Digital PR is the work of earning coverage and links from news sites, trade media and blogs. For global brands in the Middle East, it is one of the safest ways to build Arabic backlinks, because the links come from real publications with real readers. Coverage in regional media also gives buyers, search engines and AI tools independent sources about your brand. This guide explains how digital PR in the Middle East works, from story ideas to measurement.
Why Digital PR Matters for Arabic SEO
- Backlinks from Arabic news and trade sites help Arabic pages rank, as our guide to Arabic link building explains.
- Mentions in Arabic media give AI tools independent sources about your brand, as our guide to the Arabic AI visibility audit explains.
- Coverage brings referral traffic and more branded searches.
- It builds trust with buyers who have not yet heard of your brand in the region.
Arabic and English Media in the Middle East
Regional media publish in Arabic and in English. Pan-Arab outlets such as Asharq Al-Awsat and Al Arabiya reach readers across the region. English-language newspapers such as Arab News, Gulf News and Khaleej Times are read by business audiences and expatriates. Business sites, technology sites, trade magazines and country news sites cover specific sectors. Plan Arabic and English coverage separately, because each reaches different readers and links to a different version of your website.
Stories That Regional Media Cover
| Story type | Example |
|---|---|
| Original data | A survey of shoppers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, published in Arabic and English |
| Regional news | A new office, local hiring, a partnership or a market launch |
| Expert comment | A spokesperson's view on a trend or a new regulation |
| Events | Speaking or exhibiting at a major regional event |
| Seasonal angles | Data or advice for Ramadan, White Friday or back to school |
| Useful tools | An Arabic calculator, index or guide that journalists can cite |
Regional news and local data are more likely to be covered than product announcements. Our guide to B2B trade show marketing explains how to plan stories around events.
Prepare Before You Pitch
- Build a media list by country, language and sector, with the journalists who covered similar stories in the past year.
- Publish an Arabic page on your website for each story, with the data, images and quotes, so journalists have a page to link to.
- Choose a spokesperson who can give interviews in Arabic, and brief them on the regional angle.
- Prepare the Arabic spelling of your brand name, a short company description and the main facts in Arabic and English, so coverage gets them right. Our guide on how to translate a brand name into Arabic explains the first step.
How to Write an Arabic Press Release
- Write the release in Arabic from the start, or have a native writer rewrite the translation.
- Put the news and the regional angle in the headline and the first paragraph.
- Include a quote from an Arabic-speaking spokesperson, ideally one based in the region.
- Add local data, good images and a link to the relevant Arabic page on your website.
- Send it to the journalists who cover your sector, each with a short personal email.
Timing Your Outreach
- The weekend is Friday and Saturday in Saudi Arabia and most Gulf countries, and Saturday and Sunday in the UAE, so plan send days by country.
- Working hours often change during Ramadan, so plan important announcements around it.
- Tie stories to dates such as Ramadan, national days and White Friday, as our MENA marketing calendar shows.
Sponsored Content and Paid Links
Some regional websites sell sponsored articles. Google's spam policies treat buying links to improve rankings as a link scheme, so ask for paid links to be marked with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Sponsored articles can still bring traffic and awareness, and earned coverage remains the source of links that help rankings.
Common Digital PR Mistakes in the Middle East
- Sending English press releases to Arabic media.
- Announcing global news with no regional angle.
- Pointing coverage to the English homepage when a relevant Arabic page exists.
- Buying cheap article packages that add links from low-quality websites.
- Sending the same pitch to every journalist on a long list.
How to Measure Digital PR
- New referring domains to your Arabic and English pages, in the Search Console Links report or tools such as Ahrefs and Semrush.
- Mentions of your brand in Arabic and English media, with or without links. Arabic social listening tools help you find them.
- Referral visits and leads from the coverage.
- Growth in branded searches in each country.
- Rankings for the pages that receive the links.
Add these numbers to your monthly report, as our guide to Middle East SEO reporting explains.
Conclusion
Digital PR earns Arabic backlinks and media mentions through the stories regional journalists want to cover: local data, regional news and expert comment. GOTOMENA earns Arabic backlinks through digital PR as part of our Arabic SEO services. To plan your coverage, contact our team.