How to Rank In Multiple Locations – Arabic Countries SEO Case Study

How We Ranked for “SEO Agency” In Multi-Location Arabic Countries

Ranking on Google is doable, especially when competing locally in Arabic cities and countries, the competition is not yet matured and there are still many chances for SEO newcomers, further to our previous blog post “How we ranked for Arabic SEO agency”, here we share our method of how to rank in multiple locations, competing for keyword SEO Agency + Location in different Arabic cities.

To get the basics right, you cannot rank in multi-locations without the right website structure, ideally, you should have a location page dedicated to each term you compete for, Click depth not to exceed 3 levels from your homepage, location-based SEO is relevant to your whole domain authority, if your website is not ranking for one location, it wouldn’t rank for multiple ones.

After achieving 1st placement for SEO Agency Amman, then Jordan, we build enough momentum and authority to compete for a wider geographical area, we cannot tell for sure which SEO techniques worked best, we cannot tell why when search for “SEO Agency” only from Jordan and Iraq we come first above Global SEO Agencies, but clearly, local traffic and relevance from the whole domain are giving Google the right relevant signals in Arabic countries, but it’s not the domain name.

As shown in the Google Search Console screenshot above, when producing more content targeting more populated areas, like Syria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Libya, Morocco and Tunis, the amount of impressions increases despite the drop in the ranking average, as we were considered for more search queries that have high search volume comparing to Jordan only in the first 6 months.

SEO Agency Amman, Jordan

This came relatively easy, after assessing the competition, when searching for SEO in Jordan, the majority of the results had thin content, relying on keywords in title only, focusing on SEO Company instead of SEO Agency, with no semantic distribution of the keywords On-Page.

Also, over 80% of the competition had Domain Authority less than 10! Google was not convinced of the results it’s displaying but there are no relevant results, so it was a matter of just covering the basic SEO techniques and ranking was achieved within 2 months.

After establishing authority and relevance in Jordan for SEO agency search query, it was even easier to go for long-tailed keywords like SEO experts Jordan, SEO company Jordan, Search Engine Optimization services in Amman Jordan.

It’s worth mentioning that many SEO’s in Jordan didn’t have a website and others relying on Google My business locations to push relevancy to the website instead of the other way around, once we reported their spammy listings their rankings dropped and our ranking jumped instantly.

SEO Agency Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Competing for SEO in Saudi Arabia is tough, due to the fierce competition, endless keyword combinations like SEO Experts, Companies or agency, and search behaviour since there no actual keyword data from SEMrush and Ahrefs on the Saudi Market.

After creating the Saudi Arabia SEO Agency page, it turned out that most searchers use the phrase “Saudi SEO Agency” instead of “SEO Agency Saudi Arabia”, so we had to re-optimize On-Site elements to meet the searcher’s intent as it is, include more specific geographical locations to cover more cities beside Riyadh and Khubar, despite the low search volume for specific Local SEO queries.

However, when niching down for “Local SEO” queries, higher rankings were achieved as shown in the screenshot below, but we have to fight against spammy listings, it’s not enough to report name keyword stuffing, help us by using Google Business Redressal Complaint Form.

SEO Agency Muscat, Oman

SEO in the sultanate of Oman is still growing, it’s one of the markets with a medium search volume but high price ticket, and achieving SEO results for businesses in Oman is guaranteed, and most search queries are bringing website results instead of the Local Map Pack, there are only two strong Omani competitors, the rest of the results are SEO companies from outside Oman that they are getting ZEO local traffic from Muscat and Oman.

Despite the low search volume and It might take more time to rank for multiple SEO relevant keywords in Oman, but it’s definitely worth it creating a page that is a good resource for Omani SERP’s, evaluating performance on monthly basis to tweak On-Site factors according to the actual data from Google Search Console, and linking it internally when Blogging about the SEO landscape in Oman.

SEO Agency in Baghdad, Erbil, Iraq

SEO in Iraq is so underrated, the country is growing and many Arabian businesses are opening in Iraq especially in Erbil, the need is there despite the low search volume, as most businesses rely on Social Media Agencies to handle their marketing campaigns.

The top placement is reserved for Clutch SEO Directory, and it’s possible to rank within Clutch list of top SEO agencies in Iraq, yet we rank right after it for several terms including Social Media Agency Iraq, Marketing Company Erbil and more.

Iraqi business do not prefer to work with agencies abroad, but they trust Arabic SEO Experts to handle their SEO campaigns, it might not be with it for big SEO agencies to rank in Iraq, but here we tell our story on how to rank in multiple locations.

