SEO agency Basque Country, Béarn & Bigorre serving all of France
Bring your customers to you, locally and nationwide. Since March 2019, ARETA has been supporting around twenty businesses, shopkeepers, craftspeople, hoteliers, restaurant owners and online retailers, making them visible on Google and in generative artificial intelligence.
10+ yearsof SEO, after nearly 20 years at Citroën, PSA and DS Automobiles
Around twenty clients50% local · 40% national · 10% Spain
5.0/5No negative review since 2019
The situation
Why does your website not appear on the first page of Google?
It is the question we hear first in almost every meeting. Your customers look for you on Google, on Maps and now in AI such as ChatGPT or Gemini, but they do not find you. And they land on your competitors.
Your website is not sending the right signals to Google. Poorly filled-in title tags, content that is too thin, a faulty technical structure, insufficient loading speed.
Your Google Business Profile is incomplete or not optimised. Yet it is the first lever of local SEO, and often neglected.
Your competitors publish more content, and better content. Google rewards relevance and semantic depth.
Your website does not receive enough quality links (backlinks). Without external authority, you remain invisible on competitive queries.
You have not (yet) integrated GEO, the new discipline of being cited and recommended by generative artificial intelligence.
You are not measuring what is happening. Without clear KPIs or regular reporting, you cannot prioritise or make progress.
The good news: all of this can be fixed. With a proven method, prioritised actions and measurable results.
Three concrete examples of assignments carried out by ARETA, an SEO company, across three very different profiles: from national e-commerce to a local logistics SME, by way of an international wine estate.
CASE 01
LADHIDH
National e-commerce
Become the leader in premium halal charcuterie online in France.
Context
LADHIDH, a French premium halal charcuterie brand, wanted to establish itself as the benchmark in its segment of the French premium online food market.
What we did
Full positioning audit and search intent study
Rebuild of the site's semantic architecture
Link building strategy targeting specialist media
Ongoing optimisation of product and category pages
What changed
According to its team, ARETA helped them position themselves as the leader in premium halal charcuterie online in France.
Areta helped us position ourselves as the leader in premium halal charcuterie online in France.
CASE 02
Etxe Logistika
Local SME · Basque Country
Local and national visibility for a logistics SME in the Basque Country.
Context
Etxe Logistika, run by Thierry Fabris, is a logistics company based in the Basque Country. Goal: to be visible to local and national businesses looking for a local logistics partner.
What we did
Google Business Profile and local listings optimisation
SEO work on targeted business queries
Industry content production
Continuous tracking of rankings and conversions
What changed
A lastingly improved digital presence and a qualified flow of prospects through the organic channel. SEO becomes a regular acquisition channel for the company.
CASE 03
Bodegas El Grifo
International · Spain
International SEO for the oldest winery on Lanzarote (Canary Islands), founded in 1775.
Context
Bodegas El Grifo, founded in 1775, is the oldest winery in the Canary Islands. Under José Antonio Galán Otamendi, management wanted to reach an international clientele (wine tourists, importers, specialist press) directly.
What we did
International SEO audit and multilingual strategy (FR / EN / ES)
Optimisation for Lanzarote and international queries
What changed
Stronger international visibility on wine tourism queries and a direct channel to capture prospective travellers, without relying on tourism platforms.
Testimonials
They trust us
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Professionalism and excellence are the words that define this company. We launched an ambitious project with them that finished on schedule and with a level of execution beyond our expectations. Always business-oriented, the experience was unrivalled. Highly recommended if you want to grow your business in the digital environment.
JG
José Antonio Galán Otamendi
Bodegas El Grifo · Lanzarote
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Areta helped me optimise my local SEO. Thanks to the expertise and skills of this SEO agency, I achieved very good search visibility for my Google My Business listing. I highly recommend calling on this marketing agency.
AL
Anaïs Labeyrie
Founder · Garbure & Xipirons · Culinary communication
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
A calm, well-structured collaboration. Guilhem very quickly grasps the business stakes and adapts the SEO strategy to the reality of the company.
TF
Thierry Fabris
Managing director · Etxe Logistika · Basque Country
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
At last! Someone who has perfectly identified our problem. Guilhem adapted to the project and the budget. Everything is coherent, precise, understandable. We will be able to commit for the long term. It is perfect, our company is delighted.
