Serving Quebec remotely
SEO and digital marketing for Quebec businesses
SEO and digital marketing for Quebec businesses that starts in French. Keyword research, pages and ads are planned around the language law and Law 25.
How people search
Two languages that search differently
How do people in Quebec look for a business like yours? The answer changes what we fix first.
- Quebec search runs in two languages that don't swap one for one. Quebec French has its own phrasing and commercial words France doesn't use, so a keyword list built from France data is nearly as wrong as one translated from English.
- People drop accents when they type. Search engines cope, but your content, URLs and site search should handle the unaccented forms too.
- Many people switch language by task: a local service searched in French, a software term in English. Pick each page's language by category.
- A proper bilingual site gives each language its own URLs, linked with hreflang tags. A translation widget over one set of pages ranks poorly in French and reads badly to everyone.
- Quebec's newspapers, trade titles, broadcasters and creators are separate from English Canada's. Digital PR aimed at Toronto outlets does almost nothing inside the province.
Before the French site goes live
Three checks before your French site goes live
A French site built in English and translated afterwards tends to fail without anyone knowing why. These three checks catch the most common causes.
Did the French keywords come from French research?
Yes: Good. Quebec French uses commercial words that neither English nor France's French would have given you.
No: A translated list leads to pages nobody searches for. Research the French market on its own first.
Does each language have its own URL with hreflang?
Yes: Then both versions can rank, and search engines know each page is the other's translation.
No: A translation widget over one URL ranks poorly in both languages and reads badly to everyone.
Do your pages handle searches typed without accents?
Yes: Then you match how people type, which is usually without the accents.
No: Search engines cope, but your own site search, URLs and copy should cope too.
The market
Where the law picks your marketing language
Quebec is the only province where the law decides the language of your marketing. Site structure, copywriting, ad approval, customer support and the cost of entering the market all change because of it.
The provincial economy has its own shape. Cheap hydro power has drawn energy-hungry industry, aerospace is a major employer, and forestry, mining and aluminium still employ many people outside the cities.
Quebec City is a separate B2B market, built on the provincial government, insurance firms and an established software sector. It's also far more French-speaking than Montreal.
French-language search has much less competition than English. Many national advertisers run a weak translation or skip French entirely, so good French writing can take that ground without a huge budget.
Regional centres like Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Saguenay are served almost entirely in French. Local search there is thin, and a well-built French site can lead its category quickly.
Local businesses
Retail, industry, tourism and regulated professions
Retail and online stores feel the language rules most, and gain most from getting them right. Product details, promotions and customer messages all have to work in French, against weaker competition than in Ontario.
Manufacturing and industrial B2B run across the province: aerospace suppliers, metals, wood products, food processing and packaging. These firms sell through relationships, and their buyers now check suppliers online in French first.
Tourism and hospitality are very seasonal and draw visitors from around the world, so writing in French, English and sometimes a third language is a business choice as well as a legal one.
Clinics, notaries, accountants and financial advisers work under Quebec regulators and advertising rules that differ from the rest of Canada.
Where to start
What to fix first
International SEO
International SEO starts with one choice: country domains, subfolders or subdomains. Then hreflang that validates and pages adapted to each market.
Content strategy
Content strategy services that give you a written plan: what to publish, which pages to fix, merge or remove, and which topics to skip.
Web design & development
Our web design agency builds fast, accessible websites you own, planned for Google and for enquiries before design starts.
SEO services
Phone not ringing while competitors show up above you? Our SEO services fix your site, write the pages buyers search for and show you every call and form it brings in.
Good fit
Industries that fit best here
Industries we help
- Ecommerce & DTC marketingFind the number holding your store back and fix it. Judge every channel on profit per order, not a revenue chart.
- Insurance Brokers marketingGrowth measured as the whole book: more policies bound in the classes you want, kept at renewal, with more policies per client.
