SEO for businesses in Kortrijk

On 25 October 2026 we asked Google in Belgium what it suggests for five ordinary services in Kortrijk, in Dutch and in French. In Dutch Google fills in richly: 'loodgieter kortrijk best beoordeeld' (best rated plumber), 'elektricien kortrijk spoed' (emergency electrician), 'advocaat kortrijk familierecht' (family lawyer), 'boekhouder regio kortrijk' (accountant in the region). People who search like that know what they want and choose between a few names. In French the same searches exist with 'Courtrai': 'avocat courtrai', 'comptable courtrai', 'plombier courtrai', 'electricien courtrai'. Google fills them in less, which suggests fewer people search them, but also that there is less competition. In English, 'seo kortrijk' itself comes back as a search, and 'web agency kortrijk' brings 'digital agency kortrijk' and 'web development kortrijk' with it.

For a Kortrijk business three things follow:

1. Write a page per service in the form your clients type. 'Spoed' (emergency) and 'van wacht' (on call) are searches of their own for an electrician; 'familierecht' and 'strafrecht' for a lawyer.
2. Write for the region, not just the city. 'Regio kortrijk' keeps coming back. Name the towns where you really work: Harelbeke, Kuurne, Zwevegem, Wevelgem, Menen, Deerlijk, Lendelede, and the Kortrijk districts Heule, Bissegem, Marke, Aalbeke, Bellegem, Kooigem and Rollegem.
3. Consider a French version if part of your clients come from Mouscron, Tournai or Lille. A French page on 'Courtrai' often ranks faster than a Dutch one on 'Kortrijk'. We built sites with a French version for a law firm, among others.

A second language is not a translation. The French version has its own search terms, its own titles and sometimes other examples. Technically it belongs on the same domain, in a folder of its own, with hreflang on every page so Google knows which version is for whom. An English version follows the same rule, and is worth it when buyers abroad or international staff find you.

Google uses one index, but someone searching in Lille sees French sites more often, because Google weighs local signals. A Belgian business that wants to be found in France shows that it delivers there: French references, a French phone number or delivery address if you have one, and prices the way a French client expects them. How a multilingual site works is on multilingual website development.

Take a joiner in Heule who fits kitchens and interior doors, also in Mouscron.

The French page is no copy: other search terms, other examples, the same craft. We built pages like that per service and per region for SN Group, a contractor in Ghent, with its own service area page and an English version. What has to sit underneath technically, from speed to sitemap, is in technical SEO.

Many clients in the region type their own town, not Kortrijk. A page per town where you really did work helps them. Keep it honest: a town where you never went does not belong in a list at the bottom of your page. Start with the towns where you have the most clients, and write for each something that is only true there: the jobs you did, how fast you get there, the neighbourhood you visit most.

• See what Google fills inType your service plus 'kortrijk' and plus 'courtrai', and note what Google suggests. That list is your first term map.
• Put your town in your title'Electrician in Kortrijk and Harelbeke' says more than 'Welcome to our company'.
• Fill in your Google Business Profile completely,with your services in Dutch and, if you have French-speaking clients, in French in the description too.
• Ask for a review after every jobA short email with a direct link is enough.
• Check what your site shows a foreign visitorCompany number, address and prices including VAT are required on a Belgian site in any language; see company number on your website.

Belgian agencies usually charge 500 to 2,500 euros a month for SEO; an audit up front costs 500 to 2,500 euros one-off. The ranges and what to expect after a year are in SEO cost. Count on three to six months for stable positions; how long does SEO take says why. A second language needs pages of its own and so writing of its own. If you would rather hire a specialist for a single job, look at the SEO specialist hourly rate. With us the price is fixed before we start, per language you have written, and the approach is on SEO.

Use 'Kortrijk' on your Dutch pages and 'Courtrai' on your French ones. A French page with 'Kortrijk' in the title misses everyone who types 'Courtrai', and a Dutch page with 'Courtrai' sounds odd to your Flemish clients. On English pages Google itself shows the split: English searchers type 'kortrijk', so use that.

• Only 'Kortrijk' in your titlesA client from Zwevegem or Wevelgem types their own town. Name the places where you really did work.
• A French page from a translation toolFrench-speaking readers notice at once, and Google sees a thin page.
• Hreflang that points one wayThe Dutch page links to the French one, but not back: then Google ignores both.
• No reviews in FrenchAsk French-speaking clients for a review too; it tells new French-speaking clients more than ten Dutch ones. How to ask without pushing is in get more Google reviews, and you make the link with the Google review link generator.
• A profile without servicesYour Google Business Profile helps decide who shows in the map pack. Fill in the category and the services, in the language of your clients; that is the work of local SEO.

Want to know where your site stands now? Start with the SEO checker or a full SEO audit. For the rest of your marketing, fairs and campaigns: our marketing agency in Kortrijk, and for the whole province our marketing agency for West Flanders.

For Business Centrum we built a site in four languages, French and English among them, and wrote pages per language on the terms employers type, city pages with their own local facts included. In five weeks impressions in Google went from 220 to 10,200 a day. We do not promise that for Kortrijk; we bring the same approach.