Arabic Keyword Research: How to Find SEO Keywords for the Middle East

Arabic keyword research is the process of finding the words people in the Middle East type into Google to find a product or service. It covers searches in Arabic and in English, and it is the first step of Arabic SEO and of Arabic Google Ads. A translated English keyword list does not work, because Arabic has several spellings for the same word, different words in each dialect, and many searches that mix Arabic and English. This guide shows how to build an Arabic keyword list that matches real searches in each market.

Why Translated Keywords Fail in Arabic

A translator usually chooses the correct formal word in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Searchers often type the everyday word they use in their own country. The two are not always the same, so a page optimised for the translated word can miss most of the real searches.

Mobile phones are a common example. The formal term is هاتف محمول, but users in Saudi Arabia often search for جوال and users in Egypt for موبايل. A translated keyword list would contain only the first term. Good Arabic keyword research starts from how people search, and uses translation only as a starting point.

Spelling Variants in Arabic Search

Many Arabic words can be typed in more than one way, and searchers rarely type them the formal way. These are the most common differences:

Keyword tools often list each spelling as a separate keyword with its own search volume. Search both versions on Google in the target country. If the results are almost the same, you can treat them as one keyword and use the most common spelling in your title and H1. If the results are different, treat them as separate keywords.

Dialect Keywords by Country

Most page content in the region is written in MSA, which every Arabic reader understands. Search queries are different, because people type the words they speak. Words for everyday products change the most between countries:

Ask a native speaker from each target country to review your keyword list. A word that is common in Cairo can sound strange in Riyadh, and the other way around.

Arabic, English and Arabizi Searches

Many people in the Middle East search in English, especially for brand names, technology, business services and higher education. In the UAE, where most residents are expatriates, English searches are common in almost every category. Some users also write Arabic words in Latin letters and numbers, known as Arabizi or Franco-Arabic, for example "3" for ع and "7" for ح.

Research both languages for each market and compare the volumes. For some B2B and technology terms, the English keyword can get more searches than the Arabic one, even in Saudi Arabia. Arabizi rarely needs its own pages, but it can be useful for Google Ads keywords and social media hashtags.

Search Intent in Arabic Queries

Arabic queries show their intent through modifier words, in the same way English queries do. Group your keywords by intent, because each intent needs a different type of page:

Arabic Keyword Research Tools

Google has about 95% of searches in the region, as our guide to search engines in the Middle East shows, so Google's own tools come first:

• Google Keyword Planner supports Arabic. Set the language to Arabic and choose each country separately, because volumes differ a lot between markets. You need a Google Ads account to use it.
• Google Search Console shows the Arabic queries your site already appears for. Filter by country to see each market.
• Google autocomplete and the "People also ask" box show real Arabic questions. Search from the target country, or set the region in Google's search settings.
• Google Trends compares spellings and shows seasonal peaks, such as Ramadan and White Friday.
• Ahrefs and Semrush have databases for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and other countries in the region. Their Arabic data is smaller than their English data, so they can show zero volume for long-tail Arabic keywords that real people search. Use them for competitor research, and check volumes in Keyword Planner and Search Console.

How to Do Arabic Keyword Research, Step by Step

1. List your products and services in plain Arabic with a native speaker from each target country.
2. Add the spelling variants and dialect words for every main term.
3. Add the English terms people in the region use for the same products.
4. Check search volumes in Google Keyword Planner for each country, and compare them with your Search Console data.
5. Search each main keyword on Google and look at what ranks: product pages, articles, videos or maps. Build the same type of page.
6. Group the keywords by intent and map each group to one page. This keyword mapping stops two of your pages from competing for the same query, a problem called keyword cannibalization.
7. Review the list every quarter, and again before Ramadan and White Friday, when search behaviour changes.

Using Arabic Keywords on the Page

Put the main keyword in the title tag, the H1, the meta description and the first paragraph. Use the variants naturally in the body text and in image alt text. Write for the reader first. Arabic readers notice keyword stuffing quickly, and it hurts trust as well as rankings.

The keyword list also guides your Arabic copy. Our guides to Arabic content localization and Arabic copywriting show how to turn it into pages that read naturally. Our Arabic SEO checklist covers the other on-page and technical checks.

Conclusion

Arabic keyword research decides which searches your pages can win. Start from how people in each country search, include spelling variants, dialect words and English terms, and map every keyword group to one page. GOTOMENA does this research with native Arabic SEO specialists as part of our Arabic SEO services. To plan the keywords for your market, contact our team.