Arabic digital marketing is online marketing of businesses in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
There are different kinds of people in different regions of the world.
All perceive things differently.
And, digital marketing is all about understanding people and pitching the sale accordingly.
Middle Eastern population has a different culture, language, and priorities compared to Europe and America.
You have to practice some effective Arabic digital marketing strategies if you wish to grow your business in this region.
In this article, you will learn why your business needs to invest in Arabic digital marketing and strategies to boost your business.
1. Why Use Arabic Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing holds many benefits for all types of business.
Arabic digital marketing techniques in 2019 will take these benefits one step further.
Increase Your Sales
It is said, “You can’t sell if you can’t TELL.”
You have to reach YOUR audience to TELL. And, use the right way to TELL.
These best Arabic digital marketing tips will help you
- Reach the right audience
- And impressively express yourself.
In result, you will see a significant increase in your sales.
Engage Your Audiences
Realizing and engaging your target audience is a big achievement itself.
If you can’t engage them, your competitors will.
Engagement through Arabic digital marketing not only satisfies your existing customers but also brings you many new ones.
Create Your Brand
Here’s one of the best Arabic digital marketing tips for small businesses:
Work to create a Brand of your business.
It takes less effort and returns more profit when you are a brand.
You know you have become a brand when your audience knows your business by its name.
People prefer brands over any other business because they are considered reliable.
The right person will know the right way to use effective Arabic digital marketing strategies to create a brand of your business.
Less Investment Greater Return
Digital marketing is already cheap compared to TV commercials, pamphlets, and billboards.
It can save you a lot more if practiced effectively.
Marketing shouldn’t be a shot in the dark. It should study the target’s needs then hit with the right pitch – it is more likely to get you lead.
When your target market is UAE, you should practice Arabic digital marketing in UAE with the right strategies.
It will get you a higher Return on Investment.
Let’s start with effective Arabic digital marketing strategies.
2. Rank on Google
More than 97% of internet users in the Middle East use Google.
Only the rest of 3% use Yahoo and Bing.
It’s a clear signal that you must put all your focus on ranking in Google search engine result page.
Every business has a website today.
A business website works as a platform to attract internet users (which is almost the entire world). You have to optimize your website for search engines to get visitors.
These visitors are then impressed and converted to leads (visitors that contact you). But, it is not very easy to secure a position on the first page of Google.
A field of digital marketing, SEO focuses on increasing the visibility of a website on search engines like Google.
Every business has competitors who are also using SEO to rank in search engines.
How to outrank your competition?
Arabic digital marketing for Middle East websites is the way to go.
When doing SEO of your website, don’t treat it like any other website.
It’s a Middle Eastern website, and it should be treated that way.
Don’t compete with all websites of your niche. Compete only with the websites of MENA region.
Wondering how to do it?
Do these two things.
Set Target Geographical Area in Google Search Console
You have to set your target area to the Middle East or any specific country within this region.
Google Search Console is the official platform to manage a website.
Google prefers local search result so your website will be preferred for the set country.
Once you set the target country, you are no longer in competition with international websites.
Now, you just have to deal with the local competition which shouldn’t be too hard if you have the right guy for Arabic digital marketing.
Here’s how you set target country:
Go to Google Search Console of your Website. You will have to verify the ownership of your website the first time.
- Go to ‘Search Traffic’
- Next, ‘International Targeting’
- Check the box that says ‘Target Users in’
- Select your area from the dropdown list.
Get Backlinks from Relevant Country Specific Sites
Backlinks are the links you get on a page of your websites from other websites.
Google gives backlinks great importance when determining the rank of a website.
Not all backlinks are equal.
- A backlink from an important website has more value than the one from a new or small website.
- Likewise, a backlink from a relevant website is more appreciated.
An important thing here is to understand the relevancy of a website.
In other words, how similar a website or page is to your website or page?
For example:
- A website on digital marketing should get backlinks from other websites of digital marketing.
- If you have a page about SEO in UAE, a backlink from another page about SEO will have more value.
- It is even better if both sites are of the same region, country, or city.
You should get high quality country-specific backlinks for your website.
A backlink from a relevant page has more value which helps you rank in Google SERP.
3. Use the Arabic Language
There are many countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. Most of their population speaks the Arabic language.
Arabic is the 8th biggest language on the internet still there aren’t many websites that offer content in this language – about 3% only.
English is a universal language and most widely used on the internet, but it’s not as effective when your target is the Middle East.
