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How to get your Google listing working in English in Spain

There is no language switch on a Google listing, but there are ways to reach the customer who searches in English. What Google translates and what you should write yourself.

·4 min read·Leer en español

A Google Business Profile is a single listing: you cannot have one version in Spanish and another in English. Google translates some parts automatically depending on the language of the person searching. The rest is up to you.

What Google translates

  • The category, shown in the searcher's language: «Peluquería» appears as «Hair salon».
  • Attributes such as wifi, terrace or wheelchair access.
  • Not the description or your posts: they appear as you write them, though Google may offer a machine translation.

Write the description in both languages

You have 750 characters. Write it in Spanish and add a short paragraph in English. That is enough if you keep it to the point.

Services in both languages

Name each service in both languages, for example «Corte de pelo / Haircut». The listing then matches searches in either.

Posts and reviews

Alternate posts in Spanish and English. Ask English-speaking customers for reviews and reply to them in English. Reviews in their own language are what most reassures a foreign customer.

What helps most is linking the listing to a website with a proper English version. Google takes it into account, and the customer finds what they need when they click.

Common questions

Can I add English words to my business name?

Only if they are part of your real name. Adding words that are not violates Google's rules and can get the listing suspended.

Does Google translate my description?

It may offer a machine translation to the user, but writing the English part yourself reads much better.

Can you do this for me?

Yes. When we optimise a listing (€99) we write the description and services in both languages.

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