How to Find and Use Your Sitemap in Squarespace for Better SEO

Feb 10

TL;DR

To find your Squarespace sitemap, just add /sitemap.xml to your site’s URL. Submit it to Google Search Console to help search engines crawl your site faster. Since Squarespace auto-generates and updates your sitemap, it’s always current. Use clean URLs, descriptive titles, and mark any hidden pages as “noindex” to keep things SEO-friendly!

Ah, the sitemap—your website’s behind-the-scenes guidebook for search engines. If you’re using Squarespace, the good news is that you don’t need to manually create a sitemap because Squarespace does the heavy lifting for you. But knowing how to find it and use it correctly can make a world of difference for your SEO.

What Exactly Is a Sitemap?

A sitemap is like a virtual directory of your website’s content. It shows search engines where all your pages live, making it easier for them to crawl and index your site. In short, a well-maintained sitemap equals better chances of showing up in search results. Squarespace automatically generates and updates a sitemap for every site, ensuring it’s always up to date as you add or remove pages.

How to Find Your Squarespace Sitemap

Locating your sitemap in Squarespace is super simple:

Enter your website URL in a browser.
Start by typing your website’s main URL in your browser’s address bar, like so: www.myholisticwellnesssite.com
Add /sitemap.xml to the end of the URL.
Once your domain is in the address bar, tack on /sitemap.xml. It should look something like this:
bash
Copy code
www.myholisticwellnesssite.com/sitemap.xml
Hit Enter and voilà—your sitemap appears!
You’ll see a list of links pointing to all the key pages on your site. This is what search engines use to crawl your site efficiently.

Squarespace-Specific Sitemap Tips

1. Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console

While Squarespace generates the sitemap for you, it’s up to you to let Google know it exists. Submitting your sitemap to Google Search Console speeds up the indexing process and helps Google discover new or updated pages faster.

How to submit your Squarespace sitemap:

Go to Google Search Console.
Select your website property (or add it if you haven’t yet).
In the left-hand menu, click “Sitemaps”.
Enter your sitemap URL (/sitemap.xml).
Click “Submit”.

2. What’s included in your Squarespace sitemap

Squarespace automatically excludes certain pages from your sitemap, like system-generated pages (e.g., the login page or cart page). This helps keep things clean and ensures only relevant pages are indexed by search engines. Here’s what you’ll find in your Squarespace sitemap:

Main pages: All the visible pages in your navigation.
Blog posts: Every blog post you’ve published.
Products: If you have an online store, each product page is included.
Event pages: Any event you’ve created gets indexed, too.

3. Use clean URLs and descriptive page titles

Since Squarespace automatically updates your sitemap whenever you add or change pages, it’s important to use clean, simple URLs and descriptive titles. This helps search engines (and visitors) understand your content better. For example:

Instead of www.mywellnesssite.com/page123, go with something like www.mywellnesssite.com/holistic-therapy.
Keep your titles specific and relevant—this boosts your chances of ranking well in search results.

4. Avoid duplicate content

Squarespace’s sitemap helps prevent duplicate content issues by using canonical tags (special HTML that tells search engines which version of a page to prioritize). For instance, if your homepage has multiple URLs (like example.com and example.com/home), Squarespace automatically sets the correct canonical URL so Google doesn’t penalize you for duplicate content.

5. Check for hidden or noindex pages

If you have pages you don’t want search engines to index, you can mark them as “noindex” in Squarespace. This prevents them from being included in your sitemap and appearing in search results. To do this:

Go to Page Settings > SEO > Hide from Search Results.
Toggle the switch, and Squarespace will automatically add a noindex tag to that page.

Why Your Sitemap Is a Game-Changer for SEO

Squarespace’s auto-updating sitemap feature ensures that your site’s structure stays fresh and search-engine-friendly, even as you make changes. By submitting your sitemap to Google and keeping your content organized, you’re giving your site the best shot at ranking higher and attracting more visitors.