Imagine a buyer in Riga typing “accounting services Riga” into Google. The results are a mix of English-language pages and machine-translated filler. A company with a solid service but no Latvian page is simply not there. If you are entering Latvia from abroad, this is the first SEO decision to make.
How search works in Latvia
Google is the dominant search engine, so visibility on Google is what counts. Latvian users search mainly in two languages: Latvian and English. Each is a separate results environment with its own competitors and traffic.
Latvian-language search volume is smaller than English, but competition is often thinner. In many niches, well-written Latvian content can reach the first page with a modest investment, provided the basics are right.
Why Latvian content is often an open field
Many Latvian business sites were built in English, because it looks international. Latvian content is missing, machine-translated or too generic to be useful. In many niches you do not have to beat dozens of strong competitors; you need to be present with solid, specific content.
The technical foundation
- hreflang tags. With more than one language, hreflang tells Google which version belongs to which language and audience. Without it Google chooses itself, not always correctly.
- Geotargeting in Search Console. A
.lvdomain is geotargeted automatically. On.comor.euyou need to set the target country yourself. - Google Business Profile. For local search it is essential. A complete profile with a Latvian description and current details improves “near me” and city-level visibility.
- Structured data. Schema.org markup helps Google understand your content and can produce rich results.
Where to start if your Latvian content is nearly empty
- Service pages. One page per main service in Latvian: what it is, who it is for, why you.
- FAQ. Local buyers search concrete questions: how much does X cost, what is included in Y, how does Z work.
- Posts with a local angle. Not “SEO tips” in general but “e-commerce in Latvia” or advice for small Latvian businesses.
- Customer reviews in Latvian.
Four steps are enough to begin. Consistency matters more than volume.
Mistakes that hurt
- Machine translation as a strategy. It is visible to Google and to readers, and Google devalues automatically generated content at scale. It is not saving money; it is damage.
- The same content in several languages without hreflang. It can be treated as duplicate content, and no version ranks.
- An English-only site meant for Latvian customers. It sends mixed signals.
- No local references. If your pages never mention Latvia, Riga or local context, Google cannot place you in the Latvian market.
- An empty Google Business Profile. It carries real traffic, especially on mobile.
What we do
FSM Studio has worked since 2006. SEO is not our core service in the way it is for dedicated SEO firms, but we build the technical foundation: hreflang, structured data, page speed, navigation and a content structure Google can read. If you are building or rebuilding a site for the Latvian market, getting this right at the start is far cheaper than fixing it later. If a site already exists and does not appear in search, we can audit it and say what is in the way. That is an honest assessment, not a promise of positions.
See our web development service or tell us about your site and we will say what holds it back.
