SEO in Athens and Greece: Greek-language search, the SEE advertising code and the #ad rule for influencers

SEO in Athens is Greek-language Google SEO: Google handles over 95% of searches in Greece, so the work is pages written in Greek for the words Greek buyers type, a complete Google Business Profile for anything local, and English pages only for the visitors and international buyers who search in English. Paid influencer posts must carry #ad at the start, or the platform's paid-partnership label, under the guidance of the Communication Control Council (SEE), the industry body that applies the Hellenic Advertising and Communication Code. Check that any agency works this way before you compare prices, and keep every Google and analytics account in your company's name.

The Greek market in numbers

StatCounter's figures for September 2026 put Google at 95.45% of searches in Greece, Bing at 2.95%, Yahoo at 0.54%, DuckDuckGo at 0.41% and Yandex at 0.31%. Few markets in Europe are this concentrated on one search engine, so Google Search Console is the main tool for measuring the work.

Social traffic is concentrated too. StatCounter's referral figures for the same month show Facebook sending 88.95% of the social visits to websites in Greece, with Instagram at 2.90%, X (Twitter) at 2.68%, Pinterest at 2.37% and YouTube at 2.02%. These are visits to websites, not time spent in the apps, so a brand can still be very active on Instagram while Facebook carries most of the clicks to its site.

Writing for Greek search

Greek pages need native Greek writers. A translated English page rarely uses the words a Greek buyer types, and grammar and word endings change the search terms themselves. Start with keyword research in Greek. Check your main terms in Keyword Planner in Greek script and in Latin letters, and target the forms your buyers actually use. For a Greek-speaking team, the same checklist is written in Greek in our guide to choosing an SEO company in Greece.

Two technical points matter more on Greek sites than on English ones. First, decide how URLs are written: Greek characters or a consistent Latin transliteration, then keep to it so links and shares stay clean. Second, if you run Greek and English versions, give each language its own URL and connect them so Google shows the right one to the right searcher. Our guide to URL structure, hreflang and local signals for international sites explains the setup.

The advertising code and the SEE

The Communication Control Council (Symvoulio Elegchou Epikoinonias, SEE) is the advertising industry's self-regulation body in Greece, based in Marousi in the Athens area. It publishes the Hellenic Advertising and Communication Code (EKD-E), in a 2023 edition based on the International Chamber of Commerce's Advertising and Marketing Communications Code. The Code sets the rules for everyone in advertising and marketing: advertisers, agencies and media, and also content creators, influencers, bloggers and vloggers. The SEE examines complaints and publishes its decisions.

Influencer posts: when it is an ad, say it is an #ad

The SEE's influencer guidance is clear and practical:

• What counts as advertising. A creator's content becomes marketing communication when the advertiser gives the creator some benefit. That can be direct payment or anything else of value: free or discounted products, stays in hotels and restaurants, trips, tickets or discount codes.
• The label. Creators should put #ad at the start of the text and in a visible place, or use the platform's own label, such as paid partnership on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube. The SEE recommends using both as best practice.
• The brand's duty. A brand or agency working with influencers must make sure every commercial post from the partnership mentions the paid partnership or #ad at the start, and follows all the rules of the Code.

The SEE also lists influencers who have completed its IMST influencer marketing standards training as certified influencers. Asking a creator whether they have taken it is a quick first check.

Athens: what is local about buying SEO here

The Athens area is made up of many municipalities, from Piraeus to Marousi to Glyfada, and local search works at that level. A shop, clinic, office or restaurant should own its Google Business Profile, use its real address and opening hours, add photos of the premises, and build an honest page for each area it really serves. For hotels, rental villas and tour operators, the work is different again: room and tour pages in Greek and English, and the free listing surfaces Google offers. Our guide to hotel SEO, the booking engine and the free hotel listings covers that case.

Outside Athens, the same approach works in Thessaloniki, Patras or Heraklion: one real page per place you serve, written for that place, rather than an Athens page with the city name changed.

What to put in the brief

Service	What to ask for in writing
SEO	Pages to be written or fixed each month, in Greek or English, with Search Console in your name
Local SEO	The Business Profile owned by you, with real address, hours, photos and service areas
Social media	Platforms chosen from your own analytics, who approves posts, and how clicks to the site are counted
Google Ads	Account in your name, ads and landing pages written in Greek, spend separate from the fee
Influencers	#ad and the platform label on every paid or gifted post, and a record of what each creator received

Greek agencies price by monthly retainer, fixed project or hourly rate. Compare quotes on hours, named people, pages produced, reports and exclusions. Refuse any offer that promises a position: Google's own guidance says "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." For Google Ads, note that Google's help centre says the campaign-level language setting is being removed for Search campaigns from September 2026; Search ads now match the ad's own language, so Greek searchers need Greek ads.

Questions about SEO in Athens and Greece

Should a Greek business site be in Greek or English?

In Greek for Greek buyers, since that is the language they search in. Add English pages, each on its own URL, only where you also sell to visitors or international buyers.

Does a gifted product count as advertising for a Greek influencer?

Yes. The SEE treats free or discounted products, hospitality, trips, tickets and discount codes as a benefit, so the post must be labelled with #ad or the platform's label.

Is Bing worth any effort in Greece?

StatCounter gives Bing 2.95% of Greek searches in September 2026. A free Bing Webmaster Tools account is enough; put the real effort into Google.

Who handles complaints about an ad in Greece?

The Communication Control Council (SEE) examines complaints under the Hellenic Advertising and Communication Code and publishes its decisions.

When can we judge whether our SEO agency is delivering?

Read Search Console for impressions, positions and indexed pages, the Business Profile performance report for calls and directions, and your own count of enquiries by page. The outcome depends on competition, your offer and your budget.

What an Athens buyer hears from ChatGPT

StatCounter's September 2026 chatbot figures for Greece give ChatGPT 81.19% of use and Gemini 14.49%. When a business owner in Athens asks one of them for a good SEO company in Greece, it answers with a few names drawn from Greek directories, business press, award lists and agency sites, in Greek and English. That list is chosen differently from Google's results. AI Knows Us checks it for a business, asking its buyers' questions on ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews and showing which firms are named and the sources each answer leans on.