How to Rank on Google in Australia: Seven Steps
How does a business get found on Google in Australia?
To rank on Google in Australia, write your pages in Australian English with the words Australians search for, show prices in Australian dollars and where in Australia you work or deliver, build a page for each city you serve, verify a Google Business Profile for each real location, and tag the pages as meant for Australia.
Key takeaways
- Google reads several signs to decide which country a page is for, including the domain ending, hreflang tags, local addresses, currency and links from local sites.
- Australian spelling generally follows British spelling, and some everyday words are different altogether, so a page written for American readers can miss the words Australians type.
- Australia has six states and two mainland territories, and each capital city has its own competitors.
- Summer in Australia runs from December to February, so seasonal pages follow a different calendar from North America and Europe.
- A .com.au domain is open only to businesses with an Australian presence, and you can rank in Australia without one.
In this guide
This guide shows how to rank on Google in Australia, whether you run an Australian business or are entering from the USA or elsewhere. It keeps to what is true of Australia: its states and cities, its spelling and vocabulary, its seasons and its own domain. To hand the work over, see our SEO work for businesses in Australia.
What is different about ranking on Google in Australia?
SEO for Australian businesses differs mostly in the words, the calendar and the map. Australia shares a language with the USA and Britain, which hides how much is different.
| Fact | Where it is stated | What it means for your website |
|---|---|---|
| Six states and two mainland territories, each with its own parliament | Parliamentary Education Office | Plan by state and capital city: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra and Darwin |
| Australian spelling generally follows British spelling, with exceptions | Australian Government Style Manual | Check spelling in an Australian dictionary, not a US or UK one |
| Some everyday words are Australian: a moving company is a removalist | NSW Government consumer advice | Research the words Australians type before you write |
| Summer is December to February, and winter is June to August | Bureau of Meteorology | Time seasonal pages and offers to the Australian year |
| A .com.au domain needs an Australian presence | auDA, which administers .au | Check that you qualify before you plan around a .com.au address |
How does Google know a page is meant for Australia?
From several signs read together. Google's guidance lists a country-code domain, the tags that tell Google which language and country a page is for (hreflang), server location, and clues on the page: local addresses and phone numbers, local language and currency, links from other local sites and your Business Profile. Google does not say that any single one is required.
Google's guide to multi-regional and multilingual sites says it relies on a number of signals to determine the best target audience for a page, and names country-code domains, hreflang statements, server location and other signals such as local addresses, local language and currency.
Source1Google Search Central
Ranking on google.com.au works the same way. Google said in 2017 that the country version of Search is chosen by where the searcher is, not by the address they type. So the aim is to be the best answer for someone searching from Australia.
How to rank on Google in Australia: seven steps
Work through them in order. Steps 1 to 4 are research and decisions. Steps 5 to 7 are set-up and upkeep.
Seven steps, in order
- 1. Choose your cities before your keywords
Australia has eight state and territory capitals, a long way apart. Decide which you can really serve. As examples: a dental clinic in Brisbane needs to win Brisbane, and an online furniture store that delivers nationwide needs a plan for each state it ships to.
- 2. Find the words Australians type
Do the keyword research again for Australia. A US page about a “moving company” misses the everyday Australian word, which is removalist. List your services, then check each name and its spelling in an Australian dictionary. The Australian Government's Style Manual recommends the Macquarie Dictionary or the Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary.
- 3. Rewrite the pages, do not copy them
Google lists local language and currency among the clues it reads. Use Australian spelling, prices in Australian dollars, an Australian address or phone number if you have one, and clear delivery details. A copy of your US page with the country name swapped tells customers it was not written for them.
- 4. Decide on the address
A .com.au domain is the clearest sign of an Australian site, but only businesses with an Australian presence can register one. An Australian section on the .com you already have, such as example.com/au/, also works. .com.au or .com: which domain for Australia compares them.
- 5. Tag the Australian pages
If the same content exists for other English-speaking countries, add an hreflang tag to each version. Australian pages take en-au, which Google uses in its own examples. Every version must link to the others, or Google ignores the tags. See what hreflang is and how to set it up.
- 6. Get on the map in each city
Claim and verify a Google Business Profile for each real location or service area. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and how well known the business is. Then build one useful page for each city. How to rank higher on Google Maps and how to rank in multiple cities have the detail.
- 7. Earn Australian proof, and plan by the Australian calendar
Google counts links from other local sites as a sign of who a site is for, and counts reviews and links towards how well known a business is locally. Ask Australian customers for reviews and earn mentions on Australian websites. Then set your content calendar by Australian seasons: a page about summer needs to be live before December.
