SEO settings for Square Online items and categories
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) enables you to optimise your website pages for search engine results, but you can also add SEO information to items and categories you’re selling online to help them rank better. One of the first steps to take is to edit the SEO settings for both your items and categories.
Note: it can take a number of weeks for new Square Online sites to be indexed and unindexed in search engine listings, and even longer for a site to show up in the results for specific keywords. Check out our Ultimate SEO Guide, which walks you through the ins and outs of getting indexed in search engines and improving your search ranking.
SEO tips
Although we don’t provide SEO consultation for your Square Online site, here are some suggestions to help you grow your website traffic:
Here are some suggestions to help you grow your website traffic:
- Spread the word: Tell your customers, family and friends about your site.
- Optimise for search engines: Make sure that people can find your website or items when they search online by following our Ultimate SEO Guide.
- Update regularly: Keep your website content fresh with Square Online blog posts to give visitors a reason to come back.
- Use your social networks: Post your site to Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, TikTok, LinkedIn or other social networks whenever you update your content.
- Promote your site: Add a link to your email signature, and include a link to your site when you post to forums or comment on articles.
- Start an email newsletter: Use newsletter signup pop-ups on your site as a tool to bring visitors back to your website and continue email promotions with email marketing.
- Get reciprocal links: Swap links with other websites that have a similar audience to drive free, qualified traffic. Join our Seller Community to connect with other sellers that also use Square Online.
index your items
To set up SEO for items displayed on your Square Online site:
- from your Square Item Library, select an existing item or create a new one.
- Under ‘Search and social media’, Edit the search engine optimisation.
- Update the SEO title, description and permalink. Click Done.
- Select Save when finished.
- Publish your site from the Square Online site editor to see your changes live.
These are the three optional SEO fields for site items:
- SEO title: This title is shown in search results for your item. Keep it descriptive but concise.
- SEO description: This text is shown along with the title in search results. Keep it descriptive but concise. To use trail mix as an example, the description is a good place to mention that it’s organic, non-GMO and gluten free.
- Permalink: a search engine friendly link for items with lengthy titles. For example, if you’re selling an item called ‘Organic Non-GMO Gluten Free Home-made Trail Mix’, you might enter ‘home-made-trail-mix’ as the permalink.
Learn how to Set up items for your online store for information on additional online settings beyond SEO.
Index your categories
To set up SEO for categories displayed on your Square Online site:
- From your Square Item Library, go to Categories to select an existing category or create a new one.
- Under ‘Search and social media’, Edit the search engine optimization.
- Update the SEO title, description and permalink. Click Done.
- Select Save when finished.
- Publish your site from the Square Online site editor to see the changes live.
These are the three optional SEO fields for site categories:
- SEO title: This title is shown in search results for your category. Keep it descriptive but concise.
- SEO description: This text is shown along with the title in search results. Keep it descriptive but concise. To use homemade foods as an example, the description is a good place to mention that all items in the category are organic, non-GMO, and gluten free.
- Permalink: A search engine friendly link for categories with lengthy titles. For example, if you’re selling items in a category called ‘Organic Non-GMO Gluten Free Homemade Foods’, you might enter ‘homemade-foods’ as the permalink.
Learn more about creating and managing item categories for information on additional category settings beyond SEO.
Index your images with alt text
To set up SEO for item and category images:
from your Square Item Library, go to Image library.
Click Upload to add an image file from your device.
Click on your image and add Alt text into the field to describe your image.
Click Save when finished.
Assign your images to a new or existing item or category.
You can also open the details screen of an individual item or category, click on the image you want to edit and add Alt text from there. Learn more about how to Upload and manage item images.
Note: web accessibility is an important aspect of designing a website that’s accessible to as many people as possible, particularly those with disabilities or impairments. Learn more about web accessibility for Square Online sites for more tips on managing your images.
Disclaimer: Square does not provide SEO consultation. For more information on SEO for your specific website’s needs, we recommend consulting an SEO expert.