You have a website. You sell something real. But when someone searches Google for “employment lawyer in Madrid” or “dentist near me” or “best Japanese restaurant in Barcelona”, your site does not show up. The competition does. And meanwhile, in ChatGPT, when someone asks “recommend me a good employment lawyer in Madrid”, you do not show up either. In this article I explain, without jargon and with honesty, what is happening and what you can do yourself before paying anyone.
What Google looks at to decide if it shows you (60-second summary)
Google has a single goal: show the user the most useful result for their search. To decide this, it looks at over 200 signals, but the ones that really affect you if you have a local SME are these:
- That Google understands your site is about X topic in Y place. If your site says “employment lawyer in Madrid” in visible places (title, description, content, schema), Google gets it. If it does not say it, Google does not know.
- That your site is technically decent. Loads fast, looks good on mobile, no broken links. If your site takes 5 seconds to load, Google assumes “it is not useful” and penalises it.
- That other reliable sites talk about you. If the Michelin Guide links to you, or a local newspaper, or a blog in your industry, Google notices. This is called “authority” and is built over time.
- That your business data is consistent. That your name, address and phone are the same on your site, on Google Maps, on LinkedIn, in directories. If they are different, Google does not know which one is right.
- That your business is close to the user searching. If someone searches “dentist in Seville” and your site says “dentist in Seville”, Google shows you. If it says “dental clinic” without a city, Google does not know if to show you or not.
If you fail any of these 5, Google does not show you. It is not conspiracy or luck: it is logic.
What ChatGPT and AIs look at (different but similar)
When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity “recommend me a good dentist in Seville”, the AI does this:
- Searches its database (what it has read up to its cut-off date) for sites that look relevant.
- Looks at information consistency: name, address, phone, hours, services. If they are clear and consistent, the AI takes them as a reliable source.
- Looks at whether the site is structured with enriched data (Schema.org JSON-LD, llms.txt, FAQ, breadcrumbs). This helps it understand the site in seconds, without having to “read” the whole page.
- Looks at whether other sources mention the business: blog articles, social media posts, directory listings, reviews. If 10 sources agree that business X is good, the AI recommends it.
The 5 signals Google looks at and the 4 the AI looks at overlap. If you optimise for both at the same time, you cover 80% of the work.
What you can do yourself this weekend (without paying anyone)
This is what a normal SME owner can do without technical knowledge, in an afternoon. These are changes that really move the needle, and they cost no money.
1. Create or claim your Google Business Profile
This is the most important thing. If you have a local business and you do not have a Google Maps listing, you do not exist for Google or for 40% of your potential customers.
- Go to business.google.com and create the listing (or claim it if it already exists).
- Fill in ALL the fields: name, address, phone, hours, category, photos, description, services.
- Verify by postcard (you get a card with a code).
- Once verified, publish it and keep it up to date.
Time: 1-2 hours. Free.
2. Make sure your website clearly says who you are and where you are
Your home page must have, visible without scrolling:
- Business name
- City and area (not “consulting” alone, but “tax consulting in Malaga”)
- Phone with local format
- At least 3 specific services with their description
If this is not in your home, the first paragraph of your home, or in the header, Google and the AI do not get it.
Time: 1-2 hours. If you know a bit of HTML, do it yourself. If not, tell whoever made your site.
3. Add Schema.org JSON-LD to your home
Schema.org is a format that Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude understand. It is “invisible tags” that tell AIs: “this is my business, this is my address, this is what I sell, this is what I charge”.
What your site needs to have (in the HTML code, not visible to the user):
- Organization or LocalBusiness: name, address, phone, email, hours, founder
- Service (one for each service you offer): name, description, price, service area
- FAQPage (if you have FAQ): the 5-10 most common questions with direct answers
- BreadcrumbList: the hierarchy of your site (Home > Services > Service X)
If your site is on WordPress, plugins like “Schema Pro” or “Rank Math” do it in 10 minutes. If it is custom-built, you need a developer. If it is on Wix or Squarespace, you cannot (it is one of the reasons I do not recommend those platforms for local businesses).
Time: 30 minutes with plugin, 2-4 hours with developer. Free or EUR 50-200 depending on the case.