It was discovered in a Eurobarometer survey 2011 that only 18% of online shoppers would purchase in a foreign language.
It is clear that most people prefer content in their native language – especially when making a buying decision.
Here’s what you need to do: Create an Arabic version of your website in addition to the English version.
Having Arabic content, ranking for Arabic searches, while providing a good user-experience will significantly increase your sales.
4. Target Local Keywords
One of the best Arabic digital marketing strategies for the local markets is to target local keywords.
Usually, an SEO analyst would target keywords that have high search volume on Google.
Arabic digital marketing suggests targeting the local keywords even if fewer people search them.
Arabic digital marketing is about marketing your business for the people of the Middle East. So, you must conduct market research to understand their behavior toward your niche.
Keywords are the words people use when searching on Google. Many people use different terms for a search.
You have to find the keywords that local audience searches.
They will have lower competition and get you a better conversion rate. Local keywords are mostly used for online shopping.
If you follow the previous tip, your Arabic content will have no problem ranking for keywords in its language.
Targeting Arabic keywords with Arabic content should be one of your priorities.
Do you know why?
- According to the research of State of Digital in 2012, 54% of Google searches are made in the Arabic language in the MENA region.
- It means about 9 million people search their query in the Arabic language. This number has significantly increased over these last years.
5. Utilize the Right Social Media Platform
Social media sites are a great source of online web traffic.
Currently, Facebook is the biggest social media website in the world. But, not in every single country.
There are many countries in the MENA region. Each country prefers different social media.
For example:
- 45% of Saudi Arabia get news from WhatsApp.
- 32% from Facebook
- 32% from Twitter
Source: Medium
Select the social media that is best suited for your target country and reach your market through it.
Facebook has its importance in every country. It’s recommended to also create a Facebook page of your business and increase its following by producing interesting content.
Interesting content isn’t always something funny.
You would know better what interests your target audience.
Create interesting posts to increase and engage your audience on social media and direct them to your website.
6. Create a Lead Generation Website
If you have a business website, make sure it is optimized for lead generation.
Simple visitors are of no use to you if they don’t buy your product or services. Your goal is to convert as many of these visitors as possible.
A lead is a person that has shown interest in your product or services by contacting or providing you his email.
You can optimize your website in a way that it can generate more leads.
If a visitor has the slightest of interest in your product or service, he mustn’t leave without conversion.
You will make it easy and prompt them to take a step ahead. One example is to create a lead generation form with call-to-action on every page.
Here see my comprehensive guide to optimize your website for lead generation.
7. Robust and Interesting Blog
Your website MUST HAVE A BLOG!
A blog contains various informational articles that are relevant to your niche.
Each article covers a range of queries. Covering more search queries means more traffic to your website.
Since the blog is relevant to your business, all visitors are also your potential customers.
With the right content and lead generation design, you will see your conversion rate skyrocketing.
The content in the blog is just as important as any other Arabic digital marketing technique.
You need content to attract and engage your visitors.
- But, what if they don’t like your content? They will leave and never return.
- On the other hand, if they do like your content, they will become your customer and refer you to others.
Creating content to attract and engage visitors to generate more leads is called content marketing. You study your audience and plan your content to get the best of leads.
You should know these 19 content marketing hacks to get more traffic and better response.
Bonus Tip:
Use of mobile phones for online search has taken a rapid increase in last few years.
You need to, inevitably, optimize your website for mobile users. Google ranks your website based on its mobile view.
Statista research concluded that the 51% of population in the MENA region uses mobile devices to access the internet.
A mobile optimized website will help rank better but, most importantly, it ensures a great user experience which is crucial in Arabic digital marketing.
Here’s What You Learned in This Article:
Arabic digital marketing for the MENA region is smart marketing according to the requirements of its population.
- You have to rank your website on the first page of Google SERP because it is used by 97% of internet users. To rank, get country-specific links and set your target geographical area in Google Search Console.
- Most people in the Middle East prefer content in their own language yet there is less content and less competition in Arabic – so, create content in Arabic.
- 54% of the MENA population search their query in the Arabic language. You should target local keywords that best suit your niche.
- Use the social media website that is most widely used in your target area and increase your business following.
- Your website should be optimized for lead generation if you have a business website.
- Your website must have an active blog that creates great content to bring traffic to your website.
- In addition, make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices as 51% of the MENA population uses them for internet searches.
Now, you tell me.
Do you think investing in Arabic digital marketing would boost your sales?
