Your SEO title and meta description are the first things a searcher sees of your website. They appear as the blue headline and the grey snippet in Google’s results. A good title helps Google understand the page and persuades people to click; a weak one wastes a ranking you have already earned. Squarespace gives you good control over both, but its settings are split across several places, which is why many sites end up with default titles like “Services — My Site”. This guide shows you how to set them up properly.
This article is part of our complete guide: Wix and Squarespace SEO: The Complete Guide (2026).
How Squarespace builds titles
Squarespace combines two things to create the title that appears in search results:
- The SEO title of each page, set in the page’s settings under the SEO tab. If you leave it blank, Squarespace uses the page’s navigation title.
- The site-wide title format, set in the SEO settings panel. This defines patterns for different page types, such as
%p — %s, where%pis the page title and%sis the site title.
So if your page SEO title is “Wedding Photography in Bath” and the format is %p — %s, Google sees “Wedding Photography in Bath — Studio Name”.
Step 1: Set the site title and title formats
In the SEO panel, review the formats for the homepage, pages, collection items (blog posts and products) and other page types. Sensible defaults for most small businesses are:
- Homepage:
%s, and then write a keyword-rich homepage SEO title so the result reads like “Wedding Photographer in Bath | Relaxed, Natural Photography | Studio Name”. - Pages:
%p | %s - Collection items:
%i | %s(item title plus site title)
Keep your site title short (your brand name), because it is added to every page and eats into the space Google displays, roughly 50 to 60 characters on desktop.
Step 2: Write SEO titles for every page
Open each page’s settings, go to the SEO tab and write a unique SEO title. Good titles:
- Put the main keyword near the start.
- Include the location for local services.
- Add a short benefit or differentiator if space allows.
- Are unique across the site.
- Read naturally to a human.
Examples:
- Kitchen Fitters in Bristol | Free Design Visit
- Puppy Training Classes in Leeds | Small Groups
- Commercial Photography for Brands | Studio Name
Our detailed title tag guide covers formulas and common mistakes.
Step 3: Write meta descriptions
In the same SEO tab, add an SEO description. Google often uses it as the snippet under your title, though it sometimes writes its own from page content. A good description:
- Is about 140 to 160 characters.
- Explains what the page offers and who it is for.
- Includes the main keyword naturally (Google bolds matching words).
- Ends with a reason to click or a call to action.
Example: “Bespoke kitchens designed and fitted across Bristol. See recent projects, typical prices and book a free design visit with our team.” See how to write meta descriptions for more examples.
Step 4: Blog posts
Each blog post has its own SEO settings. The post title is used by default, combined with the collection item format. For posts with long, conversational titles, write a shorter SEO title focused on the keyword. Also set the excerpt and a SEO description, otherwise Squarespace may use the first lines of the post. Choose a clean URL slug before publishing.
Step 5: Products
Product pages have SEO title and description fields too. Include the product name, its key attribute (material, size, use) and, where relevant, the brand. Avoid identical descriptions across similar products; write a unique sentence for each.
Step 6: Collection pages and categories
Blog and shop collection pages, and category views, need SEO titles and descriptions as well. These pages can rank for broad searches, such as “handmade ceramic mugs”, if they have a clear title and a short introduction.
Step 7: Social sharing images and titles
Squarespace lets you set a social sharing image for the site and for individual pages and posts. When someone shares your page, this image and the SEO title appear. Choose images that represent each page.
Common mistakes on Squarespace
- Long site titles like “Studio Name Photography & Design Services Bath Bristol” appended to every page, pushing the important words out of view.
- Navigation titles used as SEO titles, such as “Work”, “About” or “Services”.
- Duplicate titles on several pages, often from duplicated pages.
- Empty descriptions, leaving Google to pick random text.
- Keyword stuffing such as “Photographer Bath, Bath Photographer, Wedding Photographer Bath”.
- Changing URLs without redirects while editing SEO settings.
How to check your titles in Google
Search site:yourdomain.com to see how your titles and snippets appear. In Search Console, the Performance report shows impressions and click-through rate for each page. Pages with many impressions but a low click-through rate are prime candidates for a better title and description.
Why Google sometimes rewrites your title
Google may show a different title if yours is too long, stuffed with keywords, does not match the page, or is identical to other pages. Keeping titles concise, unique and accurate reduces rewrites. Making sure the H1 on the page matches the topic of the title also helps.
A quick audit you can do today
- List every page in your Squarespace navigation and “Not linked” section.
- For each, note the current SEO title and description.
- Rewrite any that are blank, duplicated or vague.
- Shorten the site title if it is long.
- Check blog posts and products from the last year.
- Request indexing for your most important updated pages in Search Console.
Where this fits
Titles and descriptions are one part of on-page SEO. For the full picture on Squarespace, read our Squarespace SEO guide, and if pages are missing from Google, see Squarespace site not indexed. We use the same approach to titles on every site we work on, including the projects in our case studies such as The Audio Cafe.
Related guides and services
- Squarespace SEO guide: titles, descriptions, URL mappings and indexing on Squarespace.
- Squarespace site not indexed: why a Squarespace site is missing from Google and how to fix it.
- On-page SEO audit checklist: a page-by-page checklist for titles, headings, content and links.
- SEO for Wix websites: the complete Wix SEO guide for small businesses.
- Wix & Squarespace SEO service: hands-on SEO for sites built on Wix and Squarespace.
Get expert help
We can rewrite the titles and descriptions across your Squarespace site, map keywords to pages and track the improvement in clicks. Start with our Wix & Squarespace SEO service, browse real client results in our case studies, or contact us for a free, no-pressure review of your website.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a Squarespace SEO title be?
Aim for about 50 to 60 characters including your site title, so it is not cut off in results.
Do meta descriptions affect rankings?
Not directly, but they influence click-through rate, which affects how much traffic you get from your rankings.
Why is Google showing a different title?
Google may rewrite titles that are too long, repetitive or do not match the page content.
Can I set different titles for social media?
Squarespace uses the SEO title and the social sharing image. Choose them with both search and social in mind.
