Nigeria has one of the fastest-growing internet populations in the world. Over 100 million Nigerians are online now, and most of us use Google to find everything — from where to buy things to which businesses to trust. If your business is not showing up when people search on Google, you are losing customers every single day.

Here is the good news though. SEO in Nigeria is still not as competitive as it is in America or Europe. Many Nigerian businesses have not even started thinking about SEO yet. So if you start now, you have a real chance to get ahead of your competitors.

Let me share practical SEO tips that you can start using today to rank higher on Google.

1. Set Up Your Google Business Profile

If you have a shop, office, or serve customers in any Nigerian city, your Google Business Profile is the most important thing you can set up. It is free, and it puts your business right there on the map when someone searches for what you offer.

Make sure you do these things:

Fill everything — business hours, services, phone number, description
Add real photos of your shop, products, and team (not stock photos)
Pick the right business category
Ask your happy customers to leave Google reviews
Post updates on your profile at least once a week

Businesses that fill out their Google profile properly get way more clicks than those that leave it half empty. It is free, so there is no excuse.

2. Use Nigerian-Specific Keywords

Do not just target general keywords. Add location words that Nigerians actually search. Instead of just "web design services," go for "web design company in Lagos" or "affordable web designer Abuja."

You can use the AfriSEO keyword research tool to find out what Nigerians are searching for in your industry. The tool gives you search volume and competition data specifically for the Nigerian market.

3. Your Website Must Work Well on Phone

This one is not optional. More than 85% of Nigerians use their phone to browse the internet. Google also ranks the mobile version of your website first. So if your site looks bad on phone, you will not rank well.

Test your website on your actual phone, not just by making your browser window smaller. Check that:

You can read the text without zooming
Buttons are big enough to tap with your finger
Pages load fast even on a slow connection (many people still use 3G)
Nothing is blocked by popups or annoying overlays

4. Make Your Website Load Fast

Website speed matters a lot in Nigeria. Internet connections can be slow and many people are on limited data plans. If your website takes too long to load, people will just close it and go to the next result. Google knows this, so slow websites rank lower.

Here are quick things you can do:

Compress your images before uploading them
Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) that has servers close to Africa
Do not use too many heavy animations or JavaScript
Turn on browser caching
Use a good hosting provider that does not go down every time

5. Write Content That Answers What Nigerians Are Asking

The best SEO strategy is actually the simplest one: answer the questions your customers are asking. Write blog posts, guides, and FAQ pages about the specific problems Nigerian customers face.

For example, if you run an accounting firm in Lagos, write articles like:

"How to Register a Business Name With CAC in Nigeria"
"Tax Filing Deadlines for Nigerian Small Businesses in 2026"
"VAT Registration in Nigeria: What Every Business Owner Should Know"

This kind of content brings in people who are actively looking for your services. They are not just browsing — they have a problem and they want someone to solve it.

6. Get Backlinks From Nigerian Websites

Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to yours. Google uses them as a sign that your website is trustworthy. The more quality websites that link to you, the higher you rank.

For Nigerian businesses, focus on getting links from:

Nigerian business directories
Nigerian news sites and blogs
Industry associations
Other businesses you partner with
Guest posts on popular Nigerian websites

7. Add Schema Markup to Your Website

Schema markup is a bit of code you add to your website that helps Google understand what your business is about. When you add it, your search results can show extra information like star ratings, prices, and business hours right there on Google. This makes people more likely to click on your result.

For Nigerian businesses, the most useful types are LocalBusiness, Product, FAQ, and Review schema. If you use WordPress, there are plugins that handle this for you — no coding needed.

8. Track How You Are Doing

You cannot improve what you do not measure. Set up Google Search Console and Google Analytics on your website. Both are free. They show you which keywords bring traffic, which pages are doing well, and where you need to do better.

For more detailed tracking of your Nigerian search rankings, AfriSEO's rank tracker monitors your positions for specific keywords in Nigerian search results every day.

Start Ranking Your Nigerian Business Today

SEO is not something you do once and forget. It is an ongoing thing. But businesses that start now will have a big advantage over those that keep postponing. Every month you wait, your competitors are getting stronger on Google.

Sign up for AfriSEO free and get a full check-up of your website's SEO health. You will see exactly what needs fixing and where the biggest opportunities are in the Nigerian market.

SEO Tips for Nigerian Businesses: How to Rank on Google in 2026