NR
Nicolas Rougier
Managing director · La Clé des Pyrénées - Real estate
Everything that makes you visible on Google and in AI answers
As an organic SEO agency, we offer a full catalogue of organic SEO services, which can be scaled to your maturity and objectives.
01
SEO audit
A complete diagnosis of your current visibility: technical audit, semantic audit, competitor audit, Google Business Profile audit. You leave with a prioritised action plan.
Optimisation of your Google Business Profile, customer review strategy, local citations (NAP), LocalBusiness schema, local content. Our historic pillar.
Our specialty
05
Destination & international SEO
For hotels, restaurants, wine estates and tourism businesses that want to reach foreign customers directly, without depending on booking platforms (Booking, GetYourGuide).
Quote on request
06
GEO · AI Visibility
The new discipline: being cited and recommended by generative artificial intelligence (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude). AI share of voice audit, LLM citation building.
A transparent price grid, adaptable to your situation
At ARETA, we believe in pricing transparency. Here are our reference ranges: each assignment is given a personalised quote tailored to your context, maturity and objectives.
Diagnosis
Full SEO audit
From€1,500excl. VAT · flat fee
Technical, semantic, competitor and Google Business Profile audit. Delivered within 10 to 15 working days with an oral presentation and a prioritised action plan.
Ideal for shopkeepers, craftspeople, restaurateurs and independent professionals who want to dominate their catchment area. Includes Google Business Profile optimisation, review monitoring, local content, monthly follow-up.
To aim for the top positions on commercially strategic queries. Includes on-page optimisation, content production, targeted link building, detailed monthly reporting.
A flexible format for in-house marketing teams who want to build their skills or benefit from an expert sparring partner. Individual or group sessions.
For specific needs: complete SEO overhaul, site migration, international launch, GEO strategy (visibility in AI answers), Shopify or Lightspeed support.
Certified partnerships. ARETA is a certified Shopify, Klaviyo, Kiliba and Lightspeed partner. If your project involves one of these platforms, we can go well beyond pure SEO.
How it works
Our 5-step method
Our approach is not limited to listing actions. We bring you into a transparent, proven SEO provider methodology. Here is how we work.
Kick-off meeting
We immerse ourselves in your market, your offer and your competition. Together we define your priority business objectives, your catchment area and your ideal target.
In-depth technical and semantic audit
We identify precisely the technical (speed, indexability, structure), semantic (keywords, search intent, gaps) and competitive obstacles to your site's performance.
Semantic roadmap
On this solid base, we build a strategy targeting the queries most profitable for your business: neither the highest-volume ones (too competitive and poorly qualified) nor the rarest (negligible traffic), but those that match your real commercial core target.
Deployment
We optimise the structure of your pages, apply technical fixes, produce the missing content and strengthen your authority through link building.
Ongoing monitoring
As SEO is an endurance race, we track your rankings, analyse conversions and provide regular reporting. This is the stage where we prove our value: staying the course and adjusting continuously.
Why this rigour? Because at every stage, you know exactly where your investment is going and what it produces. No black box.
Make your e-commerce business visible on Google, Bing and the e-commerce AI agents of ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and other AI-assisted platforms such as Perplexity. ARETA is a Shopify Partner and supports you in boosting the digital visibility of your omnichannel e-commerce.
About ARETA
Rooted in the Basque Country, Béarn and Bigorre and serving all of France
ARETA is not a Parisian agency pretending to do local work. We are based in the heart of the Pyrenees, in Bayonne and close to the inland Basque Country, in Haut Béarn at Arette. This geographic base gives us a detailed understanding of the shopkeepers, craftspeople, hoteliers, restaurateurs and e-commerce businesses in our area.
But our expertise as a regional organic SEO agency goes well beyond our geographic identity card. SEO is one of the businesses of areta, a marketing and customer experience agency. Here is the real breakdown of our client portfolio.
50 %
Local clientsBasque Country, Béarn, Bigorre
40 %
National clientsThroughout France
10 %
Clients in SpainCanary Islands, southern Basque Country
Our approach in three words
01 · Strategy
Marketing before SEO
Our founder, Guilhem Arregle, spent nearly 20 years at Citroën, PSA and DS Automobiles, 11 of them leading marketing and customer experience teams. SEO without a marketing strategy is pointless: we always deal with the commercial question before the technical one.
