Qatar SEO

 

To expand your business reach to one of the world’s wealthiest nations with one of the highest internet penetration rates, you must master SEO in Qatar. This article provides a step-by-step guide to how to effectively position yourself to rank in Qatar searches.

 

Why Qatar is worth targeting with your SEO efforts

 

Blessed with the world’s third most oil reserves, this small gulf country has the highest GDP per capita at $118,150 (over $20,000 more than the next country on the list). The profitable natural resource deposits have led to a plethora of cash-rich Qatari citizens and companies that make up a large percentage of this population of nearly three million people. Qatar is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and its population has more than doubled in only eight years. This is because they also have no personal income tax and are the only Gulf Country to offer permanent residence for expatriates. Thanks to this robust economy, Qatar has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, 0.1% in 2023, and not forecasted to rise at all in 2024.

There is another reason why Qatar is the ideal target for an SEO campaign right now: the current economic boom thanks to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Hosting this World Cup was massively important for Qatar, for many reasons. Not only was this the first World Cup to be held in the Arab World, but the numbers of attendees and viewers were unprecedented. According to an official FIFA report, Qatar accommodated 3.4 million spectators for the sporting events, with over 1 million fans traveling from overseas to attend matches, from countries such as the US, Mexico, India, and the United Kingdom among many others. Thanks to this massive influx of visitors to the tiny Gulf nation, hospitality and retail sectors enjoyed a sizeable uptick in profits. Ultimately, the direct and indirect profits from the World Cup boosted Qatar’s GDP by 4% over the previous year, improving the economic conditions in the country for the years to come.

 

What makes Qatar perfect for online targeting

 

The country is wealthy and extraordinarily well-connected to digital services, making it an ideal place to target with your SEO efforts. The UN Broadband Commission 2015 Report for Digital Development ranked Qatar first among developing countries for the percentage of the population actively using the Internet. In the same report, they also ranked second internationally for the percentage of households with internet connectivity. The current internet penetration rate in Qatar stands at 99% and continues to increase each year.

 

Keys to Qatar SEO

 

1. Keyword research

To successfully manage Qatar SEO, you must conduct research into what topics matter to Qataris. Learning which keywords are frequently searched for online will allow you to recognize what you should create content on moving forward. As described later in this guide, both Arabic and English are widely spoken throughout the country, so it is crucial to conduct research in both languages. There are numerous online keyword finder tools available to aid you in your search: such as Google’s Webmaster Tools, Ahrefs, or Woorank.

This guide helps provide more context for the online behaviors of Qataris for your reference: https://istizada.com/qatar-online-marketing-profile/

Here is an example of an Arabic Google search in Qatar focusing on hotels:

 

2. Assigning keywords to the proper pages

After completing this research in step one, you should now understand what your customers are interested in searching for.  You now should take these keywords and map groups of 3-5 related keywords to match pages on your site. If your site currently doesn’t have relevant pages for some of the keywords, new pages need to be created to target these keywords.

 

3. Use your target keywords in the Title, URL, and Meta description

After you have identified which pages need to be expanded upon or created, the keywords need to be incorporated in a natural but prominent way. It is crucial to embed them directly in the title, URL, and meta description.

 

4. Content

Now that you have the skeleton outline of the page comes the fun part: the content! It is your time to produce significant content on these pages that will drive up the page rank in relation to the target keywords you have identified. For example, if your website published content about Qatari hotel reviews, using long-tail keywords like “what is the best hotel in Qatar” will attract a wider audience as opposed to the seed keyword “hotels Qatar.” To ensure you stand out from the pack, make sure you write professional content that as long as or slightly longer than other content on the Internet that is targeting those same keywords. Tools like SurferSEO can help you do this.
 

