After years working in sales, operations and occupancy growth within the flexible workspace sector, I thought I had a good understanding of marketing. However, when I started focusing on improving online visibility and SEO for serviced offices, coworking spaces and business centres, I quickly realised there was a whole new set of challenges to learn.

Like many workspace operators, I discovered that simply having a website isn’t enough. With more operators competing for searches such as coworking space near me, serviced offices in Manchester or office space to rent in Glasgow, standing out online has become increasingly important.

The good news is that many of the most effective SEO and local marketing tactics are completely free.

Here are five things every flexible workspace, serviced office operator and business centre can do today to improve search rankings, increase website traffic and generate more enquiries.

1. Optimise Your Google Business Profile

For flexible workspace operators, your Google Business Profile is one of the most important marketing assets you own.

When someone searches for:

• Coworking space near me
• Serviced offices in [town]
• Meeting rooms near me
• Flexible office space

Google often displays local business listings before traditional website results.

A well-optimised profile can significantly improve your visibility and generate enquiries directly from search results.

Make Sure You:

Have accurate business details

Use the correct business categories

Upload professional workspace photography

Include opening hours

Add a detailed business description

List all services/spaces you offer  including:

• Coworking Space
• Dedicated Desks
• Private Offices
• Virtual Offices
• Managed Offices
• Meeting Rooms
• Event Space
• Storage Space 
• Workshops 

Post regular updates, news and offers

Reviews Matter

Positive reviews are often one of the biggest trust signals for prospective occupiers.

Encourage members, office tenants and meeting room clients to leave detailed reviews mentioning:

• Location
• Facilities
• Community
• Staff
• Meeting room quality
• Broadband speeds

Not only do reviews help build credibility, but they can also improve performance in local search results.

If you receive a negative review, respond professionally. Potential customers often pay more attention to how businesses handle criticism than the criticism itself.

2. Build Quality Backlinks to Increase Domain Authority

Backlinks remain one of the strongest signals search engines use when determining website authority.

A backlink is simply a link from another website pointing to yours.

Think of it as an online recommendation.

For a flexible workspace website, obtaining links from reputable organisations can help improve rankings for valuable searches such as:

• Serviced offices Edinburgh
• Coworking space Birmingham
• Office space Manchester
• Flexible workspace Glasgow

Easy Backlink Opportunities

Business Directories

Ensure your workspace appears on:

• Yell
• Thomson Local
• Scoot
• FreeIndex
• Cylex

Flexible Workspace Directories

List your space on:

• Coworker
• Flexible Workspace Association (must be a member)
• Coworking Cafe 
• Scottish Flex Forum (Scottish workspaces only)
• Connected Hubs Scotland

Local Business Organisations

• Chambers of Commerce
• Town business groups
• Economic development organisations
• Local networking groups

Most provide a profile page with a valuable backlink.

Local Partnerships

Create relationships with:

• Accountants
• Solicitors
• Recruitment agencies
• IT providers
• Property consultants
• Commercial agents

Many will happily feature recommended partners on their websites.

PR and Local Press

Workspace openings, refurbishment projects, business events and community initiatives can all generate local media coverage and valuable links.

Focus on Quality, Not Quantity

One strong backlink from a reputable local business organisation may be worth more than hundreds of low-quality links purchased through SEO schemes.

Avoid cheap backlink packages promising instant rankings. They rarely deliver long-term value and may even damage your website performance. Ahrefs backlink checker is a useful tool for checking your websites ‘authority.

Remember a Domain Authority of 0 is expected for a new site and under 10 for a site less than 12 months old.

3. Create Location Pages and Improve Website Performance

Many workspace websites only have a home page and a few service pages.

This limits their ability to rank for local searches.

Create Dedicated Pages For:

• Coworking Space Edinburgh
• Serviced Offices Glasgow
• Meeting Rooms Dundee
• Virtual Offices Aberdeen

As well as neighbourhood-specific searches such as:

• Coworking Space City Centre
• Offices Near Train Station
• Workspace Near Airport

These pages should contain genuinely useful local information and not simply repeat the same content with a different town name.

Improve Website Speed

Google and your visitors both prefer fast websites.

Simple improvements include:

• Compressing images
• Removing unnecessary plugins
• Improving mobile usability
• Reducing page load times
• Updating outdated software

A faster website typically creates a better user experience, increases enquiry rates and reduces bounce rates.

Add FAQ Sections

FAQs are often overlooked but offer significant SEO benefits.

They help you rank for long-tail searches such as:

• What is included in a serviced office?
• How much does coworking cost?
• Can I rent an office for one month?
• Is broadband included in a flexible office?

Benefits include:

• Increased keyword coverage
• Improved user experience
• More internal linking opportunities
• Better visibility for AI search engines
• Stronger expertise and authority signals

4. Use Google Search Console to Find Ranking Opportunities

Many workspace operators rely entirely on enquiry numbers without understanding how visitors are finding them online.

Google Search Console provides free insight into:

• Search rankings
• Website impressions
• Click-through rates
• Top-performing pages
• Search queries
• Technical SEO issues

This data can reveal valuable opportunities.

For example, you may discover your website already ranks on page two for:

• Coworking space Fife
• Meeting rooms Bristol
• Serviced offices Newcastle

Often, small content improvements can help move those pages onto page one.

What to Look For

Focus on pages that:

• Have high impressions
• Have low click-through rates
• Rank between positions 5 and 20

These frequently provide the quickest SEO wins.

Search Console removes guesswork and helps you make decisions based on real search behaviour.

5. Strengthen Your Content and Social Media Presence

Many flexible workspace operators only use social media to advertise available offices.

While availability posts are useful, they rarely generate significant organic visibility.

Instead, create content that answers questions and demonstrates expertise.

Topics That Work Well

• Office leasing advice
• Hybrid working trends
• Startup growth tips
• Local business guides
• Networking events
• Occupier success stories
• Workspace design insights
• Productivity advice

Best Channels for Flexible Workspaces

LinkedIn

Excellent for B2B decision makers, business owners and corporate occupiers.

Instagram

Ideal for showcasing workspace interiors, meeting rooms and community events.

Facebook

Useful for local engagement and community awareness.

YouTube

Effective for office tours, workspace walkthroughs and educational content.

Be Consistent

You don’t need to post daily.

Two or three high-quality posts per week is often more effective than daily low-value content.

Share:

• Behind-the-scenes content
• Member success stories
• Workspace improvements
• Local business news
• Event highlights

Authenticity almost always outperforms generic AI-generated content.

Use AI to support your content creation process, but let your experience and expertise be the voice behind the message.

Final Thoughts

If you’re a flexible workspace operator looking to increase enquiries, fill vacant offices and improve occupancy, SEO should be a long-term priority rather than an afterthought.

The best results rarely come from one big change. Instead, they’re usually the result of consistent improvements over time:

• Optimising your Google Business Profile
• Building high-quality backlinks
• Creating location-focused content
• Improving website performance
• Using Search Console data
• Publishing valuable content regularly

The good news is that most of these activities cost little or nothing to implement.

For many serviced office operators, coworking spaces and business centres, simply executing these fundamentals better than local competitors can deliver a significant increase in search visibility, website traffic and ultimately workspace enquiries.