Tips For Migrating From WordPress to Squarespace and Retaining Google Rankings
When thinking about switching your website from WordPress to Squarespace, you may well be nervous about your existing Google ranking potentially taking a nosedive and I totally get this!
I encountered this same concern when I migrated from WordPress to Squarespace nearly 7 years ago.
My recent website client, Shirley Gaston of Azesta - an experiential learning company, had, for example, achieved a number one Google ranking for a particular long-tail keyword, and the thought of migrating her website from WordPress to Squarespace was pretty scary for her. So, if this is a concern for you, please read on for some tips on how we navigated this together.
Oh and spoiler alert, the outcome was just fine!
3 areas that my client & I talked through:
This post doesn’t detail my whole process but will certainly give you some great information to get you well into the process along with some thoughts to bear in mind when switching hosts to Squarespace.
Client tasks with some guidance from myself.
My actions within the back-end of the website.
Some general tips and things to think about.
1. Client Tasks
Home Page and Page Descriptions:
Firstly, I sent my client a document containing the headings for all the pages of her site and then asked her to draft a compelling sentence for her Home page, followed by individual page descriptions.
Squarespace Home Page Description:
I asked my client to draft a succinct and relevant search engine description for the Home page. It needs to be 50-155 characters max.
This description preferably needs to start with the main keywords and/or your most important long-tail keyword phrase.
I advised my client to make the sentence relevant to her audience, that it be a ‘proper’ sentence versus being stuffed with keywords and that it be appealing with a call to action if it felt right.
Page Descriptions:
These descriptions also needed to be 50-155 characters max.
I recommended that my client make them appealing - good enough to click!
That they include a keyword or phrase that she wanted to be targeted for.
That the sentence be relevant to her audience.
“Oh and don’t be put off - this can feel like a pretty awkward process but soon my client was in the swing of writing these descriptions and did a brilliant job and you can too!”
2. My Actions:
Next, all images went through my strict SEO procedures.
3. My SEO Tips:
If someone says that they can guarantee an SEO outcome or Google ranking, I personally feel that they are either deluded or lying.
But as Squarespace is a well-respected platform that is designed to be SEO-friendly and by following best practices and continuing to optimise your site's SEO, you can potentially help your site's performance enormously as well as show off a really good-looking, engaging, on-brand, smooth-running site that will encourage more engagement from your dream clients.
1. Temporary changes:
Squarespace is well-regarded for its search-optimised design but switching may cause temporary changes.
2. Make sure your website is well-designed and easy to use.
Search engines take into account the user experience of your website, so make sure it is easy to navigate and that your content is relevant to your target audience. I wrote a post on how to create the best website navigation menu and another on how to create landing pages for high conversion and wow factor.
3. Adwords:
Please remember that if someone happened to pay Adwords for these same long-tail keywords, you might find it unlikely that you are coming up as number 1 still for that particular ranking.
4. SEO ranking:
Bear in mind, that if you haven’t carried out much SEO on your existing site, then expect to see ranking change favourably after migrating to Squarespace. This is because Squarespace is well-respected and SEO-friendly but you still need to do the work to optimise your website for search engines as mentioned in this post ie. for your all-important Home page, other pages, reducing image file sizes etc. For more information, take a look at this link Maintaining your SEO ranking after moving to Squarespace and get my Squarespace SEO checklist.
5. URL structure:
The primary reason SEO might be affected once migrated is if the URL structure has changed, so keeping the domain and URLs the same wherever possible would be ideal but not totally necessary (see my next point).
6. Redirects:
301s and a custom 404 direct, can also be set up and this is what I did for my client. This is a great opportunity to get rid of old pages too.
7. Tags and links:
It would be helpful to include title tags, header tags and internal links as previously set up but expect to tidy these up when migrating to a different host. Here’s my post on Why Broken Links are Bad for Your Website and how to fix them.
8. Low-traffic pages:
Migrating your site to Squarespace is also a great opportunity to get rid of any low-traffic pages or pages that aren't formatted properly and that might be affecting ranking.
9. Use relevant keywords throughout your website:
When you create content, be sure to include relevant keywords in your titles, headings, and body text. You should also use keywords in your website's URL and meta descriptions. Get in touch if you need an SEO audit.
10. Google Analytics:
Don’t forget to use Squarespace’s integration with your Google Analytics account so that you can learn more about how people find you. This is a really helpful tool for analysing where your traffic comes from if you don't already know.
11. Links:
Think about external links as well as incoming links and obtaining possible linkbacks where there haven’t been any previously. Build backlinks to your website. Backlinks are links from other websites to your website. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).
12. Submit your website to search engines:
Once you have migrated to Squarespace, be sure to submit your website to search engines so that it can be indexed. It can take a couple of weeks to scan a new site, so please bear that in mind when your transfer takes place.
Tips for Migrating from WordPress to Squarespace and Retaining Google Rankings
In conclusion, migrating your website from WordPress to Squarespace can be a daunting prospect, especially if you're worried about losing your existing Google ranking. However, by following the tips outlined in this post, you can hopefully ensure a smooth transition and retain your ranking.
Remember to keep your descriptions concise and relevant, optimise your images, and utilise Squarespace's integration with Google Analytics.
Finally, if time is short and you’d like me to do the migration for you to Squarespace, and optimise your SEO to boost your site’s performance and attract your ideal audience, please get in touch, I’d love to help you.
Need a stunning website that is smooth running, easy to update and reflective of your brand?
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