Squarespace Sitemaps: How to Fix and Submit to Google
One of the most satisfying feelings as a website owner is seeing your hard work appear in Google's search results. But to get there, those Google bots need to crawl and index your content, which is where submitting your Squarespace sitemap to Google Search Console comes into play.
Below, I'll walk you through adding your Squarespace Sitemap to Google Search Console, address a variety of common issues, and provide a range of tips to speed up your site's indexing process.
What is a Sitemap and Why Should I Care?
Submitting your sitemap to Google is an essential part of Squarespace SEO. Think of your sitemap as a roadmap for search engines. It's a simple file that lists all the pages and content on your Squarespace website, making it easier for Google to find and understand your site's structure and rank in search results accordingly.
Where do I find my Squarespace website sitemap?
Squarespace automatically generates a sitemap for your website, so you don't need to create one manually. To view your Squarespace sitemap, follow these steps:
Open a new web browser.
Type in your website's domain name followed by "/sitemap.xml" For example, if your website is www.yourwebsite.com, type in www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml
Press Enter. This will load your sitemap in XML format.
How do you submit your Squarespace Sitemap to Google Search free accountConsole?
Submitting your Squarespace Sitemap to Google Search Console can be completed in a few simple steps:
1. Open Google Search Console:
Login to Google Search Console, and if you haven't already set up your free account.
2. Add Your Property (if you haven't already):
If you haven't added your website to Google Search Console, click "Add Property" and follow the instructions to verify ownership.
3. Submit Your Sitemap:
From the Search Console dashboard, select your website property.
Click on "Sitemaps" in the left-hand menu.
Under "Add a new sitemap," enter "sitemap.xml" (without the quotes).
Click "Submit."
Once you've submitted your sitemap URL, Google Search Console will display it under "Submitted Sitemaps," along with whether it was successful, the most recent crawl date and information about the indexing status of the URLs within your sitemap.
Google won't crawl your sitemap instantly, but it will revisit it regularly as part of its ongoing indexing process to discover updates and changes to your website.
Squarespace Sitemap Submission Issues With Google Search Console
Trial Sites: Sitemaps are not available for trial sites. You will need a paid Squarespace plan for your sitemap to be generated.
Private/Password-Protected Sites: If your website is private or password-protected, you won't be able to view your sitemap. Make sure your site's visibility is set to "Public" in your site settings.
Custom Code Conflicts: If you've added custom code, it might interfere with submitting your sitemap successfully. Try temporarily removing it to see if that resolves the issue.
How long does it take for Google to index my Squarespace sitemap?
The time Google takes to index your Squarespace site varies due to multiple factors. Website size is one factor, as larger websites naturally take longer to crawl and index compared to smaller ones. Google's crawling frequency, determined by website popularity, update frequency, and overall health, also influences indexing speed.
Submitting your sitemap to Google Search Console can accelerate the initial indexing, but it takes time. The quality of your content also matters; well-optimised, high-quality content tends to get indexed faster than content with poor SEO. Additionally, technical issues on your site, like broken links or slow loading times, can impede Google's crawling and indexing.
Generally, Google might start indexing some of your pages within days of publishing and submitting your sitemap. However, it could take anywhere from a few days to several weeks for all pages to be fully indexed.
Monitoring Indexing Progress:
You can track Google's indexing progress in Google Search Console. Check the "Coverage" report to see which pages have been indexed and if there are any crawl errors.
Patience is key. Indexing is an ongoing process, and it takes time for Google to discover and index all the pages on your website. Focus on creating quality content and learn how to optimise your Squarespace website for SEO, and eventually, your site will start to appear in search results.
Can I edit my Squarespace sitemap?
Squarespace sitemaps are automatically generated and not directly editable. While this is convenient for most users, those with specific needs (e.g., multilingual sites) may wish to add language-specific information. In these cases, you can create and upload additional sitemaps.
How can I get Google to crawl my Squarespace website faster?
You've got a fresh Squarespace web design, or you've put aside a few hours to update your site, add a killer new product, or craft a blog post that's pure gold. If you're anything like me, you're not exactly known for your patience. Who has time to wait for the bots to stumble across your content in the vast eco-chambers of the internet? You want to see those results now, not next week!
Luckily, you can speed up the process by manually submitting the individual URLs of the pages you've created or updated to be crawled as a priority. It can be the difference between a few days or a few weeks. From my experience as a Squarespace SEO consultant, well-structured SEO-optimised blog posts can make their debut on search engines within a few hours. It can make a massive difference.
Additionally, to speed up the process, share your website on social media, build backlinks, create quality content, and keep your site technically sound. You can monitor indexing progress in Google Search Console, but remember that indexing doesn't guarantee high rankings. It's just one factor in the complex algorithm that determines search result placement.
Why is Blogging Essential for Start-ups and SEO?
You've just launched a business, and your new Squarespace web design isn't making the desired impact on search engines that you were hoping for. The bots aren't biting.
Blogging is vital to unlocking better search engine visibility. Google loves fresh, relevant content, and strategically crafted blog posts optimised with specific keywords can propel your website's pages to the top of Google's rankings.
Create internal links with keyword-rich anchor text from your blog posts to the other areas of your site to help guide the bots to your desired location, i.e. a business service or product page.
Additionally, blogging is a fantastic way to earn backlinks over time, which will increase your domain authority, making new content more effortless to make an impact on search engines in the future.
Squarespace Sitemaps: Conclusion
Don't let your hard work go unnoticed. Take the initiative to ensure Google can quickly discover and index your valuable content. By following the steps above on how to submit your Squarespace sitemap to Google, you'll be well on your way to making an impact on search engines and increasing organic traffic to your site.
Remember, SEO for Squarespace is a long-term digital marketing strategy. Keep creating engaging, optimised content, and don't be afraid to experiment and learn as you go.
If you encounter an error or issue when submitting your Squarespace sitemap to Google, feel free to reach out directly for assistance.
Further Reading
The Ultimate Guide to Local SEO for Squarespace
Ultimate Guide to Squarespace Ecommerce SEO
DIY Approach VS Hiring a Squarespace SEO Agency
