9 October 2026

Local SEO for small businesses in Spain

Local SEO is what you do so that Google shows your business when someone nearby searches for what you offer. "Hair salon in Triana", "plumber Getafe", "restaurant near me". For searches like these, Google shows a map with a handful of businesses and, below it, the websites. Being on that map brings in local customers without paying for every click.

The short answer on how to get there: set up your Google Business Profile properly, collect reviews from real customers and have a website that says clearly what you do and where. Everything else helps, but those three are the foundation.

How Google decides who to show

Google says that for local results it looks at three things:

• Relevance. Whether what you offer matches what the person is looking for.
• Distance. How close you are to the person searching, or to the place they typed in.
• Prominence. How well known your business is: reviews, mentions on other websites, your own website.

You cannot change distance. Relevance and prominence you can. Local SEO is about working on those two.

Step 1: your Google Business Profile

This is the listing that appears on Google Maps and, on a computer, to the right of the results. It is free. If you do not have one, create it. If one already exists because a customer added it or Google generated it, claim it so you can manage it yourself.

Fill in everything

• Your real name. The one on your sign. Do not add "best cheap hair salon in Valencia": it breaks Google's rules and your listing can be suspended.
• Main category. The most precise one you can find. "Basque restaurant" says more than "Restaurant". Add secondary categories if you genuinely cover them.
• Address or service area. If you go to the customer, like a plumber, an electrician or a mobile physio, you can hide your address and mark the areas you cover.
• Opening hours. Include bank holidays and special hours. Few things annoy people more than turning up to find you closed.
• Phone and website. Make sure the phone number is one you actually answer.
• Services or menu, with prices if you can.
• A description written for people: what you do, for whom and where.
• Photos. The front of your premises so people recognise it, the inside, the team and your work. Add new photos every so often.

Get it verified

Google will ask you to prove the business is yours. Depending on the case, by video, by phone or by a letter to the address. Until it is verified, the listing does not fully work.

Keep it active

You can post updates and offers on your listing and answer questions people ask. It will not work miracles, but an active profile inspires more trust than one that has not changed in two years.

Step 2: reviews

Reviews count for what Google sees and, above all, for what customers see before choosing you.

• Ask at the right moment. When the customer leaves happy. A QR code on the counter or a WhatsApp link after the appointment both work well.
• Reply to all of them. To good ones, with a thank you that is not always the same. To bad ones, politely and without arguing: the person reading your reply is your next customer.
• Never buy them or trade them for discounts. Google forbids it, removes fake reviews and can penalise your listing. It is also misleading your customers.
• Do not script them. A customer saying in their own words that you fixed their boiler in Getafe helps more than any prepared line.

Step 3: a website that talks about your area

Your profile links to your website, and Google reads it to understand what you do and where. A profile with no website, or an empty one, is missing a leg.

• Say where you are. Mention your town or neighbourhood in headings and text where it makes sense: "Physiotherapy in central Zaragoza".
• One page per main service. A dental clinic with separate pages for orthodontics, implants and cleaning has an easier time than one with a single page that mentions everything in passing.
• If you cover several towns, explain it. What does not work is twenty identical pages with only the town name swapped.
• The same details everywhere. Name, address and phone written the same way on your website, your profile and directories.
• A map and directions. Let people see where you are without leaving your site.
• Fast on mobile. People searching "near me" nearly always have their phone in hand.
• Structured data. Hidden code that tells Google what kind of business you are, your address and your hours. If someone else builds your site, ask whether it is included.

Step 4: get mentioned elsewhere

Google also checks whether your business appears on other websites.

• Industry directories. TripAdvisor or TheFork for restaurants, Doctoralia for healthcare, your professional association's directory if you are a lawyer or an architect.
• General directories. Páginas Amarillas, Apple Maps and Bing Places. They are free, and plenty of people use them without realising, for example from an iPhone.
• Your neighbourhood. The local traders' association, the town hall website, the local paper, the sports club you sponsor.

Use the same details on all of them as on your profile.

Mistakes that sink local SEO

• Using a fake address or a PO box to appear in another town.
• Stuffing keywords into your business name.
• Having two listings for the same business.
• Leaving opening hours unchanged in August or over Christmas.
• Ignoring reviews, good and bad.
• A website with no address or phone number in sight.

How long it takes and how to tell if it works

Local SEO is not instant. Changes to your profile and website usually take weeks or months to show, depending on how competitive your area is. A hair salon in a village in Teruel is not the same as one in central Madrid.

To see whether it is working, check three things. Your Business Profile tells you how many people saw your listing, how many called and how many asked for directions. Your website stats tell you how many visits come in. And the simplest one: ask new customers how they found you.

A website ready for your neighbourhood

For step 3 you need a website that is clear, fast and easy to keep up to date. With Taraceista you describe what you do and where you are, and the AI builds the site with your services, your opening hours and an OpenStreetMap map with a "Get directions" button. When summer hours come round, you change them yourself by pointing at that part of the site, from the Android app too. You also get cookie-free visitor stats to see if more people are finding you. See how it looks for a neighbourhood business in websites for restaurants.

You can start free with no card, with 5 changes a month, and have your website ready to link from your Google listing: build your website for free.