When someone searches for “garage Toulouse”, “pharmacy Oran” or “restaurant near me”, Google first shows a map with a handful of businesses, above the regular results. Local SEO is about showing up on Google Maps and in that block. The approach is the same in France and in Algeria, where Google Maps is widely used, with a few specifics I cover below.
Local SEO: how Google picks the businesses it shows
Google combines three factors: relevance (does your profile match the search?), distance (where the user is, or which town they typed) and prominence (reviews, presence across the web, quality of your website). You cannot control distance; you largely control the rest.
Creating and completing your Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile is free. Once it is created, Google asks you to verify it, by video, phone or post depending on the case. After that, everything depends on the quality of the information:
- Your real business name, exactly as it appears on your sign: adding keywords to the name breaks Google’s rules and can get the profile suspended.
- The primary category, the most important setting: pick the most specific one (“Plumber” rather than “Contractor”), then a few secondary categories.
- Services and opening hours (including public holidays), service area, website link and phone number.
- Real photos: storefront, interior, team, completed work. They help customers recognise you on site.
- A clear description of your business, without keyword stuffing.
In Algeria: points to watch
Addresses there are often less standardised than in France: no street number in some cases, and housing estate or neighbourhood names that vary. Place the map pin precisely, mention the neighbourhood and a well-known landmark, then check that the route Google suggests really leads to your door. Many customers call straight from the profile or send a WhatsApp message: a mobile number that answers during your listed hours is essential. You will receive reviews in Arabic as well as French: reply in the customer’s language.
Customer reviews, the engine of local prominence
The number of reviews, their rating, how regularly they arrive and your replies all influence both Google and future customers. To get more of them:
- Ask for a review at the right moment, just after a successful job.
- Make it easy: send the direct link to your profile by text message or WhatsApp, or display a QR code at the till.
- Reply to every review, positive or negative, politely and factually.
Never buy reviews or write them yourself: it is forbidden by Google’s rules, the profile can be penalised, and in France fake reviews fall under misleading commercial practices. Also avoid offering anything in exchange for a review.
NAP consistency: the same name, address and phone everywhere
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone. This information must be strictly identical on your Google profile, your website, your social media and directories (Pages Jaunes, Apple Maps, Bing Places, local business directories). An old number on a directory or an address written three different ways blurs the signal sent to Google. Take stock once, fix everything, and keep a list of the sites where your details appear so you can update them if you move.
A local page on your website
Your Google profile links to your website, which should confirm what the profile says: your town and service area in the page title and text, contact details identical to the profile, an embedded map and, ideally, LocalBusiness structured data. If you have several locations, create one page per address rather than a single page listing every town.
Want to be visible in your town without spending your evenings on it? The Google local SEO offer covers creating or optimising your profile, making your details consistent, a local page on your website and a simple method for getting reviews: €190 excl. VAT in France, 20,000 DZD in Algeria.