Arabic SEO Services: Rank for the Searches Your Arabic-Speaking Customers Make
By the PNext team · Updated 19 October 2026
Many UAE businesses have an excellent English website and nothing in Arabic, or an Arabic version that was machine-translated and never optimised. Either way, they are invisible for a large share of the searches their customers make.
Arabic SEO is not translation. People phrase searches differently in Arabic, spell the same word several ways, mix dialect with Modern Standard Arabic, and sometimes type Arabic words in Latin letters. Ranking for those searches takes its own research, its own content and a technical set-up that tells Google which version to show to whom.
- ✓Why translation is not enough
- ✓How Arabic keyword research works
- ✓Technical set-up: hreflang and RTL
- ✓Arabic content that ranks
- ✓Arabic local SEO
What are Arabic SEO services?
Arabic SEO services optimise the Arabic version of your website so it ranks for searches made in Arabic. That includes Arabic keyword research across spelling and dialect variants, content written by native speakers, separate Arabic URLs linked with hreflang, right-to-left page set-up, Arabic metadata and schema, and an Arabic Google Business Profile.
Why translation is not Arabic SEO
Different phrasing
An English search like “dental clinic near me” is not searched as a word-for-word Arabic translation. The Arabic phrasing has to come from Arabic search data.
Spelling variants
Arabic searchers write the same word in several ways, for example with or without hamza on alif, or with ta marbuta (ة) or ha (ه) at the end. Google handles some of this, but not all of it.
Dialect and MSA
People mix Gulf dialect and Modern Standard Arabic, and the right choice depends on the product and audience.
Arabizi
Some users type Arabic words in Latin letters and numbers. For certain consumer searches, this is worth covering.
A machine-translated page usually gets the vocabulary technically right and the search intent wrong, so it ranks for very little.
How the same need is searched in English and Arabic
A few everyday UAE searches show the problem. Each Arabic column lists forms people actually type, and a page needs to cover the variants that matter, not one tidy translation:
| English search | Common Arabic forms | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| dentist near me | دكتور اسنان قريب مني · عيادة أسنان قريبة | “Doctor” and “clinic” are both used, and the hamza on أسنان is often dropped |
| car rental Dubai | تأجير سيارات دبي · ايجار سيارات في دبي | Two different words for rental, each with its own results |
| apartments for rent Abu Dhabi | شقق للايجار في ابوظبي · شقق للإيجار أبو ظبي | Abu Dhabi is written joined and separated, with and without hamza |
| best restaurant | افضل مطعم · أفضل مطعم | The same word with and without hamza on alif |
This matters more now that Google’s AI Overviews answer in Arabic. Google added Arabic when it expanded Overviews to more than 40 languages in May 2025, so a clear, well-structured Arabic page can be cited in Arabic results the same way an English page is in English ones.
How we do Arabic keyword research
Start from your services, not your English keywords
We list what you sell, then research how Arabic speakers search for each service.
Collect real Arabic queries
From Google Search Console, keyword tools, Google suggestions and the People Also Ask boxes in Arabic results.
Group spelling and dialect variants
Variants that bring up the same results belong on one page.
Check the Arabic results page
Who ranks, what type of page wins, and whether Google shows an AI Overview in Arabic for the query.
Map each group to an Arabic page
One Arabic page per intent, linked to its English equivalent.
Technical set-up: hreflang, URLs and right-to-left pages
- Separate URLs for Arabic pages, for example under /ar/, never the same URL switching language by cookie or IP.
- hreflang tags linking each English page to its Arabic version (for example en-ae and ar-ae), with a return link on each.
- dir=”rtl” and lang=”ar” set on Arabic pages, with layouts tested so menus, forms and icons mirror correctly.
- Arabic titles, descriptions and URLs written for Arabic searchers, not left in English.
- Arabic structured data with the right inLanguage values and consistent business details.
- Fonts and speed checked, since Arabic web fonts can slow pages down if loaded carelessly.
Our technical SEO audit checks all of this on existing bilingual sites.
Arabic content that ranks
Arabic pages are written by native Arabic speakers from the Arabic keyword research, with the same depth as the English page and the same answer-first structure that helps with Google AI Overviews. Where the English page has local examples, the Arabic page gets examples that make sense to an Arabic-speaking reader, not a literal copy.
Content is then reviewed for search intent, terminology for your industry, and consistency with your brand voice. Our content marketing and copywriting team handles both languages in one plan.
Arabic local SEO in the UAE
Your Google Business Profile can show your business name in Arabic as well as English, and Arabic-speaking customers often search maps in Arabic. We set up Arabic business details where appropriate, encourage reviews from Arabic-speaking customers, and make sure your Arabic location pages match your profile.
Serving Abu Dhabi or the wider UAE? See our SEO services in Abu Dhabi, where Arabic search matters in many sectors, and our local SEO service.
Want to rank in Arabic?
We will check how your site performs for Arabic searches today and where the biggest opportunities are.
Frequently Asked Questions
Try a different keyword, or ask our team directly.
Optimising the Arabic version of a website so it ranks for searches made in Arabic, using Arabic keyword research, native-written content and the right technical set-up.
Translation alone rarely ranks well, because Arabic searchers phrase queries differently. The Arabic pages need their own keyword research and content written for Arabic search intent.
Yes. Give each language its own URL, for example under /ar/, and connect them with hreflang so Google shows the right version.
Yes. Arabic pages are written and reviewed by native Arabic speakers, not machine-translated.
No. The same approach works across the GCC and wider Arabic-speaking markets, with keyword research adjusted for each country.
Yes. Clear Arabic answers, structured data and consistent business details help Google AI Overviews and AI assistants that answer in Arabic.
Related Services and Guides
Ready to talk about your results?
Tell us about your site and markets, and we will show you what you are missing in Arabic search.
We work with businesses in Dubai, across the UAE and in the USA. No pitch, no pressure, just an honest view of what we would do.
Or call and WhatsApp us on +971 50 298 5401.
- 01Arabic keyword opportunities
- 02Current Arabic pages
- 03hreflang and RTL set-up
- 04Arabic local SEO
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