Youssef Ettobi

03 ARABIC

Arabic SEO Consultant

Native in Arabic. A real bridge between Western brands and the Arabic-speaking world.

Freelance Arabic SEO consultant with over 15 years. I help Western brands enter Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Morocco, and MENA brands expand abroad. Native keyword research, RTL technical SEO, content by dialect and regional link building. I don't translate strategies: I build them from the inside.

/why it's different

Why Arabic SEO is not just translation

The Arabic-speaking world has 22 countries, at least 10 dialects with distinct search patterns, right-to-left reading, and its own AI engines like Jais and Fanar. An Arabic SEO consultant who understands this works with real search patterns, not what a translator guesses.

Dialects

A Saudi searches differently than an Egyptian or Moroccan. The same intent uses different words per country.

Technical RTL

Hreflang, canonical, schema and templates in RTL break often. I detect and fix without breaking LTR versions.

Western tools

Ahrefs and SEMrush underestimate real Arabic volume. I work with native Keyword Planner and per-country Search Console.

Local authority

Arabic link building happens in regional media, not generic guest posts. I know the sites that matter.

/what I do

What this pillar covers

These are the fronts I work on as an Arabic SEO consultant. Each project combines them depending on the market and your brand's stage.

01

Keyword research

The Arabic people type into a search box isn't dictionary Arabic: it mixes dialect, Modern Standard Arabic, transliteration and English words. I research how your customers actually search in each country.

What it includes

  • Research in Modern Standard Arabic and dialects
  • Spelling variants and transliteration (Arabizi)
  • Demand differences by country
  • Keyword map by URL
02

On-page SEO

Titles, headings, metas and content optimized in natural Arabic that matches search intent without sounding translated.

What it includes

  • Title, meta and heading optimization
  • Content structure by intent
  • Internal linking in the Arabic version
  • Copy quality review
03

RTL technical SEO

An Arabic site isn't an English site flipped. I review direction, typography, hreflang, URLs and performance so the RTL version works well for users and search engines.

What it includes

  • RTL layout and direction review
  • Hreflang and per-country structure (ar-SA, ar-AE, ar-EG…)
  • URLs and Arabic character encoding
  • Font performance and Core Web Vitals
04

Content localization

Adapting the message to each Arabic-speaking market: tone, references and even dialect differ between the Gulf, Egypt and the Maghreb.

What it includes

  • Tone and dialect guide per market
  • Review and adaptation of translated content
  • Coordination with native writers
  • Cultural adaptation of offers and CTAs
05

Link building

Authority built within the Arabic ecosystem: media, directories and relevant regional sites, with links that make sense for your industry.

What it includes

  • Link profile analysis versus local competitors
  • Outreach to regional media and sites
  • Linkable Arabic content strategy
  • Tracking of acquired links

/markets

Arabic markets I work with

+ 18 Arabic-speaking countries

I also work with secondary markets depending on the project: Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria and others.

/who it is for

I work with…

I work as an Arabic SEO consultant for teams that need a native executor, not a translator pretending to be one.

  • Western brands entering Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt or Morocco

    Companies launching their Arabic version that want to get it right from the start.

  • Arab-world companies going global

    Brands from the region that want to grow in Europe and the Americas.

  • Hotels and tourism with an Arabic-speaking audience

    Tourism businesses that welcome, or want to welcome, travelers from Arab countries.

  • Ecommerce with international customers

    Stores selling to Arabic-speaking customers that need a search experience in their language.

/deliverables

What you get when we work together

Audit document

A complete technical diagnosis of the starting point, with screenshots and real data.

Prioritized plan

A task list ordered by impact × effort, ready to execute within weeks.

Implementation

By me or with your team, with weekly follow-up sessions.

Measurement and adjustment

A monthly report on what was done, what moved and what comes next.

/faq

Arabic SEO FAQ

What does an Arabic SEO consultant do?

An Arabic SEO consultant helps a brand rank on Google in Arabic-speaking countries. Covers native keyword research by dialect, RTL technical SEO, cultural content localization, regional link building and per-country tracking. Works from inside the language, not from a translation.

Why isn't translating my site into Arabic enough?

Because Google doesn't rank literal Arabic translations the way it does in English or Spanish. Searches use different words per country, dialects shift, RTL breaks many templates and authority signals are different. A translated but not localized site remains invisible.

Do you work with companies already selling in Arabic-speaking countries?

Yes. I audit the current site, detect RTL technical issues, review which Arabic markets are performing and which aren't, and plan expansion to the dialects and countries with more opportunity.

Do you also do Arabic SEO for MENA brands expanding abroad?

Yes. It's half of my work in this pillar. Brands from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt or Morocco that want to rank in Spain, Europe, UK or Latin America. I design the full expansion, from strategy to execution.

How long until results in Arabic markets?

Depends on the starting point. A new Arabic site takes 4-6 months to consolidate competitive rankings. An existing site with RTL issues can improve in 8-12 weeks once fixed. Regional Arabic link building is slower than Western.

Let's talk about your project.

I take on a limited number of projects each year to give each one real attention. If it's your moment, tell me what you're working on.

Start a conversation