Medical — Dubai / UAE
Clicks 189 → 1,680 (8.9×) and average position 15 → 8.1 after an APEX SEO programme.
Clicks1891,680
Impressions34,500285,000
Avg. position158.1
Quarter on quarter
Arabic SEO
Arabic SEO Agency for Dubai & the UAE
Plenty of UAE websites publish an Arabic version and rank for almost nothing in it. upranked.io builds the Arabic side properly — native Arabic keyword research, Arabic content written natively rather than translated, and RTL architecture Google can actually read — for businesses in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and across the GCC.
Definition
Arabic SEO is the practice of ranking a website for Arabic-language search queries. It requires keyword research conducted in Arabic, content written natively rather than translated, right-to-left technical architecture, hreflang linking each Arabic page to its English counterpart, and a link profile built on Arabic-language sources. It is a separate discipline from English SEO, not a language setting applied to it.
Arabic SEO Is Not Translated English SEO
Code-switching is the part agencies miss most often. Queries such as شركة SEO دبي mix scripts inside a single search, and Google treats them as their own keywords with their own results page. You only find these by researching in Arabic, in-market — they do not appear in any English keyword tool export.
Arabic search is not one language either. A UAE buyer researching a service writes in Modern Standard Arabic; the same person looking for a nearby clinic writes in Gulf dialect, with different spellings for the same word. Often they abandon Arabic mid-query and type the brand or the technical term in English. An Arabic keyword list produced by translating an English one captures none of this, because it starts from the wrong question.
Then there is the architecture. Arabic runs right to left, but numerals, Latin brand names, and URLs do not, so a layout that was merely flipped breaks in ways that hurt Core Web Vitals and readability at once. Arabic pages need their own URLs, their own templates, and their own performance budget. Without reciprocal hreflang between each Arabic page and its English counterpart, Google serves the wrong version to the wrong searcher and the two compete instead of compounding.
The commercial argument is simpler than the technical one. In the Arabic keyword sets I map for UAE B2B clients, volumes run below the English equivalents and competition runs well below them — the diagnostic shows the split for your own terms. An Arabic SEO consultant works those queries because the competition is thin, the intent is high, and almost every competitor has left the Arabic side of their site unoptimised.
Want to see which Arabic queries your competitors have left open? The APEX Diagnostic maps them for your own domain.
Book a free Arabic SEO diagnosticWhat’s Included in Our Arabic SEO Services
Native Arabic Keyword Research
Keyword research run in Arabic, not translated from an English list — covering Modern Standard Arabic, Gulf dialect spellings, and the EN/AR code-switching patterns UAE buyers actually type.
Arabic Content Written Natively
Sam writes the Arabic content, working directly from the Arabic keyword research — nothing is machine-translated, and nothing is a word-for-word copy of the English page.
RTL Technical Architecture
Real right-to-left implementation: RTL CSS, Arabic web fonts that do not break layout, Arabic URL structure, and Core Web Vitals measured on the Arabic templates rather than assumed from the English ones.
Hreflang & Bilingual Schema
Reciprocal hreflang between every English and Arabic page pair so Google serves the right language, plus @graph JSON-LD on both versions with the Arabic business name, address, and phone in GCC format.
Arabic Link Building
Authority links from Arabic-language publications and GCC Arabic business directories. Arabic pages need their own link profile — English backlinks do not carry the Arabic side on their own.
Arabic Google Business Profile
Arabic business name, categories, services, and posts on your Google Business Profile, so Arabic map and near-me searches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi surface your listing in the language the searcher used.
How It Works — The APEX Framework Applied to Arabic
Your engagement runs through four phases: Audit, Position, Execute, Expand. Here is what each one delivers on the Arabic side of your site.
- A
1. Audit
Arabic visibility audit: what you rank for in Arabic today, the RTL and hreflang faults blocking the rest, and the Arabic keyword gap against your competitors.
- P
2. Position
An Arabic keyword and content map tied to buyer intent, plus a 90-day roadmap in priority order — which Arabic pages get built first and why.
- E
3. Execute
Arabic pages written and published, RTL and hreflang implemented and verified, bilingual schema deployed, Arabic link acquisition underway.
- X
4. Expand
Arabic topic clusters extended into adjacent queries and new GCC cities, with monthly reporting on Arabic impressions, positions, and leads separately from English.
Recent client results
These are results from English-language search campaigns using the same process. Arabic-search case studies are in progress.
Medical — Dubai / UAE
Clicks +137% and average position 24.9 → 18.5 after an APEX SEO programme.
