International SEO Services for US and Canadian Sites, in English and French

International SEO services for a business selling in the US and Canada usually start with a question nobody asks out loud. Is the Canadian page actually different, or is it the American page with "colour" spelled with a u?

If it's the second one, you probably don't need a Canadian page at all. If it's the first (different prices, shipping, taxes, phone numbers or a French version for Quebec), you need the pages wired together so Google shows each visitor the right one. That wiring is called hreflang, and it's where most multi-country setups quietly go wrong.

I speak English, French and Russian natively, and I've run SEO across sites in 14 languages. For US and Canadian businesses, that means one person who can set up the technical side and also tell you when your French reads like it was translated in Paris for a customer in Montreal. If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your setup, tell me about your site in the international SEO questionnaire. I reply with a plan and a fixed quote within one business day.

Starting at $1,000 for a one-off setup. That covers hreflang, US and Canada targeting, the English and French structure of the site, and Search Console setup.

What you get with BigRed's international SEO services

• A structure decision, in writing. One site or two, subfolders or a separate .ca domain, and which pages need a Canadian or French version (and which don't). With the reasons, so you can defend the choice later.
• Hreflang setup. Hreflang (a tag that tells Google "this page also exists in French for Canada, and here it is") set up on every page pair, with return links and an x-default fallback, in the page code or the XML sitemap.
• US and Canada targeting. Currency, phone numbers, addresses and shipping details placed where Google and visitors can see them, so each version clearly belongs to its country.
• English and French structure. French URLs, a language switcher Google can crawl, and canonical tags (a note naming the main copy of a page) that don't fight the hreflang tags.
• Search Console setup. Properties and sitemaps in Google Search Console, plus Bing Webmaster Tools, so you can watch each country and language section separately.
• A plain-English handover. What I set up, how to add a new page pair later, and what to check if something drops.

How it works

1. You fill in the questionnaire. Your site, platform, which countries and languages you serve today, and what you'd like to add.
2. I reply with a plan and a fixed quote within one business day.
3. I map the structure. A short written plan of which URLs pair with which, typically within three to five business days of getting access.
4. I set it up. On WordPress with a multilingual plugin, I usually do it myself. On custom builds, your developer implements it from my spec, and I check the result. Typically one to two weeks, longer on large or custom sites.
5. I validate and watch. I crawl every page pair, check return links, and watch Search Console for a few weeks while Google picks up the new signals.

One site, two countries, two languages: hreflang without the mess

Here's the angle. Most multi-country problems aren't caused by missing tags. They're caused by building more versions than the business needs, then wiring them half right.

Don't split what isn't different

If your US and Canadian pages say the same thing in the same language, one page is often enough. When you do keep near-identical versions, Google's advice is to pick a preferred version and use canonical and hreflang tags so searchers get the right URL.

Split a page when something real changes: price in CAD, shipping rules, a Canadian phone number, a provincial licence, a different product range. Then each version earns its place, and the hreflang tags have something to point at.

Don't redirect by IP address

A lot of sites detect the visitor's country and redirect them. It feels helpful. It's also how Canadian pages disappear from Google. Google says Googlebot usually crawls from the USA without an Accept-Language header, and its documentation says plainly: don't use IP analysis to adapt your content. Instead, I set up a visible switcher and let hreflang do the routing. A polite banner ("Looks like you're in Canada. Switch?") is fine. A forced redirect is not.

Get the codes and return links right

Hreflang has strict rules. Google requires language codes in ISO 639-1 and region codes in ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2, and every page must link back to every page that references it. The most common mistake I see is en-UK, which isn't a valid code (the UK is GB). The second most common is a French page that points to the English one, but not the other way around. Google ignores the pair when that happens.

Here's what a clean set looks like for one page in three versions:

<!-- Goes in the <head> of ALL three versions, identical on each. -->
<!-- Could break: nothing visible, but a missing or mistyped URL makes Google ignore the pair. -->
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://example.com/services/roof-repair/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-ca" href="https://example.com/en-ca/services/roof-repair/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-ca" href="https://example.com/fr-ca/services/reparation-de-toiture/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/services/roof-repair/" />

One more detail that surprises developers: Google's documentation says it doesn't use hreflang or the HTML lang attribute to detect a page's language. It reads the visible text. So a French page with an English menu, English footer and English buttons sends mixed signals no tag can fix. My walkthrough of hreflang for US and Canadian sites covers the edge cases.

