search Engine Results Pages and Squarespace SEO

Squarespace is a versatile and deep website development and hosting platform. While it is a template based system, they offer plenty of benefits like most templates are mobile-enabled and provide plenty of flexibility with minimal coding. Squarespace SEO is a marketing tactic that makes it easy to optimize your website for Google and the other search engines.

While implementing SEO on Squarespace website is intuitive, it's helpful to know a bit about the layout of a search results page. By understanding what you're seeing, and being aware of some of the elements Google looks at when determining your PageRank, you can leverage the power of Squarespace to improve your organic page ranking, making your website more accessible in online search.

Let's take a look at the anatomy of a Google search results page, and how by adjusting a few elements of your page using search engine optimization, you can improve your organic search results on Google and the other search engines through Squarespace SEO strategies.

Breaking Down A Google Search Engine Results Page

Analyzing results pages can help you to strategize your keyword approach, as well as check on your competitors, where they rank for particular keywords and how they approach their SEO efforts.

When you search a keyword, Google will return a page consisting of their top ranked pages for the keyword or phrase you have searched. This page will show:

• Paid Ads

The first results you'll see at the top of the page are paid ad placements. Paid advertising is how Google makes money. Depending on the keyword, ads can cost anywhere from $1 to $300 whenever someone clicks on the ad. Typically, you'll see three paid ads at the top of the page and additionally paid placements on the right sidebar. Ads are engaged with about 6% of the time. Placement is strictly “pay-to-play,” and your rank is determined by a Quality Score multiplied by your maximum bid.

There are several types of paid ads. The frequency they appear varies. They include:

AdWords Top: This is the most common and they appear about 62% of the time, commonly shows the top 3 results.

AdWords Sidebar: Ads also appear on the right sidebar around 52% of the time. Typically you'll see 4 to 8 ads in the sidebar.

Product Listing Ads: These show up in their own box before organic results, or to the right. These ads are made up of information via the Google Merchant Center. Merchants set up product data feeds that contain info on products like price, size, color, etc. They appear in SERPs about 20% of the time.

AdWords Bottom: Sometimes AdWord ads will appear at the bottom, below organic search results. Ads appear about 11% of the time.

• Knowledge Graph

The Knowledge Graph elements represent the next generation of search technology. When a user searches for people, places, or things Google displays the most important (and most searched for) information about these searches alongside the search results. For example, a search for the Metropolitan Museum in NYC would show a photo, map, address, hours, along with similar searches.

Knowledge Graph Panels are the most common feature. They can be made up of information about people, places, or things, but essential for marketers, they can also include company and brand information.

Another feature that may appear on SERPs is the Answer Box. This is Google's attempt to answer a search query directly. They don't just appear as an answer to a direct search. Google will anticipate your question for example if you type in “mortgage calculator” Google will provide on in the SERP.

• Vertical Searches

Vertical searches focus on a specific type of content, for example, images, shopping or news stories. Image results appear in around 32% of Google searches. New boxes appear in about 17% of searches, and in-depth articles appear in about 17% of searches. Videos can appear anywhere on a SERP and show up about 8% of the time. Optimizing your images for search is an essential step towards placement in vertical search boxes.

• Organic Results

These are results based solely on merit. They are not paid for and are not any of the other items mentioned above. Google's algorithm analyzes many factors and assigns content a score that results in your page rank. Elements include relevance, quality, image tags, titles, image placement and many other factors. Placement is complex, but best practices like providing a good user experience, plenty of social engagement, and some quality backlinks can improve your rank.

Local organic search is a growing area on Google. Results are influenced by information on your website pages, blog posts, landing pages and other content. Results can appear in a grouping called a Local Pack. It's typically made up of 7 of the closest local results for the term searched.

Improving Your Google SERP Ranking Using Squarespace SEO Strategies

Because Squarespace is a template-based format, some SEO elements are built into the platform. For example, image placement is optimized. When inputting text, images or graphics, you're taken to a form where you can insert SEO items that can help improve your Google SERP results.

Some examples include alt tags, image tags, page titles and more. Adding relevant keywords to your pages using Squarespace SEO procedures will help to improve your rank. Here are a few key elements that Google's algorithm takes into account when assigning page ranking.

• Title

Page titles can influence user behavior. Google looks for short, descriptive and relevant page titles.

• URLs

You may notice that Google truncates URLs by removing their middle section. Whenever possible use short but meaningful URLs. When creating pages in Squarespace, consider this element. Internally linking using short URLs can help improve your SERP.

• Meta Description Tags

Google often uses a snippet underneath the title. This is usually taken from either a meta tag, which can be set-up using Squarespace SEO procedures or by grabbing contextual content from the page. Like the page title, a search snippet can vary depending on the search and can change depending on the search term used.

• Image Tags - Alternative Tags

Google uses image tags to determine the relevance of any image on your site. To up your SEO, optimize images using relevant tags. IMG249ab is not a “searchable” image tag. Using a name that is short, relevant, and descriptive helps the image get contextually placed.

These are just a few areas where using Squarespace SEO strategies can make a significant impact on your search engine ranking. Understanding the anatomy of a Google SERP, tracking relevant keywords, and using Squarespace SEO tactics to optimize your website, content, images, tags, titles, and meta descriptions can up your online visibility. Squarespace websites are intuitive and on-page SEO is a somewhat easy to implement and powerful feature. Work with these Squarespace SEO tactics and watch your webpages move up the SERPs

Tips From A Squarespace Website Designer

About Michael Conway and Means-of-Production

Means-of-Production builds Squarespace websites for architects, interior designers, design-build residential developers, contractors, and landscape design firms. Our websites attract better prospects using content and inbound marketing tactics. We do this with exceptional web design, search engine optimization, landing pages and drip marketing campaigns. Interested in learning more? Click here to view my calendar and schedule a call.