How to Set Up Your Squarespace Site for Pinterest Success
(And Why Google Will Thank You Too)
Quick question: when was the last time you thought of Pinterest as a search engine?
If the answer is "never," you're not alone. No judgment. Okay, maybe a tiny bit. Most people think of Pinterest as the place where recipes and wedding mood boards go to live forever, right next to that sourdough starter you swore you'd keep alive. But Pinterest works a lot more like Google than like Instagram. People type in what they're looking for, and Pinterest serves up the pins (and the websites behind them) that best match.
After almost 10 years of building Squarespace sites, here's something I've seen over and over: the things that make your website Pinterest-friendly are the exact same things that make Google happy. You don't need two strategies. You need one solid foundation.
The good news? If you're on Squarespace, most of this is a few minutes of setup. No coding, no gatekeeping. Grab your coffee (or your wine, I don't know your life), and let's dig in.
CLEAN UP YOUR URLS
1. Clean Up Your URLs
Every platform with a search box (Google, Bing, Pinterest, even AI search tools) reads your URL to figure out what a page is about. So it pays to keep them tidy.
Here's the catch: Squarespace automatically creates your URL slug from your page or blog post title. That's convenient right up until your post is called "10 Things I Learned on My First Headlining Tour (and What I'd Do Differently)" and your URL is suddenly longer than your setlist.
What to aim for: short, clear, and descriptive.
• ❌ /blog/10-things-i-learned-on-my-first-headlining-tour-and-what-id-do-differently
• ✅ /blog/first-headlining-tour-lessons
You've probably heard you need to cram keywords into your URLs. Keywords are nice when they fit naturally, but clarity matters more. If someone can read your URL and guess what's on the page, you're golden. If it reads like a ransom note, keep editing.
Where to change it: open the settings for any page or blog post and edit the URL slug before you publish.
Pro Tip: Changing the URL on a page that's already live? Add a 301 redirect under URL Mappings in your Squarespace settings so old links (and old pins!) still land in the right place.
Keep Your Navigation Shallow
While you're tidying up, take a look at your main menu. A navigation bar with 12 top-level links isn't a menu, it's a cry for help. It overwhelms visitors, and it's harder for search engines to crawl, too.
Instead of going wide, go a little deeper. Group related pages into dropdown folders, and follow this rule of thumb: visitors should be able to find anything on your site in three clicks or less. People want answers fast, and a site that's easy for humans to navigate is easy for search engines (and AI tools) to understand.
2. Size Your Images Before You Upload Them
2. Size Your Images Before You Upload Them
Oversized images are the number one reason I see websites load slowly. Page speed is part of Google's Core Web Vitals, which means a slow site can quietly drag down your rankings.
The usual culprit? Uploading photos straight from your phone or camera. (I see you, 12 MB iPhone photo.) Those files are huge, and Squarespace has to load every single one.
Rule-of-thumb image sizes:
| Image Type | Max Width | Target File Size |
|---|---|---|
| Full-width / banner images | 1500 px 1200 px is a great sweet spot | ~100–120 KB |
| Smaller graphics & in-post images | As small as looks good | ~50 KB |
| Simple graphics with few colors | As small as looks good | Even smaller |
How to do it:
1. Resize first. Crop and resize the image to the size you actually need in Canva, Photoshop, Figma, or any photo editor.
2. Then compress. Run it through a free tool like TinyPNG to shrink the file size without a noticeable drop in quality.
3. Then upload to Squarespace.
It's an extra 30 seconds per image. Your site speed will thank you, and so will every visitor who would've bailed while your hero image loaded one pixel at a time.
3. Write Real Alt Text
3. Write Real Alt Text
Alt text is the short description attached to each image on your site. It does two important jobs:
1. Accessibility. Screen readers read it aloud so visitors with visual impairments know what's on the page.
2. Context. Search engines can't "see" images, so they read alt text to understand them. That extra context adds depth and credibility to your whole page.
And here's the Pinterest bonus: when someone pins an image from your site, Pinterest pulls in that image's alt text to help figure out what the pin is about and who to show it to. Blank alt text means a missed opportunity every time you get pinned.
How to write it: imagine you're describing the photo to a friend over the phone. Be clear and specific. No keyword stuffing required. It's not 2009. If a keyword fits naturally, great. If not, don't force it.
• ❌ "Squarespace web design Nashville musician website Pinterest"
• ✅ "Singer with a red guitar performing on a dimly lit stage"
4. Fill In Your SEO Descriptions
4. Fill In Your SEO Descriptions
If you only do one thing from this post, make it this one. It's the biggest bang for your buck, and it takes about two minutes per page.
Your SEO description (also called a meta description) is the short blurb that shows up under your page title in Google search results. It's also the text that can show up when someone shares or pins your page. You'll find it in Page Settings → SEO in Squarespace. Squarespace didn't exactly hang a flashing neon sign on it, which is why so many sites leave it blank.
When it's blank, Google and Pinterest have to guess what to show. And trust me, they are not great guessers.
What to write:
• Around 150 characters. 160 is the max before it gets cut off, but less is more.
• One or two sentences that explain what the page is and who it's for.
• A little hook. Give people a reason to click without being vague or clickbait-y.
Start with your money pages. These are the pages that lead to a sale or a booking: your homepage, services, shop or product pages, pricing, and any booking or lead-gen pages. Get those done first, then work your way through the rest.
Stuck on what to say? It's totally fine to use an AI tool for a first draft. Any clear, accurate description is better than nothing.
5. Give Every Blog Post a Pinnable Image
5. Give Every Blog Post a Pinnable Image
This is the one almost everyone misses. Like, almost everyone.
Pinterest is a vertical platform. It loves tall images. The ideal pin size is a 2:3 ratio, or 1000 × 1500 pixels. Those wide, skinny blog banners that look gorgeous on your site? On Pinterest, they shrink into sad little slivers that get scrolled right past.
The fix is simple: add a dedicated vertical image inside every blog post. Not your featured image, and not the banner at the top. A separate, tall, pin-ready graphic that lives in the body of the post.
To make this a habit instead of a chore:
Create a "template" blog post and save it as a draft.
Add a vertical image block where it fits your design, sized for a 1000 × 1500 graphic.
Add a caption reminder to the placeholder, like: "Swap in your pin graphic and add alt text, then delete this caption."
Duplicate that post every time you write something new.
Now every post you publish is pin-ready from day one, and your blog keeps a consistent look.
Bonus: Help Google Find Your New Posts Faster
Google doesn't always rush to crawl new content, especially if you don't publish on a regular schedule. Connecting Google Search Console to your Squarespace site helps Google learn when you've added new pages and posts, so they can start showing up in search sooner. It's a one-time setup that keeps working in the background.
Your Squarespace + Pinterest Quick Checklist
☑️ Short, clear URL slugs on every page and post
☑️ Shallow navigation (anything findable in three clicks or less)
☑️ Images resized and compressed before upload
☑️ Descriptive alt text on every image
☑️ SEO descriptions on all key pages (money pages first)
☑️ A vertical 1000 × 1500 pin image in every blog post
☑️ Google Search Console connected
Ready to Get Found?
A beautiful website is great. A beautiful website that people can actually find is even better. Otherwise, it's basically a very pretty, very expensive brochure sitting in a drawer. These small steps add up, and they'll keep working for you long after you hit publish.
If you'd rather have someone handle the setup for you (or you want a site that's built to be found from day one), book a free consultation and let's chat.
Cheers, JM
