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French SEO service
French SEO agency for international SMEs
I run SEO in France for foreign companies: keyword research in French, pages French buyers trust, links from French websites and visibility in French AI answers. One senior contact from start to finish: me.
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SEO in France for foreign companies, in practice
An SEO partner for France has three jobs: find the French searches that bring real buyers, make your French pages able to rank for them, and tell you every month what it brings in. Everything else is noise.
Aardvarks Digital is me, Damien Oumanetz, a French SEO consultant since 2010. I led SEO for Zalando’s French launch from Berlin, for Galeries Lafayette and for Evaneos, where I built a content factory in four languages. As a freelancer, I helped Inderwear grow in France, then in the US and the UK. Today I apply the same method to international SMEs that want customers in France: an honest audit, a 12-month roadmap, then monthly work sized to your budget, on Google and in AI answers.
Want a diagnosis first? See the French SEO audit. Need content in French first? See French SEO content and localisation. Need authority? See link building in France.
- ContactMe, from audit to reporting. No salesperson, no junior.
- PriceFrom €890 excl. VAT per month, no long-term contract.
- MarketGoogle.fr and French AI answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews).
- LanguagesEnglish and French; German and Italian on a working level.
- TimingFirst effects within weeks, lasting rankings in 6 to 12 months.
- ForE-commerce, SaaS, B2B and industry, travel, consumer brands.
Why it doesn’t work yet
Why your French pages don’t bring French customers
Most foreign companies that enter France run into the same five obstacles. All of them can be fixed with the right method.
Translated keywords
French buyers often use different words from a literal translation. Your pages target searches nobody makes in France.
Pages that read like a translation
French readers notice straight away. Trust drops, and so do enquiries and sales.
No links from French websites
The authority you built at home only partly carries over. Google France wants mentions from French sites in your field.
A shaky French version
Missing or wrong hreflang tags, French pages not indexed, mixed languages: Google doesn’t know which page to show in France.
Absent from French AI answers
For questions asked in French, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI cite French sources. If you are not among them, you don’t exist for those buyers.
Which ones apply to you?
My free France check reviews them on your site, against your 3 main competitors in France, within 24 hours.
The 4 levers
A French SEO strategy, activated in the right order
Doing SEO in France doesn’t mean doing everything. It means doing first what pays off, in the order your site and your budget require.
Your French version, technically sound
The base everything else needs
- French section structure (/fr/ or .fr)
- hreflang and canonical tags
- Indexing and crawling in France
- Speed and Core Web Vitals
- Internal linking in French
Content in French
The engine of your visibility
- Keyword research in French
- Localisation of your key pages
- Pillar pages and supporting articles
- Monthly editorial calendar
Links from French websites
The authority that lifts your pages
- Audit of your existing links
- White-hat links from French media and industry sites
- Digital PR in France
- Monthly authority tracking
AI visibility in France (GEO)
Recommended by AI assistants in French
- What AI says about your category in French
- Content that AI can easily cite
- Structured data for AI engines
- Monthly tracking of your citations
The method
From audit to growth: a clear 12-month plan
No vague promises. A written roadmap, deliverables at each stage, and results measured in leads and sales, not just rankings.
- 1Month 1Audit and French strategyTechnical, content and link audit of your French version, analysis of 3 French competitors, choice of the searches to target. Deliverable: the 12-month roadmap.
- 2Months 1 to 2FoundationsTechnical fixes, hreflang set-up, optimisation of your existing French pages. The first quick wins come here.
- 3Months 2 to 6Content and linksFrench content every month, a targeted link campaign on French sites, continuous optimisation. Rankings climb step by step.
- 4Months 6 to 12Growth and steeringWe reinforce what brings leads and adjust the rest. Every month: rankings, traffic, leads, AI citations.
The difference
Why SMEs choose me over a large agency
Large agencies are excellent for large accounts. For an SME entering France, the entry ticket is high and the contact person changes often. With me, you keep the same person from day one, with the same tools and big-brand experience.
| Large agency | Aardvarks Digital | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting budget | €3,000 to €4,000 a month | From €890 excl. VAT a month |
| Contact person | Changes regularly | Always the same: me |
| AI visibility | Rarely included | Included and tracked monthly |
| Commitment | Often 12 months | No long-term contract |
Prices
How much does SEO in France cost?
Three plans, no long-term contract. The free check tells me which one fits your site and your goals in France.
Sites of 20 to 50 pages. Full audit, technical optimisation, 4 pieces of French content and 3 links a month, monthly report.
Request a quoteGrowing SMEs, e-commerce, B2B. Everything in Starter, plus 8 pieces of content and 6 links a month, AI visibility tracking, pillar pages.
Request a quoteLarger companies, high-volume e-commerce, very competitive sectors. Strategy, content and links sized for you.
Let’s talkFAQ
Your questions about SEO in France
French SEO agency or French SEO consultant: which should I choose?
An agency brings several skills, a consultant brings the continuity of one expert. What matters is knowing who actually does the work. With Aardvarks Digital, it is me, a senior consultant, from audit to reporting, working with French writers and link partners I manage myself.
Do you just translate our pages?
No. I start from keyword research in French, then adapt your existing pages and write what is missing for the French market. A translation keeps your wording; French buyers often search with other words. More on French SEO content and localisation.
Which language do we work in?
English or French; German and Italian on a working level. Your French content is written in my native language, French.
Should our French site be a .fr domain or a /fr/ folder?
Often a /fr/ folder on your main domain, with correct hreflang tags, is the best start: it benefits from the authority you already have. A .fr domain can build trust in some sectors but starts from zero. I recommend the set-up that fits your site and your markets.
How long before we see results in France?
Technical fixes and pages close to the first page often move within a few weeks. Lasting rankings on competitive French searches take 6 to 12 months. Unlike ads, these results stay when you reduce the budget.
Can you also run Google Ads in France?
Yes. I can run Google Ads campaigns for France alongside SEO, to bring leads while your rankings build up. See Google Ads in France.
Let’s get started
Ready to win customers in France?
Get your free France check: your rankings against 3 French competitors, what AI says about your category in French and 3 priority actions. Within 24 hours, no commitment.
Get my free France check