Clicks79187
Impressions16,70041,100
Avg. position24.918.5
Quarter on quarter
Industrial manufacturing — GCC
Average position 35.4 → 22.3 and impressions ×7 after an APEX SEO programme.
Clicks120249
Impressions3,73026,600
Avg. position35.422.3
Quarter on quarter
Professional services — UK / Europe
Impressions 80,200 → 218,000 and average position 25.7 → 20.6 over one SEO engagement.
Clicks8421,120
Impressions80,200218,000
Avg. position25.720.6
Year on year
Campaign in progress
Medical — Dubai / UAE
Impressions +43% and average position climbing from 60.7 to 55.1 in the first month of an ongoing engagement.
Impressions7,97011,400
Avg. position60.755.1
First 28 days
Arabic SEO Pricing
The APEX Diagnostic is free right now — a full audit of your Arabic and English search position, the keyword gap, and a 90-day roadmap, delivered by Sam with no commitment.
Monthly retainers start at $1,200/month. Bilingual EN/AR coverage — Arabic keyword research, native Arabic content production, and Arabic link building — is included from the Authority tier upward.
Arabic SEO FAQs — Dubai & UAE
How much does Arabic SEO cost in Dubai?
upranked.io retainers start at $1,200/month, and Arabic SEO strategy and keyword research are included from the Authority tier upward. The APEX Diagnostic — a full technical audit, competitor gap analysis, keyword opportunity map, and 90-day roadmap — is free right now. Published Dubai agency pricing ranges from a few thousand dirhams a month for local packages to five figures for enterprise campaigns; upranked.io sits in the premium mid-market and is founder-led.
Is Arabic SEO just translating my English site?
No. Translation moves words; Arabic SEO moves rankings. Arabic searchers use different query structures, different vocabulary, and a mix of Modern Standard Arabic, Gulf dialect, and Arabic-English code-switching depending on the topic. A translated page targets the English keyword set rendered in Arabic, which is rarely what anyone types. Arabic SEO starts with native Arabic keyword research and builds the content from those queries.
How long does Arabic SEO take to work?
Arabic search results in the UAE are typically less contested than their English equivalents, so early movement often arrives faster than on the English side. Typically you see technical and indexation changes within weeks, ranking movement on long-tail Arabic queries within the first few months, and competitive commercial terms later — the timeline depends on your domain authority, sector, and how much Arabic content already exists.
Do I need a separate Arabic website or is /ar/ enough?
An /ar/ subdirectory on your existing domain is enough for almost every business, and it is usually the better choice: the Arabic pages inherit the authority your domain has already earned instead of starting from zero on a second site. What matters is the implementation — a real RTL layout, unique Arabic URLs, reciprocal hreflang between each EN and AR page pair, and Arabic content that is not a mirror of the English.
Which is bigger in the UAE — Arabic or English search?
It depends on the sector and the audience. The UAE is the most balanced market in the GCC: English carries much of the B2B, expat, and professional services demand, while Arabic is stronger for consumer, government-adjacent, healthcare, and family-decision queries. Saudi Arabia leans far more Arabic-first. The correct answer for your business comes from your own search data, not a rule of thumb — which is what the diagnostic measures.
Do you write the Arabic content or do I?
Sam writes the Arabic content, working directly from the Arabic keyword research — nothing is machine-translated. Each page is reviewed against search intent before publication, and you review and approve everything before it goes live. If you have an in-house Arabic writer, we can instead supply the briefs, keyword targets, and structure and review the drafts.
Related Service
Already ranking in English and adding Arabic? That's bilingual SEO.
Running both languages brings its own problems — language routing, the hreflang cluster, and stopping your EN and AR pages competing for the same result.
Written & Overseen By
Sam
Founder & GCC SEO Strategist — upranked.io
Sam is a GCC SEO strategist whose whole focus is Arabic-language search — the queries, the RTL architecture, and the Gulf-dialect keyword sets English-first agencies never open. Your engagement is founder-led: the keyword research, architecture decisions, and content briefs come from Sam directly.
What the Free APEX Diagnostic Includes
- Full technical SEO audit
- Competitor gap analysis (3 rivals)
- GCC keyword opportunity map
- Bilingual EN/AR keyword coverage
- Commercial-intent priority scoring
- 90-day prioritised roadmap
- Delivered by Sam personally
- PDF + live 60-min walkthrough
Rank in Arabic, Not Just English
Book a free Arabic SEO diagnostic. We will audit your Arabic search position, find the queries your competitors have ignored, and show you what it takes to own them.