For a local business, being found online is not about ranking worldwide. It is about appearing when someone in Torrevieja, Benidorm, Jávea, Mazarrón, Los Alcázares, Cartagena or Águilas searches for exactly what you offer. That is what local SEO is all about.
Expat businesses face a unique twist: their customers may search in English, Spanish or both, and often use local landmarks and town names rather than formal locations. Here is how to make sure they find you.
How people search locally
Your potential customers might type:
- “English speaking dentist Orihuela Costa”
- “pool cleaning Ciudad Quesada”
- “fontanero Torrevieja”
- “restaurants near me”
- “best fish restaurant Mar Menor”
Notice the mix of English and Spanish, specific urbanisations and “near me” searches. Your online presence needs to reflect all of these.
1. Start with Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the foundation of local SEO. A complete, accurate, actively managed profile with plenty of reviews is the single biggest factor in appearing in the map results. Follow our complete Google Business Profile guide step by step.
2. Build location pages on your website
If you serve several towns, create a genuinely useful page for each main area — not just a copy-and-paste with the town name swapped. Include:
- The specific services you offer there.
- Local projects or customers (with permission).
- Testimonials from customers in that area.
- Practical details: travel times, coverage, local knowledge.
Avoid creating dozens of thin, near-identical pages. Google’s guidelines treat these as spam.
3. Use the language your customers use
- Use town and urbanisation names naturally in your page titles, headings and content.
- Include English and Spanish terms where appropriate — “pool maintenance (mantenimiento de piscinas)”.
- Consider a bilingual website if you want to reach Spanish customers. See should your website be bilingual?
4. Get reviews — lots of them
Reviews influence both rankings and decisions. Ask every satisfied customer, make it easy and respond to every review. Our guide to getting more Google reviews has scripts and tactics.
5. Do not forget Apple Maps and Bing
Many of your customers use iPhones, and Apple Maps is the default map app on those devices. Claim your free listing through Apple Business Connect. Likewise, claim Bing Places for Business, which also feeds some AI assistants and voice search tools. Make sure your name, address and phone number match exactly everywhere.
6. Get listed in local directories
Useful citations for expat businesses include:
- English-language business directories for your region.
- Local expat publications and their online directories.
- Chambers of commerce and business associations.
- Industry-specific directories.
- Spanish directories such as Páginas Amarillas, if you serve Spanish customers.
Quality and relevance matter more than quantity.
7. Be active in the community — online and off
Local links and mentions help SEO. Sponsor a local event, partner with complementary businesses, contribute to local publications or charity events. Active participation in local Facebook groups also builds awareness — see our guide to Facebook groups for expat businesses.
8. Create locally relevant content
Blog posts that answer questions your local customers actually ask perform well. A property maintenance company might write about “Preparing your villa for summer on the Costa Blanca”; a restaurant might share “What to eat during the Mar Menor fiestas”. Local content builds relevance and trust. Our post on whether blogging is still worth it explains why.
9. Make your website technically sound
A fast, mobile-friendly website with clear contact details on every page, structured data marking up your business details, and click-to-call and WhatsApp buttons supports everything else. See what every small business website needs.
10. Track what matters
Watch your Google Business Profile insights, your rankings for key local searches and, most importantly, enquiries. Ask every new customer how they found you.
Local knowledge makes a difference
We are based in Los Alcázares on the Mar Menor and work with businesses across the Costa Cálida and Costa Blanca. We understand how expat and Spanish customers search, and we can help you appear in front of both. Get in touch for a local SEO review.
