Local SEO in Spain: how to appear on Google Maps
By the Bright Analytic team ·
When someone searches "English speaking dentist Marbella" or "fontanero cerca de mí", Google shows a map with three businesses at the top and the usual results below. Getting into that map can fill your diary. Local SEO is the work that gets you there. Here is how it works in Spain, where many businesses need to be found in two languages, and what you can do yourself to start.
What local SEO is
Local SEO is everything that helps a business appear in Google when someone searches for a service in a specific area: on Google Maps, in the local pack in the results and in "near me" searches.
Location matters much more than in traditional SEO. A local search is not necessarily won by the biggest website, but by the most relevant, nearby business with the best reputation.
The three factors Google uses
Google says local results are based mainly on three factors:
- Relevance: how well your business matches the search — your categories, services, profile and website content.
- Distance: how close you are to the searcher or the area they mention.
- Prominence: how well known and well rated you are, online and offline — reviews, mentions on other websites and your own site.
You cannot change your distance. You can improve relevance and prominence.
Your Google Business Profile
Your Business Profile is what appears on the map. Claim and verify it, then complete it fully: the right primary category, secondary categories, hours (including holidays), services, description, real photos and your website.
If you serve customers at their home or do not have premises they visit, set it up as a service-area business without showing your address.
Being found in English and Spanish
In much of Spain, your customers search in two languages. Write your services and description so they make sense to both, reply to reviews in the language they were written in, and make sure your website has proper English and Spanish pages. That way you can appear for "estate agent Alicante" as well as "inmobiliaria Alicante".
Reviews
Reviews influence both customers and visibility. Ask happy customers with a direct link after a job well done, and reply to every review, including negative ones, calmly and professionally. Never buy reviews or ask friends to invent them: it breaks Google's rules and can get your profile suspended.
Consistent details everywhere
Your name, phone number and address (or service area) should be identical on your website, Business Profile, social media and directories. An old phone number in a directory or a slightly different name on each site confuses Google and customers alike. Review your listings at least once a year.
How long it takes
Profile improvements can show results within a few weeks, and more consistent gains usually come after two or three months. Nobody can guarantee a specific position on the map, because distance and local competition weigh heavily. If you would rather hand it over, our local SEO service covers all of this in English and Spanish.