SEO in Croatia – Everything You Need to Know

Success in SEO is rarely a matter of chance. In Croatia, you need to focus on four pillars: tailoring content to your audience, precise link building, technical optimization, and local search results.

1. SEO in Croatia and content matching

Creating quality content is more than just linguistically correct descriptions. It is the art of storytelling that touches the hearts and minds of Croatian audiences. For example, when selling a coffee machine in Poland, you can communicate the speed and energy of the morning. In Croatia, where drinking coffee is a long, social ritual (similar to Italy), your communication should revolve around pleasure, relaxation, and moments spent with friends. It’s a subtle but crucial difference that shows you understand the local culture and aren’t just selling a product.

And, of course, you need to ensure linguistic accuracy. Although Croatian belongs to the same Slavic language group as Polish, it has its own unique grammar, phraseology and, most importantly, specific diacritical marks (č, ć, đ, š, ž). Although Google’s algorithms are becoming increasingly intelligent in their interpretation, a professional and trustworthy website must use them correctly.

2. Domain authority, or link building in Croatia

It is equally important to obtain backlinks from valuable Croatian domains.

For Google, a link from a popular Croatian news portal (such as Jutarnji.hr or Index.hr) or a reputable thematic blog is like a letter of recommendation from a trusted institution. It proves that your website is a valuable source of information. Acquiring such links takes time and relationship building, but their value for SEO cannot be overestimated. One strong local link is worth more than dozens of random links from foreign websites.

Building a valuable link profile is a marathon, not a sprint. Let’s talk about a link building strategy for your company – we know how to get links that matter in Croatia and build real authority.

3. Technical SEO in Croatia

You can have the most beautiful content and the best recommendations, but if your website takes ages to load and everything gets messed up on a phone, the customer will run away before you can say “dobar dan.” Your website must be fast, secure (an SSL certificate is an absolute must these days) and look perfect on every device – from a large monitor in the office to a small smartphone screen on the beach… because, remember, that’s how 98% of users search for things.

4. Local search results

Croatia thrives on tourism and local services. Someone searching for “najam broda Hvar” (boat rental Hvar) wants a specific offer in a specific location, and they want it immediately. Your task is to optimize your online presence so that when Google sees such a query, it points to you without hesitation. For any business with a physical location—a hotel, restaurant, equipment rental company, or local store—optimization for these queries is a matter of life and death. This means precisely managing your Google Business Profile, ensuring the consistency of address data online, and actively seeking positive reviews. These actions make Google more likely to show your business in the so-called “Local Pack,” a map with three results that is often the first thing a user sees.

This means precisely managing your Google Business Profile, ensuring the consistency of address data online, and actively seeking positive reviews. These actions make Google more likely to show your business in the so-called “Local Pack,” a map with three results that is often the first thing a user sees.

Let’s get down to business. Your SEO strategy must be a precise, data-driven action plan that allows you to allocate resources effectively and achieve measurable goals.

Keyword analysis

It all starts with in-depth keyword research. You need to find out not only what Croatians are typing into Google, but also why they are doing so. Focus on identifying queries with different intentions. Someone who types in ‘usisavač bez vrećice’ (bagless vacuum cleaner) is at a different stage of the purchasing journey than someone who types in ‘recenzije Philips SpeedPro Max’ or ‘gdje kupiti Dyson V15 najjeftinije’. Your task is to create content that meets the needs of users at each of these stages.

Create comprehensive guides for those looking for information, detailed comparisons for those analysing options, and optimised product pages for those ready to buy. Also, identify ‘question’ keywords (starting with ‘how,’ ‘why,’ ‘where’) and build an FAQ section or blog around them to capture traffic early on. Tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush will be helpful at this stage.

Competitor analysis

To thoroughly analyse your competitors, you need to find answers to the following questions:

• What is their marketing message (USP)?
• What are their prices and promotion policies?
• What channels do they use for customer service (do they offer, for example, WhatsApp contact, which is popular in Croatia)?
• How active are they on social media?
• What is the quality of their purchasing process?

The SEO tools mentioned above will allow you to track the visibility of your website on an ongoing basis and compare it with the results of your competitors. You can precisely check which new keywords have started to generate traffic for your rivals or what new links they have gained in the last month. This is invaluable information that allows you to react quickly and adapt your strategy.

UX analysis

The entire process of positioning in Croatia boils down to one moment – the finalisation of the transaction. You may have thousands of visitors, but if your purchasing process is complicated or does not inspire confidence, the conversion rate will be close to zero. The cash on delivery option is still one of the deciding factors for many Croatians. Offering it, alongside modern methods such as card payments through trusted local gateways (e.g. CorvusPay) or digital wallets, is an absolute must. Create a checkout process that is simple, transparent and gives the customer choice and a sense of complete control.

Imagine a tourist walking through Split, pulling out their phone, and searching for exactly what you sell. A few seconds later—they find you. That’s not luck. That’s the result of a well-planned SEO strategy.

You now have the map and compass. All you need is an experienced guide to help you succeed in this market. At Delante, we specialize in international SEO across more than 25 countries. We’ll help you set clear goals, measure results, and achieve real ROI.

Sources:

1. https://balkanecommerce.com/croatias-ecommerce-is-booming-what-you-need-to-know-to-stay-ahead/
2. https://www.statista.com/topics/12022/e-commerce-in-croatia/