- Dental Practices marketingMore new patients who show up, from the streets they live on. Then keep them. Keeping a patient costs far less than finding a new one.
Working with us
How it works from a distance
Native French writers write the French copy, not machine translation with a quick review. French shows in the quote as its own line, with the writer named. If the budget can't cover French done well, you'll know before work starts.
Technical work, the site build, analytics, campaigns and reports run over video in Eastern Time, in whichever language your team prefers.
Need photos or filming in Quebec? We book a local supplier and quote it separately.
The rules
Rules that shape your marketing
- The Charter of the French Language governs commercial communication in Quebec, strengthened in 2022 by Bill 96. In broad terms, websites, ads, commercial publications and product information aimed at Quebec consumers must be available in French, and French must not come second. Rules on signs and non-French trademarks were tightened too. The Office québécois de la langue française enforces the Charter.
- Quebec's private-sector privacy law, updated by Law 25, goes further than federal PIPEDA. It covers consent, disclosure of automated decisions and profiling, a named person responsible for privacy, breach reporting and data portability. It applies to the personal information of people in Quebec, so it can reach businesses based elsewhere.
- Quebec's Consumer Protection Act is one of the strictest in Canada. It has its own rules on advertised prices, contract terms and promotions, and limits advertising aimed at children in a way no other province does.
- None of this is legal advice. We build to what the rules appear to require and flag decisions with legal weight. If you market into Quebec, have a lawyer confirm your duties before launch.
Sources
Check the source
These are the laws and regulators behind the rules above. Check the source before you act. This page isn’t legal advice.
- Quebec's private-sector privacy act (CQLR c P-39.1), as modernised by Law 25
- Law 25
- Source: LégisQuébec
- Quebec's Consumer Protection Act, including its limits on advertising to children
- CQLR c P-40.1
- Source: LégisQuébec
Questions
Common questions from Quebec businesses
Is an English-only website legal if we sell into Quebec?
That's a question for your own lawyer. What we can say is that Quebec's language law covers commercial communication aimed at Quebec consumers, and websites are included.
Most businesses treat French as required for anything a Quebec customer relies on to buy: product information, pricing terms, forms and support. Don't start from the idea that French is optional.
Can we just translate our existing pages into French?
You can, but the pages will underperform. Translation keeps the meaning and loses the search demand, because Quebec French speakers don't phrase searches as translated English.
Research in French first, then write pages around what people search for, using the English site as a reference rather than a source text. That's what makes a French site rank.
What does Law 25 mean for our analytics and advertising?
Your consent and tracking setup needs proper attention. Law 25 covers consent, disclosure of profiling and automated decisions, breach reporting and a named person responsible for privacy.
We set up tracking under a proper consent model and document what's collected and why. Your privacy adviser confirms whether your setup meets the law.
We are outside Quebec but want to sell here. Where do we start?
Start with the legal question, because it sets the budget. Advice on which language rules apply tells you whether you're adding a few pages or building a full French site.
Then measure French demand in your category before you build. In some categories Quebec is a big market with few good competitors. In others the volume is too low to justify the cost.
Do you have anyone based in Quebec?
No. We have no office or staff in the province.
We hire native French writers for each project that needs them and name them in the quote, so you know who writes your French copy.
Cities
Where we work in Quebec
Get your free checkup
Start with the free checkup. It shows what to fix first on your website, with no sign-up. Want to know who wins the searches that matter in Quebec? Book a call with our specialists.
Prefer to talk it over? Book a free call
Your BOOSTD score improves within 90 days, or your next month is free. After 6 months, more traffic or leads, or we keep working free (up to 6 free months in any 12 months). Read our guarantee
References
Sources for quebec SEO
The official documents and research this page is based on. Platform rules change, so check the source before you act on a detail.
Related
More on marketing in Quebec
- how Montreal differs from the province
- retail and consumer marketing
- planning a move into a new market
Elsewhere in Canada
Last updated · Published by Zubair Afzal, responsible editor