French for Quebec, not French from a template

Quebec French isn't France French with a maple leaf. People in Quebec ask for a "soumission" (a quote), not a "devis," and they send a "courriel," not an "e-mail." Machine translation and France-trained writers miss these, and searchers notice. So do the keywords: if your French page targets the words people in Lyon use, it won't match what people in Laval type.

There's also a legal side. Quebec's Charter of the French Language requires commercial publications in French, and the Quebec government has confirmed it applies to publications on websites and social media, with the French version at least as accessible as the English one. I cover the Canadian rules (language, privacy and anti-spam) on my SEO services for Canada page. I'm not a lawyer, so for edge cases, ask one.

Who this is for (and who it isn't)

This is a good fit if you're:

• A US business adding Canadian customers, or a Canadian business selling into the US
• Serving Quebec and needing a French version that ranks and reads naturally
• Running a .com and a .ca that compete with each other in search results
• Seeing the wrong country's page show up in Google for your brand name
• About to launch a second language and wanting the structure right before the content goes in

It isn't for you if your pages are the same for both countries and you have no plans to change prices, shipping or language. In that case, one set of pages is enough, and no tag needs to be added. It's also not a translation service. If you need the French copy written, that's quoted separately, and my content marketing work can cover it in either language.

International SEO pricing

Large sites, more than two languages, or sites where hreflang already exists and is broken in many places get a custom quote first. If the site has wider crawl or indexing problems, a technical audit is the better first step. All prices are in USD, and Canadian clients can pay in CAD at the day's exchange rate. The rest is on the pricing page.

Why hand it to me

I've spent 20+ years in search marketing, with international SEO across sites in 14 languages. English, French and Russian are native for me, so I can check the French version myself instead of trusting a tool's opinion of it.

I'm also comfortable on the server side: .htaccess and regex redirects, Cloudflare rules, and sitemaps. That matters here, because a lot of hreflang problems are really redirect or caching problems wearing a disguise.

You work with one person, start to finish. The same one who wrote the plan checks the tags.

International SEO services FAQ

Do I need a .ca domain to rank in Canada?

No. A .ca domain is a clear country signal, but Google also accepts subfolders like /en-ca/ with hreflang, and they're cheaper to run because all your authority stays on one domain. A .ca can make sense if your Canadian business is separate or your customers strongly prefer it. Otherwise, a subfolder setup on your main site is usually the simpler, stronger choice.

What is hreflang, and do I need it?

Hreflang is a tag that tells Google which language and country each version of a page is for, and where the other versions live. You need it if you have the same page in more than one language, or in the same language for different countries with real differences like price or shipping. If you only have one version of each page, you don't need hreflang at all.

Will separate US and Canadian English pages cause duplicate content problems?

Not if they're set up properly. Google expects regional versions to look similar and doesn't penalize that. The risk is different: without hreflang and consistent canonical tags, Google may pick one version and show it in both countries. That's why I only split pages that genuinely differ and wire each pair together with return links.

Does my website need to be in French for customers in Quebec?

If you offer goods or services to consumers in Quebec, the Charter of the French Language generally requires your commercial content, including your website, to be available in French. The French version must be at least as accessible as the English one. There are exceptions and details, so check with a Quebec lawyer for your situation. I handle the SEO structure and can point out gaps.

How much do international SEO services cost?

At BigRed, an international SEO setup for US and Canada targeting, hreflang and an English and French structure starts at $1,000 as a one-off project. Translation or new French content is quoted separately. Larger sites, extra languages or badly broken existing setups cost more, and I give you a fixed quote before any work starts.

Next step

If you sell on both sides of the border, or you're about to add French, send me your site through the international SEO questionnaire. I'll come back with a plan and a fixed quote, in English or en français, whichever you prefer.