Many businesses and marketers turn to Squarespace for its user-friendly interface and professional templates, but a common challenge emerges when launching a second website on the platform: it fails to gain the same traction in search results as the primary site. This phenomenon raises questions about Squarespace's capabilities for SEO, particularly for secondary domains. Based on analysis of multiple sources, this article examines the specific factors that may prevent a second Squarespace website from ranking and provides evidence-based solutions to address these challenges.
Common Technical SEO Issues with Secondary Squarespace Sites
Technical SEO forms the foundation of any successful website's visibility in search results. For Squarespace websites, both primary and secondary, certain technical elements must be properly configured to ensure search engines can crawl, index, and understand the content.
One of the most fundamental yet overlooked technical issues is website verification with Google Search Console. According to source data, failing to verify a Squarespace website in Google Search Console could be the primary reason it doesn't appear in search results. Verification is merely the first step, as it must be followed by sitemap submission. Squarespace automatically generates and updates XML sitemaps for websites, but these sitemaps must be submitted to Google Search Console for proper indexing to occur.
Another technical consideration is whether the website is accessible to search engines. Source data indicates that if a Squarespace site is password protected, search engines cannot crawl its content, rendering it invisible in search results. Similarly, websites may sometimes be accidentally blocked from Google through robots.txt directives or other settings, creating an easy-to-fix barrier to visibility.
The platform's inherent technical capabilities also play a role. While Squarespace is not an open-source website builder, meaning only their in-house development team can produce tools for users, this limitation does not necessarily prevent effective SEO implementation. The platform facilitates major SEO tasks through built-in features like automatically updated XML sitemaps, Google Authorship markup, automatic tagging, clean URLs, and URL canonicalization. For users requiring even greater control, Squarespace offers a developer platform that enables custom code modifications for more advanced SEO requirements.
Content and On-Page SEO Considerations
Beyond technical foundations, the quality and optimization of website content significantly impact search visibility. For secondary Squarespace websites, content-related factors often explain why they may underperform compared to primary sites.
A primary concern highlighted in the source data is insufficient content. New or secondary websites often lack the depth and volume of content that search engines favor. Unlike established sites with hundreds or thousands of pages, secondary Squarespace sites may launch with only a handful of pages, making it difficult for search engines to determine topical authority and relevance.
Equally important is the value provided by the content. Source materials emphasize that websites must offer substantial value to users to rank effectively. This means content should be comprehensive, well-researched, and genuinely helpful to the target audience. Secondary websites that fail to provide unique value compared to existing resources in the search results will struggle to gain visibility.
Content optimization is another critical factor. Poorly optimized content, even if valuable, may not communicate its relevance to search engines effectively. This includes proper keyword usage, semantic relevance, and content structure. The source data suggests that secondary websites attempting to rank for highly competitive keywords face significant challenges without established domain authority or substantial backlink profiles.
Conversely, long-form, valuable content that relates to target keywords can significantly improve search visibility. Source data indicates that Google prioritizes content that demonstrates expertise, authority, and trustworthiness—factors that secondary websites must actively cultivate through comprehensive, well-researched content.
Off-Page Factors and Backlink Challenges
Off-page SEO, particularly backlink acquisition, remains one of the most challenging aspects for secondary Squarespace websites. The source data consistently highlights the importance of backlinks from relevant, high-authority websites as a primary ranking factor.
The quality of backlinks matters significantly more than quantity. A single backlink from a high-authority website like Oprah.com carries far more weight than numerous links from low-authority sites. Source data explains that Google interprets links from established authority sites as endorsements of value and legitimacy, directly impacting search rankings.
Secondary Squarespace websites face inherent challenges in acquiring high-quality backlinks. Without established authority, relationships, or brand recognition, these sites struggle to attract the same level of organic link attraction as primary websites or more established competitors. This creates a chicken-and-egg problem: the site needs backlinks to rank, but it needs rankings to attract backlinks.
The source data suggests that for secondary websites to overcome this hurdle, they must focus on creating exceptional content that naturally attracts links. This might include original research, comprehensive guides, unique data, or resources that provide significant value to the target audience. Additionally, proactive outreach to relevant websites, industry publications, and potential collaborators can help build the backlink profile necessary for improved rankings.
Another consideration is the timeline for ranking improvement. Source data notes that newer websites, including secondary Squarespace sites, often require more time to establish authority and begin ranking competitively. Patience and consistent content development and promotion are essential for long-term success.
Domain Management for Multiple Squarespace Websites
For businesses managing multiple Squarespace websites, domain configuration plays a crucial role in SEO performance. Source data provides specific guidance on managing multiple domains without negatively impacting search rankings.
Squarespace allows users to manage multiple domains for a single website, which can be strategically beneficial. These additional domains can capture common misspellings of the primary domain name or prevent competitors from registering similar domain names. For example, if the primary domain is "mysite.com," registering variants like "my-site.com," "mysite.net," or "mysitee.com" can protect brand identity and capture additional traffic.
Importantly, the source data confirms that having multiple domains on one Squarespace site won't hurt search engine rankings. Squarespace prevents search engines from penalizing websites for duplicate content by automatically redirecting multiple domains to one primary domain. This consolidation ensures that all domain authority flows to the preferred domain while maintaining user flexibility in how visitors access the site.
When managing multiple domains, businesses should designate one as the primary domain and configure all others to redirect to it. This approach consolidates ranking signals, prevents potential duplicate content issues, and simplifies SEO efforts. The source data emphasizes that Squarespace handles the technical aspects of these redirects, ensuring a smooth user experience and proper search engine crawling.
For businesses with truly separate websites (rather than multiple domains pointing to one site), the same SEO principles apply, but each site must build its own authority through content development and backlink acquisition. Secondary websites will naturally require more time and effort to establish their presence in search results compared to primary, established websites.
Conclusion
Based on the provided source data, several key factors explain why a second Squarespace website might not rank as effectively as a primary site. Technical issues such as failure to verify with Google Search Console, not submitting sitemaps, or accidentally blocking search engines can prevent indexing. Content-related challenges, including insufficient volume, lack of value, or poor optimization, hinder the website's ability to communicate relevance to search engines. Off-page factors, particularly the difficulty of acquiring high-quality backlinks for a secondary site, create significant barriers to competitive rankings.
The source data consistently debunks the myth that Squarespace inherently underperforms for SEO. The platform provides essential SEO tools and features, and with proper implementation, Squarespace websites can achieve strong search visibility. For secondary websites, the challenges are not platform-specific but relate to the general difficulties of establishing a new website in competitive search environments.
Businesses experiencing ranking issues with their second Squarespace website should focus on verifying their site in Google Search Console, developing comprehensive, valuable content, implementing proper on-page optimization, and systematically building backlinks from relevant, authoritative sources. Additionally, proper domain management ensures that multiple domains contribute positively rather than negatively to search performance.
While secondary Squarespace websites may require more time and effort to establish visibility, the platform's built-in SEO features provide a solid foundation for achieving search rankings comparable to those of primary websites when implemented effectively.