Canadian pride is at an all time high and by all accounts, our shopping habits reflect that. This loud & proud Canadian consumer demand has quickly caught the attention of retailers, online and offline.
“’A lot of people are really buying Canadian,’ says Sid [The Great Canadian Sox Company], who spent his summers as a teenager working on the factory floor. ‘We’ve noticed a huge jump from last year to this year.’ Online sales doubled from 2024 to 2025. Physical retail and online now account for 40 per cent of business while wholesale makes up the rest. Most clients are in Canada, with a few retailers in the United States.”
There has never been a better time to proudly declare your business or products are in this great country, but how do you let everyone (Canadians, search engines, and AI) know you’re here? One of the most effective ways is through secondary keywords. When we optimize for search engines, we usually select one or two primary keywords that are lightly infused throughout the content. Then, we determine the secondary keywords or longtail phrases to further refine our target audience.
How to Optimize Content for Canadian Traffic
Whether you’re optimizing for search engines or AI, your primary focus must be on the intended reader. The ultimate goal is always to create the best quality content. However, it also has to be what your ideal customer is searching for. To figure that out, we need to determine their intent and analyze it.
- Do you know what Canadians are looking for in relation to your product or service?
- What do they want to learn?
- What do they need that your article (and product or service) can provide?
- What format would they prefer? Written, graphic, video, or a combination thereof?
- What would be the most effective and desirable way to help them? Courses? Written tutorials? A webinar?
You can use external and internal data to answer these questions. Keyword analysis using tools like Semrush can reveal intent, for example, and your own customer service team can share concerns or requests that content can address.
Hashtags used on social media usually refer to a broader topic, but they can also be a strong indicator of intent. Additionally, social media is where today’s shopper voices their concerns, expresses their wants & needs, and endorses their favourite products. The most popular hashtags in Canada can also reveal effective keywords and trends for your content marketing campaigns.
Tracking hashtags is simple using one of the many tools available. Try Brand Mentions hashtag tracker (free) to monitor performance & analytics for Instagram, Facebook, X, etc. Start with your brand name and see what comes up. You can also keep an eye on several new Canadian social networks, including EH! and Gander.
Speaking of social media, remember that ‘content’ extends beyond the blog post and into the social media world. Use your Canadian keywords in account descriptions and social media posts so search engines know you’re in Canada.
How to Identify Your Primary Keyword
Your primary keyword should be the focus word or phrase that you want the content (and perhaps your website) to rank or be cited for in AI queries. Select a primary keyword or phrase that best relates to your content and check it for popularity (search volume). If there’s too much competition for that keyword, try editing it into a longtail search phrase and optimize for that instead.
Identifying Secondary Keywords for Canadian Content
As mentioned above, you can easily “Canadianize” search phrases and use them to bring in Canadian consumers.
When we’re trying to engage Canadians, we can use secondary keywords in combination with the primary keywords. For example, our primary keywords for this post might be ‘content marketing SEO’, but we’ll add ‘in Canada’ to it, or use ‘Canadian content SEO’, etc. Alternatively, you might want to make your Canadian keywords more local, such as ‘Cheapest wholesaler in Vancouver, BC’.
TIP: There are other effective ways to show consumers you’re Canadian at the search level. For example, you can use the Canadian spelling of words, choose a .ca domain name, and consider having a French version of your website.
Too Much of a Good Thing
Don’t overuse keywords, as it could lead search engines to label your content as spam due to ‘keyword stuffing’.
“Keyword stuffing makes your content look spammy to both search engines and readers,” says Semrush. “Worse, it can trigger penalties that tank your rankings and make AI platforms less likely to cite your work.”
Note: Top quality content is critical to the success of this strategy. AI can’t produce this caliber of writing. If you don’t currently employ writers, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn it’s quite affordable to contract it out. For example, Canadian Digital Media offers content creation by professional Canadian writers, as well as free content for syndication.
An SEO Tactic with Staying Power
Whether you’re trying to surf the ‘buy Canadian’ wave or you just want to engage Canadians, using Canadian keywords in excellent content will serve you well indefinitely.
“It reads less like a one-time patriotic moment and more like our shoppers steadily building Canadian-made into their regular routine, consistent with the wider ‘buy Canadian’ sentiment retailers across the country have reported,” says Retailer Insider.
How do you decide which Canadian keywords to focus on in your content marketing? Please share your ideas or questions in the comments below, or join us in the Online Business Canada Facebook group.
Related Reading
Gift-Buyer’s Journey: Content Strategy Doubles Sales (Infographic)
How to Use Content Marketing to Skyrocket Holiday Sales
For weekly inspiration, insights, tips, and resources, sign up for the Online Business Canada newsletter!
7 Recession Proof Online Businesses To Start From Home
Expert help to choose, start, and run a successful online business!
“Almost 200 pages of pure gold…”
——————————————
© CanadiansInternet.com – Content on this website may not be used elsewhere without expressed permission. Thank you for respecting the effort that we have put into our original content.
DISCLOSURE: We may receive compensation for links to products on this website. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Our content is provided for informational purposes only and does not guarantee results.
Last Updated on June 29, 2026 by Melody McKinnon, Online Business & Marketing Manager