And there are many opportunities in the Iraqi Market, just cover the basic SEO practices, Title Tags, Content, Relevancy, Authority and Trust, and you will be able to rank within a month in Baghdad.

Also, consider producing Arabic Content as the search volume is higher for Arabic keywords compared to English, and also paid search ads are relatively cheaper than neighbouring countries as there are less than two ads per SERP!

SEO in Syria

Syria is by far the easiest country in the world to rank for, you can’t run Paid Ads so all the results are organic, indeed it might not be worth the effort in regards to Return of Investment, but here we discuss how to rank in multiple locations, not the benefits of ranking in Arabic countries.

It started with a client approaching us for an e-commerce website in Syria, we analyzed the competition, created a blog post describing the situation, and it ranked the next day as it turned out there no SEO Service providers in Syria!

It was unnecessary to create a WordPress Page for Syria, a blog post was more than enough as there are not enough pages titled SEO in Syria! eventually, we will need a Page and link it internally, but it’s been up for 8 months now with no change affecting its ranking, and it’s getting click and engagement which will strengthen its rank without the need for external Backlinks.

Roughly speaking, Some Arabic developers are advanced in programming and coding, but when it comes to web technologies and applications! Arabic content is so far behind, which sad but opens many opportunities for Digital Marketers to achieve maximum results of their marketing campaigns.

SEO Agency Kuwait

SEO in Kuwait is one of the hardest yet most rewarding achievements, despite the small population, but Kuwaiti businesses rely heavily on Digital Marketing and the ticket prices for SEO services is pretty high.

We followed the same rules for optimizing a page targeting SEO services in Kuwait, it required more authoritative backlinks, and it’s improving month after month, however, when analyzing the gathered data, it turned out that “SEO agency Kuwait” will take more time, but there is no competition for Local SEO Services! so we tweaked the page again and it ranked first the next day!

it’s safe to assume that due to having a dedicated Blog category for Local SEO on our root domain, it was easier to compete for Local SEO + Location since we build our website authority around Local SEO, Arabic SEO, and Digital Marketing.

It’s wise to choose races that you can win, and niche down when possible to get traction and build your audience, then expand your keyword and geographical relevancy outwards.

SEO Agency Jerusalem, Palestine

Skip Clutch Directory and Maps of Arabia comes first for SEO Agency Palestine, ranking in Palestine or Ramallah City turned to be much easier than competing for SEO agency Jerusalem!

Expectedly, Palestinian SEO Agencies were no match for the powerful domain we brought, and the local map pack is showing Jordanian and Palestinian search results for “SEO Company Near me” type of queries.

But going for “SEO Agency Jerusalem” was a different game, due to many powerful Israeli SEO agencies are competing for the city, first, we didn’t plan to rank for Israeli searches but then it got personal, we will eventually beat them and dedicate a series of blog posts for that.

It’s worth mentioning that despite getting some Israeli clients which we refused, the majority of them ask for Arabic Backlinks services! clearly, they are entering Arabic markets in different MENA countries in the region, the competition will double up in the coming years.

SEO Agency Sanaa, Yemen

Amazingly, Clutch is not ranking first in Yemen, it’s another directory – Sortlist- that took the first to positions, but our website Maps of Arabia ranks right after the directory lists.

Yemen is not our target market, but to answer how to rank in multiple locations, Yemen has good search volume from all over the MENA region, Yemenis looking to learn SEO are clicking on our pages from different countries and increasing User positive Signals, which will increase the domain expertise and engagement to help to compete in other competitive countries.

SEO Agency Beirut, Lebanon

Lebanese SEO’s are one of the best Arabic SEO and Digital Marketers, Clutch secures the two placement but Maps of Arabia comes 2nd for SEO Agency Lebanon, Lebanese agencies are competing for Arabic SEO, English, and French content services.

The local Lebanese economy is not encouraging to serve clients in Beirut, but Ego ranking to compete with best is what will keep us going in every Arabic City to build Maps of Arabia brand.

Internal Linking to Pass Authority and Relevance Within Your Domain

In the end, after setting the technical SEO structure right, create geographically targetted content for each Keyword, it’s all about links and Authority.

External links that are pointing to your domain are a must, but Internal linking is usually undermined! your webpages are as important as external ones! create a post similar to this and push relevancy through headers and internal linking to your inner pages, and include external resources for outgoing links, to create useful resources answering how to rank in multiple locations for the same keywords.