Australian spelling and search terms: how much do they matter?
Enough to rewrite for. There are three separate problems here, and each needs a different fix.
| Problem | Example | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Different spelling | The Style Manual writes “organisation”, where a US page writes “organization” | Set your spellchecker to Australian English and check doubtful words in an Australian dictionary |
| Different word | “Removalist” for a company that moves household goods | Treat it as a new search term: research it and build the page around it |
| Different season | Summer is December to February | Move seasonal pages, offers and emails to the Australian year |
What is not known: Google's guidance for international sites does not say how it treats two spellings of the same word. What is certain is that the reader notices. The Style Manual's advice to government writers holds for a business too: for Australian spellings, always use an Australian English dictionary.
The Australian Government Style Manual says Australian spelling generally follows British spelling, with exceptions, and tells writers to always use an Australian English dictionary. It recommends the Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary or the Macquarie Dictionary.
How long does it take to rank in Australia, and what does it cost?
Early fixes often show within weeks, and being found for competitive searches across Australia takes months. Nobody can honestly promise a position or a date. How long SEO takes sets out the usual timeline.
If you hire help, our Local SEO Starter plan starts from $1,000 a month for one city or service area, with a three-month minimum, and National SEO Foundation starts from $2,500 a month for the whole country. For a business entering from overseas there is a one-off International SEO Market Map from $3,500. All of these prices are in US dollars, not Australian dollars. See the pricing page.
Related serviceSEO for businesses in Australia
We research how Australians search, rewrite your pages in Australian wording with local prices, set up the signals that mark them as Australian, and look after your Google Maps listings. We work remotely from New York and have no office in Australia.
See the serviceQuestions people ask about ranking on Google in Australia
Related serviceInternational SEO
A customer in Toronto and a customer in Sydney search in different words, compare you with different companies and expect local prices. We set up your website so each country has its own pages, and Google knows which one to show.
See the serviceCountries we work in
Do I need an ABN to rank on Google in Australia?
No. None of the signs Google lists for working out which country a page is for is a business registration. An Australian Business Number matters for something else: it is one of the ways to show the Australian presence that auDA requires before you can register a .com.au domain.
Can I rank in Australia without an Australian office?
In the ordinary results, yes. An Australian address is one clue Google reads, alongside language, currency, tags and links from local sites. On Google Maps, no. Google's guidelines limit Business Profiles to businesses with a location customers can visit or that travel to their customers, and they rule out P.O. boxes and virtual offices.
Can I use the same English pages for Australia, the UK and the USA?
You can, but you give up the local signals. Google's guidance treats pages with small regional differences in one language as a case for hreflang tags. The usual approach is a version for each country, each one tagged, with its own spelling, prices and examples.
Should I target all of Australia or one city first?
Start where you can serve customers best. A business with one location should win its own city first, because distance from the searcher is part of how Google ranks local results. An online store can aim nationwide from the start, and add pages for the states where delivery terms differ.
See what Australians find when they search for you.
Send us your website and the Australian cities you want customers in, and our free audit will show where you appear today and what to fix first.
The authors
Who wrote and checked this guide
Written by
Jamiez Nguyen
Founder & CEO
Jamiez Nguyen founded Taskcover and leads strategy and client growth. He started it in 2017 as a team doing search work behind the scenes for other agencies, then opened it to businesses in the USA, Canada and Australia.
Reviewed by
John Edward
CTO
John Edward leads the technical side of Taskcover: how sites are built, how fast they load, and how search engines read them.
Updated Fact-checked About the people at Taskcover
Sources
Where the facts in this guide come from
Facts last checked on October 12, 2026.
- 1Managing Multi-Regional and Multilingual SitesGoogle Search CentralChecked on October 12, 2026
- 2Localized Versions of your PagesGoogle Search CentralChecked on October 12, 2026
- 3Making search results more local and relevantGoogle, The KeywordChecked on October 12, 2026
- 4Tips to improve your local ranking on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 5Guidelines for representing your business on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 6Three levels of government: governing AustraliaParliamentary Education Office, Parliament of AustraliaChecked on October 12, 2026
- 7SpellingAustralian Government Style ManualChecked on October 12, 2026
- 8Choosing a removalistNSW Government, NSW Fair TradingChecked on October 12, 2026
- 9Solstices, equinoxes and the seasonsBureau of Meteorology, Australian GovernmentChecked on October 12, 2026
- 10.au Domain Administration Rules: LicensingauDA (.au Domain Administration)Checked on October 12, 2026