02 · Proof
Measurement before promises
No vague talk: shared KPIs (rankings, qualified traffic, conversions, revenue generated), regular and transparent reporting. You know exactly where your investment goes.
03 · Duration
Continuity over quick wins
SEO is an endurance race, not a sprint. We build your visibility over the long term, with no miracle recipes. It is over the long run that we prove our value.
2026 edition
SEO in a few figures
Four recent figures that sum up why organic SEO has become the most profitable and most lasting acquisition channel for a French SME.
92 %
of searches in France go through Google. Being visible on Google is no longer optional but a prerequisite of any acquisition strategy.
Source: StatCounter, May 2026
75 %
of users never click beyond the first page of Google results. Put plainly: if you are not on page 1, you do not exist commercially.
Source: Backlinko, 2025 study
46 %
of Google searches are local searches. For a shopkeeper, craftsperson, restaurant or hotel, local SEO is the main acquisition channel.
Source: Google, 2025
60 %
of consumers read a customer review before going somewhere or booking. Without a Google review strategy, you lose the sale before it even starts.
Source: BrightLocal, 2025
The right choice for you
SEO agency or independent SEO consultant? How to choose well
It is one of the questions we receive most often. Here is our honest take on the subject, including when it is better to point you towards our sister brand, consultant-seo-local.com.
Comparison table
Criterion
SEO agency · ARETA
Independent SEO consultant
Scope of work
Marketing + SEO + online reputation + content
Pure SEO service, often specialised
Point of contact
Guilhem Arregle, from start to finish, with specialist freelancers if needed
The consultant personally, from start to finish
Best suited to
Multi-channel needs, global strategy, long term
A precise SEO need, specialist expertise on a topic
Coordination
Handled by the agency (overall management)
Your responsibility if there are several providers
Average price
From €390 excl. VAT/month Packaged plans
From €140 excl. VAT/hour As a consultant at ARETA
Responsiveness
Agency standard (24-48 h)
Often faster, direct line
Ideal use case
Companies that want an all-round marketing partner
Companies that already have a marketing team and are looking for an SEO specialist
The agency option
When to choose ARETA?
Choose ARETA if:
You want an SEO company partner that manages all of your digital acquisition: SEO, Google Business Profile, online reputation, direct marketing, customer experience.
You are a local shopkeeper, restaurateur, hotelier or craftsperson and you want a point of contact who knows your area.
You want an agency contractual framework: flat-fee packages, standardised reporting, a team you can call on.
Your need goes beyond pure SEO: Shopify, Klaviyo, Kiliba, Lightspeed for restaurants.
The consultant option
When to point you to consultant-seo-local.com?
We will spontaneously recommend our sister brand if:
Your need is strictly pure local SEO, without overall marketing support.
You are looking for a national local SEO specialist: consultant-seo-local.com ranks no. 1 in France for the query “consultant seo local” and the query “expert SEO local”.
You want pure consultant-style support, shorter and more surgical.
You are a hotel, restaurant or hospitality player (former student of the Institut Paul Bocuse).
Our ecosystem philosophy. ARETA, the SEO agency for the Basque Country, Béarn and Bigorre that manages your overall digital acquisition. Consultant-seo-local.com = the specialist consultant for pure local SEO needs, anywhere in France.
Many companies hesitate between investing in organic SEO or in Google Ads paid advertising (SEA). Here is a clear comparison to help you decide.
Criterion
SEO · Organic search
SEA · Google Ads
Time to results
3 to 6 months to see the first results (sometimes longer in competitive sectors)
Immediate as soon as the campaign is activated
Cost
Initial investment, then a compounding effect
Ongoing cost: when you stop, the traffic stops
User trust
High: 70% of clicks are on organic results
Lower: perceived as “advertising”
Durability
Strong: positions gained hold over time
Weak: depends on your ongoing budget
Average CPC (France, 2025)
€0 once the position is gained
€1 to €55 depending on keyword competition
Targeting
Indirect (through targeted keywords)
Very precise: keywords, audience, geolocation, schedule
Ideal for
Long-term acquisition, brand authority, cumulative ROI
Product launch, one-off event, market test
Risk
Google algorithm update (rare but it happens)
Saturation, rising CPCs, dependence
Our recommendation
SEO and SEA are not opposed: they complement each other. The ideal is to combine the two in a progressive three-stage transition.
