What is actually different about marketing across Quebec
In Quebec, French is not a translation layer applied to an English campaign. It is the market. The words your customers type in French are almost never the direct translation of the words they type in English, so a translated campaign buys phrases nobody searches for. The keyword research has to be redone in French rather than converted.
The Charter of the French language governs commercial advertising across the whole province, not only in Montreal. I am not a lawyer and none of this is legal advice; the authority to consult is the Office quebecois de la langue francaise, linked below. What I can tell you is how I work, which is to design in French first rather than bolt it on at the end.
The province is also not just Montreal. Greater Montreal, the Quebec City region, the Outaouais, the Eastern Townships, Mauricie, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Bas-Saint-Laurent are separate markets with different competitors and very different costs. A campaign set to all of Quebec lets Montreal set the price for everyone in it, including your customers in Rimouski.
Three ways to grow a Quebec business, run by one accountable person
Same three services everywhere I work. What changes in Quebec is that all of them start in French.
Google Ads Management
In Quebec that starts with real French keyword research and with splitting the markets, so Montreal stops setting the price for the regions. Then account structure, then cutting spend on searches that were never going to convert.
$1,500/month + ad spend
SEO Consulting
Often the better first investment outside Greater Montreal, where competition is thinner. Technical fixes first, then the French pages that genuinely answer what your customers are asking.
$1,200/month
AIO Consulting
Being the Quebec business ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews name when someone asks for a recommendation, in French as well as English. Cheapest of the three and one-time.
$1,800 one-time
Where in Quebec I work
Quebec markets with their own page
Each of these goes into what is actually different about that market. If you sell in one of them, start there rather than here.
Across the province
I take on clients throughout Greater Montreal, the Quebec City region, the Outaouais, the Eastern Townships, Mauricie, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Bas-Saint-Laurent. Everything is run remotely over video and email, so where in the province you are makes no difference to the work or the price.
- Greater Montreal
- the Quebec City region
- the Outaouais
- the Eastern Townships
- Mauricie
- Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
- Bas-Saint-Laurent
And in the regional cities
Plenty of good businesses are not in a city with its own page. I work with businesses in Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivieres, Saguenay, Drummondville, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Rimouski on the same terms.
- Sherbrooke
- Trois-Rivieres
- Saguenay
- Drummondville
- Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
- Rimouski
Questions Quebec businesses ask
Do you have an office in Quebec?
No. I am based in Toronto and work from home, so there is no Quebec office and I am not going to imply there is. Everything is run remotely over video and email.
Can we just translate our English campaigns?
That is what most businesses do and it is the most expensive habit in this province. The phrases your customers type in French do not map word for word onto the English ones, so a direct translation buys volume that does not exist. The research gets redone in French.
What about the Charter of the French language?
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. The Charter governs commercial advertising across the province and the Office quebecois de la langue francaise is the authority to consult; the link is below. Practically, I design in French first rather than adding it at the end.
Is your French good enough for customer-facing copy?
I work in French and I will be straight with you: for advertising copy aimed at a general Quebec audience I have it reviewed by someone from here. I would rather say that up front than hand you something that reads as translated.
What does this cost?
Google Ads management is $1,500 a month plus your ad spend. SEO consulting is $1,200 a month. AIO consulting is $1,800 one time. No setup fees and no long contract.
Tell me where you are stuck in Quebec
Twenty minutes, free, no pitch. Describe the business and I will tell you what I would do first.
Book 20 free minutes