Last quarter, a Saudi company consulted me after spending over 120,000 SAR on foreign search optimization with disappointing results. After executing a tailored Saudi-focused SEO strategy, they experienced top rankings for twenty-three important keywords within a single quarter.
Last week, a eatery manager in Riyadh expressed frustration that his establishment wasn't visible in Google searches despite being highly rated by customers. This is a typical problem I encounter with Saudi establishments throughout the Kingdom.
- Documented local success stories - Not just basic case studies, but real results with Saudi businesses in your specific sector. When I spoke to our current agency, they showed me exactly how they helped a company similar to ours grow their Riyadh customer base by more than double in eight months.
Using detailed analysis for a shopping business, we identified that posts released between night time dramatically exceeded those published during standard optimal periods, producing substantially higher response.
Using extensive testing for a store chain, we identified that content published between evening hours dramatically exceeded those released during standard peak hours, generating 143% greater engagement.
Six months into our launch, our sales were disappointing. It wasn't until I accidentally a thorough analysis about our market sector that I understood how ignorant I'd been to the market realities around us.
For a luxury brand, we discovered that visual and ephemeral platforms substantially surpassed Facebook for engagement and conversion, leading to a intentional shift of resources that improved overall performance by over one hundred fifty percent.
I spend at least two hours each Monday reviewing our competitors':
- Online organization and UX
- Blog posts and content calendar
- Social media presence
- Client testimonials and assessments
- Keyword tactics and rankings
The journey to finding the top marketing partner in the Kingdom isn't easy, but getting it right will transform your business results. Just make sure you benefit from my mistakes rather than making your own!
I use a basic document to track our competitors' costs changes on a regular basis. This has enabled us to:
- Spot seasonal promotion cycles
- Notice special offer tactics
- Comprehend their pricing psychology
I recommend classifying competitors as:
- Direct competitors (offering equivalent products/services)
- Indirect competitors (with partial overlap)
- New disruptors (new entrants with innovative capabilities)
- Regional understanding - This is ESSENTIAL and often overlooked. Saudi consumers react to completely different approaches than Western audiences. The top marketing firm will understand nuances like the importance of Ramadan campaigns, regional preferences across different Saudi cities, and how to communicate effectively with the Saudi demographic you're targeting.
When I launched my retail business three years ago, I was certain that our distinctive products would stand out naturally. I overlooked competitive research as superfluous – a mistake that almost cost my entire venture.
For a doctor's office in Jeddah, Git.Aionnect.Com we improved their local visibility by ninety-four percent by confirming their company details was completely identical in both Arabic and English throughout all platforms.
Listen, I've been through the challenging experience of hiring the incorrect marketing agency TWICE before finally finding one that delivered results. Trust me, it's a mistake you don't want to make when establishing your brand in Saudi Arabia's challenging market.
Recently, I was sitting in this luxurious office in Riyadh (you know, one of those places with the glass walls and overpriced modern art), nodding along as an agency promised me the world. Six months and 50K SAR later, our traffic had increased by a mere... wait for it... 3%. Not exactly the result I was expecting! <20><><ED><A0><BE><ED>♂️
During a marketing workshop in Khobar last month, I was astonished when a business owner told me he was paying 5000 SAR monthly to his "digital expert" who turned out to be a college student running campaigns from his bedroom! No judgment on hardworking students, but formal training and education matter enormously in this field.
Today's network usage in Saudi Arabia:
- Instagram: Leading for lifestyle brands
- Temporary network: Remarkably successful with youth demographics
- Twitter: Strong for announcements and public discourse
- TikTok: Quickly expanding particularly with younger audiences
- Professional platform: Valuable for B2B engagement
Effective content characteristics:
- Graphic superiority with regional settings
- Brief motion graphics with local narration
- Behind-the-scenes views that personalize the brand
- Traditional occasions acknowledgment
Last year, I watched as three similar businesses invested heavily into developing their business on a specific social media platform. Their initiatives failed spectacularly as the medium appeared to be a bad match for our sector.