01
Start-up phase
Start with SEA
To generate traffic immediately, test your advertising messages and validate your converting keywords before investing heavily.
02
Build phase
Invest in SEO in parallel
To build your long-term asset. The keywords validated by SEA become your priority SEO targets.
03
Handover phase
Gradually reduce SEA
As your SEO rankings strengthen. SEO then becomes your main acquisition channel, free and lasting.
Please note. ARETA does not offer direct SEA management, but we can recommend trusted partners and support you on the overall strategy for combining SEO and SEA.
Geographic areas
Our area of operation
Based in the Basque Country, Béarn and Bigorre, we support clients throughout France and Spain. Here is the real breakdown of our portfolio: each of these areas has, to date, genuine on-the-ground expertise.
50% · Our home ground
Basque Country
From Haute Soule to Labourd, we support shopkeepers, restaurateurs, hoteliers and craftspeople throughout the northern Basque Country. Our organic SEO agency in Bayonne knows the queries from Grand Bayonne to the Saint-Esprit district. On the coast, our SEO agency in Biarritz follows the seasonal rhythm of local searches. Basque Country projects are managed from the Basque Country.
From Pau to Orthez, from the Aspe valley to the Ossau valley, not forgetting the best one, the Barétous valley of course, we work throughout the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département. Béarn projects are followed with the same method.
Our methodology is proven remotely. We support clients in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille, Lille, Strasbourg and throughout the country, particularly e-commerce businesses and national players in retail, hospitality and food processing.
10% · International
Spain
We work in Spain, notably in the Canary Islands (wine estates, hotels, tourism) and the southern Basque Country. Bilingual French-Spanish approach, expertise in cross-border markets.
Not based here?
Let's talk anyway
Our methodology works remotely, and we are able to support any French or European company. A free meeting lets us confirm whether working together makes sense.
Beyond the price grid and the service catalogue, here is what makes us distinctive as an SEO agency among French SEO agencies.
01
A rare dual expertise
Our founder, Guilhem Arregle, spent nearly 20 years at Citroën, PSA and DS Automobiles, 11 of them leading marketing and customer experience teams. This large-group experience (brand, CRM, sales management, customer experience) informs each of our SEO engagements. We are not SEO technicians: we are marketers who master SEO.
02
Hospitality sector expertise
A graduate of the Institut Paul Bocuse, Guilhem Arregle speaks the language of hoteliers, restaurateurs and tourism players. This is rare in French SEO and particularly valuable when 50% of our clients are in the South-West and the region has a unique concentration of hotel and wine businesses.
03
A specialist sister brand
For pure local SEO needs at national level, we also operate through consultant-seo-local.com, ranked no. 1 in France for the query “consultant seo local”. You get the best of both worlds: the agency for the big picture, the specialist consultant for pure local SEO.
04
A spotless public rating
5.0/5 on Google (11 reviews), 5.0/5 on Sortlist (5 reviews), 5.0/5 on Malt (3 reviews), 5.0/5 on Pages Jaunes (1 review). No negative review since 2019. This consistency is no accident: it results from a demanding working framework and a deliberate selection of the assignments we accept.
Certified partnerships
Shopify Partner
Klaviyo Partner
Kiliba Partner
Lightspeed Partner
Frequently asked questions
FAQ | Your questions about the ARETA SEO agency
The questions that come up most often in meetings. If yours is not here, write to us: we will add it.
How do I choose an SEO agency suited to my needs?
Five criteria make the difference when choosing an SEO agency. First, sector expertise: an agency that knows your sector (hospitality, e-commerce, local services…) will save you months. Second, methodology: if the agency cannot describe its method to you precisely, in measurable steps, walk away. Third, proof: named testimonials, case studies, verifiable public ratings, not a vague “+200% traffic” with no context. Fourth, your point of contact: insist on knowing the person who will actually work with you (at ARETA, that is Guilhem Arregle, directly on strategy). Fifth, pricing transparency: an agency that refuses to give price ranges often has something to hide.
