If you’re a Canadian business and you’re looking into getting an agency to help you with our SEO process, there’s a reason for you to choose someone who is aware of the Canadian people, their nuances, and has completed Canadian SEO case studies in the past. This doesn’t necessarily mean the company needs to be based in Canada, they just have to be willing to put in effort to make sure their work appeals to the Canadian market.
So let’s look into some things you should be aware of before you get started.
What’s The Difference Between Canadian & American SEO?
Many Canadian businesses make the mistake of choosing a larger American company for their SEO, thinking there isn’t much of a difference between the two. Well, they may be close to one another, but they certainly aren’t the same.
The first thing to note is that Canadians speak Canadian English and use the British way of spelling, so keyword research needs to reflect this. Additionally, Canada is a part of the Commonwealth, which means many immigrants from other Commonwealth countries, such as Australia and England come to the country.
Oh, and don’t forget Canadian’s also speak French. Canada has two official languages, thanks to the largely French speaking area of Quebec.
All of these things are just a few small examples of what you should keep an eye on when It comes to Canada specific nuances.
Does This Mean All Canadians Are Bilingual?
The answer is no, you can’t generalise all Canadians under this one bracket, so you need to consider that some people live in largely English speaking parts of Canada, while others live in French speaking parts of Canada. Some people who go through the Canadian school system may know both languages, while others may be newer to the country.
When you need SEO for your business, what you need to consider is if the company you’re choosing is aware of these facts. Do they even know about the important differences that need to be incorporated just for Quebec for example?
Let’s say you’re a business that has two branches, one in Toronto and one in Quebec, a great SEO company will know to use geo targeting tools to make sure anyone seeing your website in Quebec can see it in a French language version, whereas everyone in Toronto see’s it in English first. Let’s get into this a little more below.
How Can You Manage Canadian SEO Properly?
As a Canadian business, you’re going to want to check if your SEO agency is doing all the following things on your behalf.
Separate Versions Of Your Websites
Make sure your SEO Agency sets up different versions of your website for French and English and that your website can direct you to the right language automatically using geographic location information. This way your website won’t look messy with French and English all jumbled up in one place. But it does take significant experience to get it right.
Language Specific Ads
This might be the most obvious point we could make but your French customers shouldn’t be seeing English ads and your English language customers shouldn’t be swamped with French ads, so make sure everything down to the advertisement campaigns are in the right language.
Avoid Geo-Redirects
It’s frustrating for Canadian users to constantly be sent to a US website every time they try to access a global company website, if this is you, you’re going to need to check that the SEO agency is not doing this or is at least letting users switch languages in an easy way.
This way, they have the option for localised content without having to be redirected constantly to a different language webpage endlessly.
They’re Using Canadian French
French (as spoken in France) and Canadian French (as spoken in Canada) are not the same. Yes, they’re similar enough to understand one if you speak the other, but Canadian French has changed to become its own thing over time. So you want to make sure the SEO agency isn’t just using a French translation app to do the work, they should have a content writer or local translator ready to go.
Acronyms Matter To Locals
Canadians and Australians have something in common, they adore shortening names, so your SEO agency should be fully prepared for searches to come up for words like MTL (Montreal), Tims (Tim Hortons) and Loonies (1 dollar coin). These things are something only locals will know, and if you’re in an industry that has an acronym itself, you may need different keywords for the locals.
Who Can Help with Your Canadian SEO?
When you’re in the market for an SEO specialist you want someone who has not just worked in the Canadian market before but understands the people and their needs. That is of course Canada’s Best SEO Award Winner, Perfect Link Building. With their expert team of SEO specialists, they are the go-to for Canadian businesses who want to bank on a trusted name for their digital marketing growth.
