Local SEO in Canada

[rbrianforrester]

I am trying to do some local optimization for some clients in Canada and it got me thinking, are there different best practices and different sites I want to use when working in Canada?

[jesse-landry]

Not that I know of.. The company I work for deals with clients in Canada and the U.S. and I find that our Canadian leads all come through the same Google SERPs that the US ones do. Of course the terms they are searching for are a bit different and I have to optimize with that in mind but otherwise it's all the same to me.

I'll be interested to see anyone else offer any other Canadian SEO tips though as I can feel myself often neglecting the potential from our cousins up North.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Rbrianforrester,

That's an excellent question, and yes, there are differences between doing Local SEO in Canada vs. the USA. One of the main differences is how dominant YP is  in Canada as a citation source. This has been the case for some years now. So, while you will be employing the same on-page efforts for clients in Canada and the USA, the main differences arise in how you go about building citations for the client. Let me recommend a few different resources for you here on this topic:

There's a good list in this piece by Nyagoslav Zhekov:

http://www.ngsmarketing.com/local-citation-building-study-part-4-local-business-directories-around-the-world-canada-uk/

Here's an oldie but goodie by David Mihm:

http://www.davidmihm.com/blog/local-seo/canadian-citations/

And here's a short one from Canuck SEO, Jim Rudnick:

http://www.canuckseo.com/index.php/2011/05/diy-canadian-citations-our-2011-update/

If you wish to select a paid citation finder tool, I recommend using Whitespark's Citation Tool, as they are based in Canada:

https://www.whitespark.ca/local-citation-finder/

That should get you off to a good start.

Another thing to be aware of is that Google doesn't always roll out new features in Canada as quickly as they roll them out in the US, much to the chagrin of the Canadian Local SEOs I know. So, keeping on top of Canadian Local SEO news at blogs like Jim Rudnick's (linked to above) is a smart idea.

And, perhaps obviously, if you are doing content development for Canadian companies, you must be able to write fluently in Canadian English. Even small mistakes will immediately stand out as wrong to the website's visitors. There are differences both in spelling and vocabulary that you must master in order to write well for Canadian clients.

Hope these tips help!

[PureDriven2014]

Are there any local SEO listing services such as Localeze or UBL that's specific to Canada?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Patrick,

I am unaware of an exact equivalent to UBL or Localeze that is specific to Canada. Check out David Mihm's awesome Local Search Ecosystem infographic for Canada. It is densely packed with information:

http://www.davidmihm.com/blog/local-seo/local-search-ecosystem-canada/