Is it better to invest in SEO or SEA?
It depends on your time horizon and your maturity. SEA (Google Ads) delivers immediate results but costs money for as long as you pay for it: when you stop, the traffic stops. SEO takes 3 to 6 months to produce its first results, but builds a long-term asset: once you rank on the first page, your site keeps generating traffic at no additional cost.
The best approach is usually to combine the two: SEA to generate traffic immediately and test your messages, SEO to build lasting visibility. As SEO gains momentum, you can gradually reduce SEA.
What does an organic SEO audit include?
ARETA's full SEO audit covers four dimensions. The technical audit examines speed, indexability, URL structure, Hn tags, structured data, the mobile version, 404 errors, redirects and Core Web Vitals performance.
The semantic audit analyses your current keywords, identifies missed opportunities, measures the gap with your competitors and proposes a content roadmap. The competitor audit identifies your 5 main organic competitors (who are not always your commercial competitors), their content strategy and their backlink profile.
The Google Business Profile audit examines your local listing, your reviews, your categories and your posts, and proposes an optimisation plan. You leave with a 30 to 60-page document, an oral presentation and a prioritised action plan.
How much does it cost to improve your Google ranking?
At ARETA, the Local SEO Starter Pack starts at €390 excl. VAT per month and the Google 1st Page Pack at €990 excl. VAT per month. A one-off SEO audit starts at €1,500 excl. VAT as a fixed fee. For one-off needs or coaching, we offer an hourly format: €140 excl. VAT per hour of SEO consulting. Beyond 10 hours of consulting per month, we move to a quote. Each quote is tailored to your sector, your level of competition and your goals.
For market comparison, SEO budgets in France for an SME typically range from €800 to €5,000 excl. VAT per month; beyond that, you are paying for overall marketing more than pure SEO.
Do you offer specific services for local SEO?
Yes: local SEO is our historic speciality. Our Local SEO Starter Pack covers the full optimisation of your Google Business Profile, your customer review strategy, local citations (NAP consistency: Name, Address, Phone across all directories), LocalBusiness Schema.org markup, geolocated content and monthly monitoring.
For pure local SEO at national scale, we also operate through our sister brand consultant-seo-local.com, ranked No. 1 in France for the query “consultant seo local”. You get the best format for your need: an agency pack (ARETA) for overall support, a consultant assignment (consultant-seo-local.com) for specialist local SEO expertise.
Does your agency work only in the Basque Country, Béarn and Bigorre?
No. 50% of our clients are local (Basque Country, Béarn, Bigorre), 40% are national (all of France) and 10% are in Spain (mainly the Canary Islands and the southern Basque Country).
Our SEO agency methodology is proven remotely, and we have supported clients in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse and on international markets. That said, we remain committed to our local roots and will always favour in-person meetings when geography allows: for us, it is a guarantee of relationship quality.
What is the difference between an SEO agency and an independent SEO consultant?
An SEO agency offers a team structure (a senior consultant plus specialist freelancers brought in as needed), a formal contractual framework (fixed-fee packages, standardised reporting) and multi-channel coverage (SEO + marketing + content + online reputation). It suits companies that want an all-round partner.
An independent SEO consultant offers a single point of contact from start to finish, often deeper expertise on a specific topic, and greater responsiveness. It suits companies that already have a marketing team and are looking for a specialist on a targeted topic.
At ARETA, we operate both models: the ARETA agency for full organic SEO agency support, and consultant-seo-local.com for pure local SEO assignments at national or international scale.
For companies with no one to run marketing in-house, we also offer an outsourced marketing director service: we take responsibility for the function 2 or 3 days a month.
How long does it take to see the first SEO results?
The first positive signals (an improved Google Business Profile, technical optimisations, gains in positions on low-competition queries) are visible within the first 30 to 60 days.
Measurable commercial results (significant qualified traffic, conversions, leads) generally appear from 3 to 6 months. In highly competitive sectors (e-commerce, property, finance), you sometimes have to wait 12 to 18 months to reach stable positions on the main queries.
That is why SEO is an endurance race, and why we always favour multi-month commitments that allow you to go the distance.
