“We have a website, but nobody finds us on Google.”
It’s one of the most common things we hear from business owners along the coast — and it’s rarely about the website looking bad. Usually, it’s about the website not being set up to actually be findable. Here’s a practical, no-nonsense guide to what actually helps.
1. Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile
Before anything else: if you haven’t set up a Google Business Profile, start there. It’s free, and it’s what controls how your business shows up in Google Maps and local search results — often before your actual website even appears.
Make sure it includes:
- Correct opening hours (and holiday hours — this matters a lot on the coast)
- Accurate address and service area
- Real photos of your business, not stock images
- Your correct category (this affects who Google shows you to)
2. Make sure your site is genuinely mobile-friendly
We’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: Google evaluates your site primarily based on the mobile version. A site that’s slow, cramped, or hard to navigate on a phone will struggle in rankings, no matter how good it looks on a desktop monitor.
3. Have real, specific content — not just generic pages
A lot of small business websites still just have a “Home,” “About,” and “Contact” page with a paragraph or two on each. That’s not much for Google to work with, and it’s not much for a potential customer to work with either.
Instead, aim for:
- A dedicated page for each core service you offer
- Location-specific pages if you serve multiple towns (a page mentioning Fuengirola specifically will rank better for “Fuengirola” searches than a single generic page trying to cover everywhere at once)
- A blog that answers the actual questions your customers ask you
4. Think about English and Spanish
The Costa del Sol has a genuinely unusual mix of local Spanish customers, long-term expats, and tourists — all searching in different languages. If your business serves both audiences but your site is only in one language, you’re likely invisible to a meaningful chunk of your potential customers.
5. Get a few genuine reviews
Reviews matter more for local search than most business owners realize. A handful of genuine, recent reviews on your Google Business Profile can move the needle more than almost anything else on this list — and they’re free.
6. Be patient, but be consistent
SEO isn’t instant. It’s less like flipping a switch and more like gradually building trust with Google over weeks and months, through consistent, genuine signals — quality content, real engagement, and a site that actually works well for visitors.
Putting it together
None of this requires a huge budget — a lot of it is about consistency and getting the fundamentals right, rather than any single trick. That said, some of these things (site speed, mobile design, multi-language setup, structured service pages) do come down to how your website is actually built.
If you’d like a second opinion on where your site currently stands, reach out to Azul Pixel — we’re happy to take a look and tell you honestly what’s holding you back.