If you're developing or redesigning a website for the Saudi market, I advise hiring designers who genuinely comprehend the subtleties of Arabic user experience rather than merely converting Western interfaces.
Let me tell you, I've been through the hellish experience of hiring the wrong marketing agency TWICE before at last finding one that generated results. Trust me, it's a mistake you don't want to make when establishing your brand in Saudi Arabia's challenging market.
Last month, my friend's web-based business was barely surviving in search results regardless of providing exceptional products. After executing the techniques I'm about to share, his organic traffic improved by one hundred sixty-four percent in just two months.
- Restructured the form flow to follow right-to-left thinking processes
- Created a dual-language data entry process with intelligent language toggling
- Optimized mobile interactions for right-handed Arabic typing
Last month, a business owner asked me why his blog posts weren't producing any leads. After reviewing his content marketing strategy, I identified he was making the same mistakes I see numerous Saudi businesses repeat.
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Team members with professional digital marketing credentials
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Specialized departments (not one person doing everything)
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Proper workflow processes
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Experience with Saudi rules and compliance issues
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Select fonts specially created for Arabic screen reading (like Dubai) rather than conventional print fonts
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Expand line spacing by 150-175% for improved readability
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Implement right-aligned text (never centered for main content)
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Stay away from compressed Arabic fonts that reduce the characteristic letter shapes
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Developed a numerical presentation system that accommodated both Arabic and English digits
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Restructured graphs to read from right to left
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Used visual indicators that aligned with Saudi cultural associations
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Distinctly indicate which language should be used in each input field
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Intelligently switch keyboard layout based on field type
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Position input descriptions to the right-hand side of their connected inputs
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Ensure that validation messages appear in the same language as the required input
During a marketing workshop in Al Khobar last month, I was shocked when a business owner told me he was paying 5K SAR monthly to his "digital expert" who turned out to be a college student running campaigns from his bedroom! No judgment on hustling students, but industry qualifications and education matter enormously in this field.
- Honest reporting systems - My biggest frustration with my previous agency was the smoke and mirrors around results. Now we get regular reports that actually make sense, showing exactly what's succeeding and what isn't.
For a digital service, we found that their international information was considerably stronger than their local language material. After upgrading their Arabic content quality, they achieved a 129% improvement in purchases from Arabic-speaking readers.
For a doctor's office in Jeddah, we improved their local visibility by nearly one hundred percent by ensuring their establishment data was perfectly matching in both Arabic and English throughout all listings.
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Cultural expertise - This is HUGE and often overlooked. Saudi consumers engage with completely different approaches than Western audiences. The best digital 360 Marketing Experts agency will understand nuances like the importance of Ramadan campaigns, regional preferences across different Saudi cities, and how to connect effectively with the Saudi demographic you're targeting.
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Documented local success stories - Not just generic case studies, but real results with Saudi businesses in your specific sector. When I met with our current agency, they showed me exactly how they helped a company resembling ours increase their Riyadh customer base by two hundred fifteen percent in 8 months.
After my expensive education in what DOESN'T work, I've realized that finding the premier digital agency isn't about who has the most impressive office or the smoothest presentation. It's about results, communication, and grasping the unique Saudi market.
- Place the most important content in the upper-right section of the viewport
- Structure page sections to advance from right to left and top to bottom
- Use heavier visual importance on the right side of symmetrical layouts
- Confirm that pointing icons (such as arrows) direct in the appropriate direction for RTL interfaces
For a financial services customer, we developed a material collection about family financial planning that featured Shariah-compliant approaches. This material outperformed their previous standard investment tips by 417% in engagement.
Last month, I was helping a major e-commerce business that had spent over 200,000 SAR on a beautiful website that was failing miserably. The reason? They had just converted their English site without considering the essential design distinctions needed for Arabic users.