5. Local Qatari backlinks

Having prominent local sites and blogs linked directly to your content will prove that local people endorse and approve of what you have to say as a sort of stamp of approval. To reach this step, outreach will enable you to build long-term relationships with local influencers in your industry and backlinks as a result. These relationships will demonstrate your company is reputable and trustworthy amongst local Qataris. This is very important for Qatar SEO. We recommend finding local businesses to connect with. The following are examples:

• Qatar Event Sites
• Doha Community Pages
• Doha Neighborhood-Specific pages
• Local Business Clubs for Your Industry
• Local online blogs
• Doha Expat websites and listings

 

6. User experience for Qatar website visitors

Customers will judge the legitimacy of your company based on their experience on your site. You need to make sure all of your relevant pages are visually appealing as well as easily navigable. Both the layout and the design are crucial to obtaining and retaining your visitor base. An easy step is to make content in Arabic and have a language toggle at the top of the page allowing visitors to select which language they want their content. This ensures you are capturing both primary markets. You should also be cognizant of Islamic beliefs informing local customs and avoid offensive or haram images on your screens. Showing that you respect the local culture and are knowledgeable about these intricacies will convey trustworthiness.

 

Other important parts of ranking in Qatar

 

Language Considerations

Modern Classic Arabic is the official language of Qatar, with Qatari Arabic as the spoken dialect. English is unofficially used as a second language and a lingua franca due to the fact that 88% of the population are expatriates. Especially in industries with a high number of expats (such as commerce or medicine) English is more predominant than Arabic. For your SEO efforts, it is important to understand your intended audience to determine which language you should use. Generally, it is most effective to have a mix of English and Arabic to reach the diverse population.

Qatari Burger King Ads feature text in English and Arabic

 

Should I use .qa or .قطر in my SEO?

.qa is the internet country code for Qatar. Deciding whether or not to use it depends on where your business is. If your business is in-country, this is very important as the .qa domain is fairly popular among citizens. Qataris are bound to appreciate the familiarity with the domain leading them to trust you and your company more. If you are internationally based, using .qa or .قطر is not necessary. Even many large companies with branches in Qatar still don’t have .qa domains.

 

Regional Hosting

We are unaware of a high-quality Qatar hosting provider with domestic servers. Thus, we encourage you to research larger Gulf hosting hubs, such as Amazon AWS in Bahrain or Alibaba in the United Arab Emirates. Both Bahrain and UAE’s proximity to Qatar will still benefit your business. Understanding exactly what your target audience is will be crucial in determining the location to host.

 

Geo-targeting parts of Qatar

 

As illustrated by this photo, over 80% of Qataris live in the capital city Doha. As a result, most of your SEO efforts and content should focus here. However, if you are trying to target specific percentages of the population, such as expats, upper-class citizens, or students, then you should do specific research into what areas of the city they live or work in. It is important to know that Qatar’s population is extremely concentrated in cities, with just 0.7% living in rural areas and the rest in urban centers.

 

There are more than 60 communities or neighborhoods in Doha. Here are some popular ones to consider targeting:

 

Al Sadd: Known as the center of Doha, this area is an ex-pat hub with no shortage of food, housing, and entertainment options

West Bay: One of the city’s most elite areas, this district has many luxury hotels, such as the Ritz-Carleton and the Four Seasons. The most concentrated skyscrapers are found here.

Madinat Khalifa: Luxury area home to many families because of the excellent quality of schools, housing, and shopping

The Pearl: Luxury housing communities built atop beautiful artificial islands. First areas in Qatar that give foreigners the ability to own land

Al Thumama: the most popular budget option for expatriates

 

Other notable areas of Qatar:

 

Al Rayyan: 10 km out of Doha, this is a quiet suburb of Qatar’s capital. It is notable for hosting the Qatar campus of international universities Georgetown and Carnegie Mellon

Umm Said: The center of industry in Qatar, found 45 km from Doha

Al Wakra: The best retirement area in Qatar for domestic and international guests

 

Seasonal Search Engine Opportunities

 

There are certain times of the year when Qataris spend more time on the internet looking for deals, enjoying holidays, and connecting with friends and family virtually. The following times of the year are when internet traffic drastically increases in Qatar.

• Eid Al Adha – June 16th to June 19th, 2024
• Ramadan – March 9th to April 8th, 2024
• Qatar National Day – December 18th, 2024
• Eid Al Fitr – April 8th or April 9th, 2024 (date not fixed until just before)
• White Friday – November 29th, 2024
• Other Seasonal Promotions

 

Conclusion

 

Due to its high internet penetration and citizen wealth, Qatar is an excellent place to target with strategic SEO. Using our in-depth professional insight into the above strategies, we can help you attract more Qatari traffic to your website.

Contact us to connect with our Qatar experts about how to effectively grow your customer base through SEO.