What Else Is Worth Knowing About the French Market?
When planning expansion into the French market, it’s worth considering payment preferences and key suppliers. Additionally, mobile optimization is essential, as portable devices generate nearly half of internet traffic. Knowledge of tax regulations and GDPR will help avoid legal issues.
Currency
France uses the euro currency, which the country adopted in 1999.
Payment Methods
What payment methods do consumers prefer in France? The most commonly chosen are: PayPal, Sepa Direct Debit, and Cashway.
Furthermore, according to PPRO (Payment and E-Commerce Report), the share of payment types in 2024 looked as follows:
- Card (52%)
- Digital wallet (27%)
- Transfer (11%)
- Other (10%, including cash 2%)
Mobile Devices
SEO activities in the French market cannot lack optimization for mobile devices. They account for well over half of internet traffic in France (63% in February 2025). It is a significant increase compared to previous years, 2023 and 2024, which provides new opportunities.
Delivery
High fees and excessively long delivery times discourage users in France from online shopping and encourage cart abandonment. Therefore, it’s worth choosing a supplier with whom cooperation will be beneficial for both your company and customers.
The main providers of such services in France are La Poste (46.7%) and Chronopost (38.7%). Companies such as Colissimo, DPD, and Mondial Relay have a smaller market share.
Law and Taxes
VAT Tax Rates in France
- 20% – basic VAT rate in France, applies to all goods and services not covered by reduced rates
- 10% – first reduced VAT rate (e.g., unprocessed agricultural products, home renovations that raise living standards, social housing, firewood, passenger transport)
- 5.5% – second reduced VAT rate (e.g., food products, books, electricity, gas)
- 2.1% – third reduced VAT rate (e.g., state-reimbursed medicines, sale of live slaughter animals, some cultural events, some press publications)
- 0% – super reduced VAT rate (intra-Community and international transport, except road and inland waterway transport)
GDPR
The GDPR regulation applies throughout the European Union. In France, it’s a continuation of the French Informatique et Libertés law from 1978, which was amended in 2018 by the personal data protection law.
Website Positioning in France
The most frequently visited types of websites and applications in France are:
- social media (92.3%)
- messaging apps (88.3%)
- search engines and web portals (87.1%)
Search engines are the main source of brand discovery for over 40% of users in France.
Search Engines
Google has the largest market share, at nearly 88%. Bing has just under 6%, and the remaining share goes to search engines such as Yandex, Yahoo!, Ecosia, DuckDuckGo.
SEO in France
SEO Audit and Strategy
When doing SEO for the French market, an SEO audit is the first action we undertake. We’ll examine your website in terms of page indexing in Google, website traffic, speed, backlinks, content duplication, and image optimization. We use tools such as Sitebulb, Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, and Ahrefs.
Domain Extension
The national domain extension in France is .fr, and in most cases, it’s worth choosing it. It can increase the trust of French customers because it gives them a signal that the company operates in this market.
Benefits provided by this domain extension:
- Signal for the search engine – Algorithms will treat the page as more appropriate for users in France.
- User trust – The website will be perceived as trustworthy. 90% of French people trust internet addresses with this extension. Very small enterprises (VSE) and small and medium enterprises (SME) primarily choose the .fr domain when creating a website.
Competition Analysis
The scope of analyzing your competition in the French market includes identifying keywords, analyzing metadata and URL structure, and evaluating content quality and website speed.
These detailed analyses help us create a strategic plan that, when implemented, improves your website’s visibility in the search engine.
Language and Content
We’ll prepare content compliant with French market requirements, which means we’ll consider both language and communication. Information from the French market will allow us to optimize blog content and product offerings for the most popular keywords.
Content Localization
Simply translating content from English to French may not be enough to convey information according to the country’s norms and cultural context.
Content localization comes to help. It considers not only norms and culture but also legal regulations and communication typical for French users.
Content authenticity, marketing message, and cultural context will be taken care of by a content writer and a local expert from France with whom we collaborate.
Keyword Research in France
Competition Analysis
We’ll check the content and keywords of your competitors. Content Gap analysis will help us identify gaps in content and supplement them with keywords valuable for your website’s position.
Location-Related Keywords
We’ll pay attention to location-related keywords. We won’t overlook regions and cities in France that your website should have in its keywords plan.
Thanks to this, your offer:
- will be better matched to target group searches
- will gain a higher chance of delivering a conversion
Semantic Analysis
We’ll apply semantic analysis to understand the context and intentions of searches. This will affect website positioning as well as user experience and engagement. Content will be consistent with the expectations users have when they enter a specific keyword phrase in Google.
Link Building in France
We’ll increase the number of valuable links leading to your website.
- We’ll start with an audit of the current link profile to identify areas that need improvement.
- Next, we’ll select French websites, industry portals, and blogs that enjoy high authority in search engines.
- The next step is establishing contact with service publishers and preparing engaging content (e.g., guest blog posts and sponsored articles).
- Using SEO tools, we’ll monitor and optimize the link building strategy when necessary.
You’ll see the effects of SEO and linking strategy not only in reports but also in your business.
Your website will gain authority in Google, achieve greater visibility in search results, and attract potential customers from the French market.
Why Is It Worth Doing SEO in France With Us?
By collaborating with us, you gain a partner who knows the mechanisms of global markets and can take advantage of this knowledge to benefit your business.
Services Tailored to Your Company
Thanks to the modularity of our offer, we’re able to create a flexible and effective action plan. Regardless of whether you need SEO in France, content marketing support, or link building, you can be sure you’re investing in what actually contributes to your company’s success.
SEO strategy for the French market, French-language content consulted with a local expert, marketplace action plan — these are just examples of what we have to offer. Building a presence in a new market consists of many activities.
Discover the potential of the French market, where innovation meets local consumer patriotism. It’s a market that ranks 11th in the global innovation ranking and attracts conscious buyers who value domestic products.
Our modular SEO offer has been designed to adapt to the unique requirements of French e-commerce, where nearly 90% of consumers see the internet as the key to saving time.
Local Expert
We collaborate with a local expert who knows the French market and local consumer behavior.
Direct Communication
Thanks to direct contact with an SEO expert in our agency, communication is efficient, and every suggestion or idea can be quickly incorporated into the action strategy.
Transparency
We treat transparency as a priority, so you’ll receive insight into the results of the SEO strategy we implement for you. Thanks to this, you not only see the effects but have a real influence on subsequent actions.