What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
GEO is the new discipline of optimising your visibility in generative artificial intelligence: ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Mistral's Le Chat.
Unlike classic SEO (being visible on a search engine results page), GEO means being cited and recommended when a user asks an AI a question. The levers are partly different: advanced semantic markup (enriched Schema.org, Wikidata), LLM citation building (being cited by the sources AIs consult), question-and-answer structuring, editorial authority.
ARETA offers GEO services, as a complement or an alternative to classic SEO. We identify two sub-disciplines: generic GEO (brand awareness in AI) and local GEO (visibility in geolocated searches put to AI), the latter being a speciality of our sister brand consultant-seo-local.com.
How do I know if my website has an SEO problem?
Several simple warning signs: your site does not appear on the first page of Google for your target keywords; your Google Business Profile receives few reviews or does not generate calls; your organic traffic has been flat or falling for 6+ months; your direct competitors systematically appear before you; your site loads slowly (Google now penalises slow sites heavily).
If you tick two or more of these boxes, you probably have an SEO problem. The best way to confirm it is a free pre-audit: take 30 minutes with us and we will look at your site together, live.
Let's discuss your project: we look at your site live, identify the 3 highest-impact levers to activate, and tell you honestly whether ARETA is the right partner for you.
Here is how ARETA stands among SEO agencies, whether you compare it with an SEO provider, an SEO company, an internet SEO company or a search engine optimisation company.
Website SEO agency: the diagnosis
A website SEO agency starts by working out what is holding the site back: structure, tags, speed, content, Google Business Profile. ARETA delivers a full audit and a prioritised action plan before any optimisation. For a search engine optimisation agency, whether a website SEO agency or an online SEO agency, first place cannot be guaranteed: it depends on Google and on your competitors.
Organic SEO provider and link building
As an organic SEO provider, ARETA acquires backlinks that fit your sector and area, favouring editorial quality over quantity. An SEO provider is judged on transparency: you know where each link is published and why. An organic SEO provider also sends regular reports, and an online SEO agency, like any search engine optimisation agency, does not replace a solid site with links.
SEO content agency: pages and articles
An SEO content agency writes first for your customers: service pages, profiles and articles that answer the questions heard in meetings. ARETA, an internet SEO company, produces the missing content in the Google Page 1 Pack. An SEO content agency picks up the vocabulary of your trade, from hotels to food production, so that every page serves a commercial goal.
SEO company or marketing agency?
A specialist SEO company focuses on rankings. ARETA, an SEO company online and a marketing agency, adds the Google Business Profile, online reputation and customer experience. For a pure local SEO need, our sister brand consultant-seo-local.com is a better fit. Comparing SEO agencies means comparing scope, contact person and reporting: a search engine optimisation company can be the right choice.
SEO company online: the method
An SEO company online must describe its method in measurable steps. At ARETA: kick-off meeting, technical and semantic audit, semantic roadmap, rollout, then continuous monitoring. Any search engine optimisation company or internet SEO company should also say what each step produces, with shared indicators: rankings, qualified traffic, conversions.
Web SEO agency: a clear method
Whether you type “web SEO agency” or compare offers, the question stays the same: what does the agency actually do? A serious web SEO agency gives realistic timeframes: the first commercial results from SEO usually appear after 3 to 6 months, sometimes longer in competitive sectors. A web SEO agency stays measurable, with no black box.
SEO agency France: nationwide
Our method works remotely: ARETA is an SEO agency France-wide as much as a South-West business, with offices in Bayonne and Pau. For an SEO agency France-wide that serves e-commerce, the food industry or hotels and restaurants, knowing the client's trade matters as much as technique. An online SEO agency, like any search engine optimisation agency, can work for Paris or Toulouse as it does for the Béarn.
Organic SEO agency Tarbes and AI SEO Bigorre
A hotelier in Lourdes looking for an organic SEO agency Tarbes wants a contact who knows the Bigorre. An organic SEO agency Tarbes can work remotely: ARETA operates from Bayonne and Pau. AI SEO Bigorre complements Google: being cited by ChatGPT or Gemini. AI SEO Bigorre relies on the Google Business Profile and structured data. See our Tarbes page.