4. Create an llms.txt at the root of your site
llms.txt is a text file at yourdomain.com/llms.txt that summarises your business so AIs can read it in 5 seconds. It is like robots.txt but for ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude.
It should have:
- Who you are (1 paragraph, not 5)
- What you sell exactly (3-5 services, with prices)
- Where you are (city, area, address)
- How to contact you (email, phone)
- 3-5 frequently asked questions with direct answers
The specification is open (llmstxt.org) and the big AIs support or accept it. A well-done file of this type shows up in ChatGPT and Perplexity answers within weeks.
Time: 1 hour. Free.
5. Get 5-10 real customer reviews on Google
Google uses reviews as a local ranking factor. ChatGPT and Perplexity do too. Having 5 five-star reviews with real text (not just “great service”, but “he helped me change the name of my company in 24 hours, recommended”) differentiates you from the competition.
How to get them without looking like spam:
- Send an email 1 week after closing the service, with a direct link to your Google Maps listing.
- Put the listing’s QR code in your shop/office, with a small sign that says “Your opinión helps us, scan and rate in 30 seconds”.
- Do NOT buy reviews. AIs detect them (generic text, date pattern, new accounts without photo). Plus Google actively penalises.
Time: 5 minutes of setup, 2-3 months to get to 10 organic reviews. Free.
6. Publish 3-5 articles on your site answering real customer questions
Each article answers a question your customers ask you over and over. For example, if you are an employment lawyer in Madrid:
- “How much does unfair dismissal cost in Spain in 2026?”
- “How long does an employment lawsuit take in Spain?”
- “What happens if my employer does not pay my severance?”
- “Can I claim overtime after 2 years?”
Each article:
- 800-1500 words
- Answers the question in the first 2 sentences
- Has an H1 with the exact question
- Has an FAQ at the end
- Links to your “employment law” service page
Do not look for weird keywords. Write the questions your customers ask you exactly as they ask them. And answer with the truth, no filler.
Time: 2-4 hours per article. Free, or EUR 50-100/article if someone else writes it.
What you should NOT do (because it does not work or is a scam)
This is equally important:
- Do not buy backlinks from PBNs, low-quality directories or “SEO agencies” that promise you 100 links for EUR 50. Google has ignored them since 2012 and AIs do too. Plus, they can get you penalised.
- Do not subscribe to “GEO tools” that promise to rank you in ChatGPT for X EUR/month. 90% are smoke. What works is the above, free.
- Do not keyword-stuff your site. “Madrid lawyer Madrid lawyer Madrid lawyer best Madrid lawyer” has not worked since 2011.
- Do not buy Google reviews. Google detects them and penalises you. Plus, AIs do too.
- Do not obsess over perfect PageSpeed. If your site loads in 3 seconds and is useful, that is fine. If it loads in 1 second but has no useful content, that is not.
- Do not publish 100% AI-generated content without review. AIs detect it (generic style, lack of real opinión) and mark it as low value.
When it DOES make sense to pay someone
If after doing the 6 steps above your site still does not show up (or shows up very low), it is usually for one of these reasons:
- Your site is technically very bad: loads in 8 seconds, made with Wix, has 50 outdated WordPress plugins. You need a migration.
- Your site does not have enough content: 3 pages with 100 words each does not compete against a site with 30 pages with 1,500 words each. You need more quality content.
- Your market is very competitive: “lawyer in Madrid” has 4 million results. Ranking there requires time, money and constant work for 6-12 months. It is not a 1-week project.
- You do not have time to do it yourself: normal, you run a business. In that case, outsource it.
How I can help
If you want, I do a SEO + GEO audit of your site for EUR 40 (one-off, no contract). It is a 2-3 page report where I tell you:
- What is good (without selling you smoke: if it is good, it is good)
- What fails (with screenshot and explanation)
- What to change first (with impact and estimated effort)
- What to leave for later
If afterwards you want me to fix it, we talk. If not, you keep the report and pass it to whoever you want.
Order SEO + GEO audit for EUR 40
Or if you prefer to talk first, WhatsApp +34 649 23 05 22. I reply within 24 hours.
And if I built your site, this is included in the base. You do not pay for it separately.