By Hovsep Seraydarian
Do you want to increase your online presence and give Canadian clients a warm, welcoming feeling on your website? Localizing your website is highly recommended!
You can improve visitor satisfaction, increase revenue, and establish a more reputable online presence by ensuring that your features, content, and design are appropriate for Canadian users. Let’s discuss some key factors for localizing your website and succeeding in Canada.
1. Embrace Canada’s Bilingual Identity
English and French are the official languages of Canada, and linguistic diversity is more widespread than one might think. Although 85% of Canadians can speak English to some extent, only over 60% of them identify it as their mother tongue. This implies that to offer a fully localized experience, just translating your material from American or British English may not be sufficient. Canadian English is a distinct language that combines American, British, and regional Canadian slang. Canadians, for instance, use “colour” instead of “color,” “centre” instead of “center,” and many other grammatical and typographical variations.
Similar to this, Canadian French isn’t standard. The most common variety of French spoken outside of France is called Quebec French, and it is very different from Metropolitan French. These distinctions have similarities to those that exist between American and British English, or even between European and Brazilian Portuguese. Therefore, it’s essential to utilize Quebec French if you want to have a true conversation with your French-speaking audience, especially in Quebec. Having separate English and French versions of your website is crucial for successfully serving the Canadian market in light of these language factors.
2. Use Canadian Spelling and Terminology
As previously shown, Canadian English has its own unique vocabulary and spellings while incorporating aspects of both British and American English. It’s crucial to utilize Canadian English on your website in order to connect with your Canadian audience. The usage of certain Canadian terminology and expressions that might not be popular in American or British English is also included in this, in addition to spelling.
For instance, a Canadian could say “pickup” instead of “truck.” These seemingly insignificant variations can have a significant effect on how your audience views your company. By demonstrating your understanding and respect for your audience’s linguistic choices, a website that employs Canadian English fosters trust.
3. Respect Regional Preferences and Cultural Sensitivities
Every location and culture in Canada is unique, with varying sensitivity levels and tastes. It is important that you take these geographical variations into account when localizing your website. For example, your website’s design, photography, and even colour selections should showcase Canada’s variety. While red and white are potentially patriotic colours, not all places may find them to be equally meaningful.
Additionally, you can better customize your content and campaigns by being aware of regional festivals like Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in Quebec or national holidays and events like Canada Day and Remembrance Day. This cultural awareness enhances user experience and fortifies the bond between your brand and its target market.
4. Incorporate Canadian Currency and Metric System
It is important to indicate prices in Canadian dollars (CAD) while conducting business in Canada in order to avert misunderstandings and foster client confidence. One of the most widely held reserve currencies in the world is the Canadian dollar, sometimes represented as Can$ or C$. Transparency is ensured and the chance of abandoned carts as a result of unforeseen currency adjustments is decreased by displaying pricing in Canadian dollars.
Furthermore, measurements in Canada are legally taken in metric units, thus it is imperative to provide product weights, dimensions, and other details in metric units. It is advised to adopt metric units generally, even if some Canadians may still be familiar with imperial units, particularly in some industries. For instance, use kilograms rather than pounds when specifying a product’s weight, and use degrees Celsius instead of Fahrenheit when describing temperatures. By conforming to these regional norms, you can make sure that your website seems trustworthy and natural.
5. Optimize for Local Search Engines and SEO
In Canada, Google is the most popular search engine online, with Google.ca being the preferred search engine for most Canadians. It’s crucial to remember that Google.ca supports both French and English and provides distinct search results depending on the language chosen. This implies that you should optimize your website for keywords related to your Canadian target in both English and French.
Furthermore, websites that use Canadian subdomains or have a.ca domain name typically appear better in local searches. This is why, if at all feasible, you should register a .ca domain for your company. However, in order to register for a .ca domain, you have to meet the Canadian Presence Requirement, which usually means you have to be physically present in Canada. If you want to increase your exposure in local searches but don’t match these standards, you might want to think about utilizing a ca subdomain or subfolder.
6. Leverage Localized Customer Support
To improve user experience and gain Canadian audience confidence, you must offer localized customer care. This entails providing customer care in both French and English and making sure that assistance is accessible during regular office hours in Canada. Customer satisfaction may be greatly increased by setting up a local phone number, giving live chat help, and supplying FAQs appropriate to a certain area.
Furthermore, since privacy and security are important to Canadians, it’s imperative to abide by laws like the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Make sure your website offers safe payment options that Canadians trust, like Interac, Instadebit, or PayPal, and make it obvious how consumer data is safeguarded.
7. Adapt to Canadian Social Media Usage
In Canada, social media is an essential medium for communication, and a large percentage of interactions on it include companies. Particularly well-liked are Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram; on Facebook, two out of every three Canadians are active at least twice a week. To effectively engage your audience, you must include these channels in your marketing approach.
It’s crucial to localize your social media material to represent the Canadian language, culture, and values. Using Canadian English or Quebec French is part of this, depending on who your intended audience is. To further engage your audience, think about taking part in Canadian-specific social media trends or events, including National Indigenous Peoples Day or Canadian Thanksgiving.
To conclude, if you want more traffic and a satisfactory user journey for your Canadian website visitors make sure to localize it. Focus your website entirely on one location and improve the overall experience, which will result in increased profit and a strong online presence. Remember to consider regional variations, spell correctly and work on your SEO to be discoverable in Canadian search engines.
Author Bio:
Hovsep Seraydarian is a seasoned tech entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Digilite web design and marketing agency, known for delivering innovative solutions and exceptional results for clients.
I get most of my traffic from Canadians but my stuff is for anyone anywhere. Google just gets more and more useless even if you pay for ads because everyone is trying to get onto top 2 pages. It doesn’t work and it never did. We need a whole new way to search!! A whole new search engine!! Byebye Google, hello new & improved!!