Arabic Magento SEO
This detailed guide shows you the most important steps of Arabic Magento SEO.
Competition between different online retailers is fierce these days, and taking time to diversify your shop goes a long way in getting the business you deserve. The Middle East is the perfect place to expand your business, if you understand the steps for how to get started. This Magento SEO guide will help you get a strong start.
The Most Important Part of Setup for an Arabic Magento Store
Magento is one of the most flexible e-commerce websites, with an open-source code remarkably customizable to your needs. Before you commit to this platform, think about your business identity and corresponding needs. These will help you determine exactly what steps to take below as your options are nearly endless.
Why Magento is the Preferred E-commerce Site for Many
More than 250,000 sellers around the world use Magento successfully for their ecommerce needs. However, it is most successful and appreciated by retailers with previous web development experience or medium to large sites who can spend significant sums on a professional developer. This popular open source ecommerce platform, owned by Adobe, has excellent features that drive its success. Its proponents cite the ability to have multiple stores and suppliers, a high degree of customization, a helpful support network, a large number of free themes, and safe payment portals. Citing these and the general high professionalism that accompanies Magento sites, it has been called the most SEO-friendly ecommerce platform of all.
Different Types of Magento Stores
There are three different types of Magento stores to consider, each with different pros and cons. It is important to note that no matter which one you go with, there are an additional 5000+ add-ons and plugins (free and paid) to enhance your site’s quality. As with anything, electing to adopt Magento means you should weigh the various costs associated with the type of platform you desire. Though the initial lack of price is appealing, costs such as hosting, theme, transaction fees, and bandwidth can start to add up. The following should be researched thoroughly according to your needs. If you are a smaller company just getting off the ground, you should probably choose option #1. If you are a larger company with more disposable income and more products, #2 is definitely the way to go. The third option is best suited for medium size companies.
1. Magento Community Edition (free)
2. Magento Enterprise Edition (paid & hosted on your own servers)
3. Magento Go (paid & hosted on Magento’s servers)
Additionally, since Adobe acquired Magento, there consistently major updates. Ensure you are always up to date with new updates.
Arabic Themes For Magento
As an open source platform, users have been able to upload their individually created themes from all around the world. As a result, a number of these themes have been developed with the nuances of online Arabic in mind. However, as nearly all these themes are paid, it is important to do your own research before purchasing. Ask specific questions and try to find detailed reviews regarding support, mobile optimization, and currency support to ensure that this theme is what you want from it.
Magento RTL CSS
As mentioned in the above category, though some of these themes are right to left (RTL) friendly, you might still have to go into the code manually to change the direction of the page.
The first step be adding “dir= RTL” to the HTML tag, such as <html dir=“rtl”>
Additionally, some themes will automatically update without requiring extra work, but others will require you to go in and edit the code with the new RTL direction every time. If this is confusing to you, we encourage you to seek help from a professional. The last thing we want is for you to mess up your site!
Arabic URLs
Though it is listed as under investigation on the Magento site, we are not aware of an Arabic Magento add-on that permits Arabic URLs. However, with so many add-ons and recent changes and developments since the Adobe acquisition, we recommend you ask one of our Magento experts to ensure you are always up to speed with the most current information. Especially if you are one of the many bigger sites that have chosen this platform, an Arabic URL would be advantageous for your SEO.
Manual Translation vs Machine Translation
As you have probably picked up from this guide, there are a lot of complicated do’s and don’ts when creating an Arabic Magento site. One of the most confusing parts, especially for many of those in the west, is the intricacies of using the Arabic language. Despite major advances in language technology, automated and machine translations rarely convey the nuances of exact terms. This becomes a problem with ecommerce because you need precise Arabic, so the customer receives exactly what you said they would. This is the same with complicated terms of service regarding returns, shipping, and payment. To be on the safe side, you should find a fluent Arabic speaker to help you with your translation.
Translated Content vs SEO Optimized Arabic Content
Similar to the previous point, due to the complexities of Arabic, you will get a different translation from every translator you commission. With the unique content you have been working hard to produce, you need to guarantee that someone will do your site justice: getting you ranking highly and discovered. There is a difference between merely finding the Arabic word equivalent and finding the most in-demand keywords and terms. We recommend you use either an Arabic SEO professional, online tools, and/or our comprehensive Arabic keyword research guide.
Optimized Arabic titles, meta descriptions, and images
Now that you know the main Arabic word searches people in your target market do, you want to strategically place these throughout your site and page. The most effective way to rank now is to integrate your targeted keywords into the most visible parts of your page, namely the title, the meta description, and the images. This will automatically translate into ranking higher in search engines as you have more association with that key, most searched for term.
Other Issues to Optimize For
It is safe to say that if you have made it to the end of this guide, you are a serious business wanting to learn more about how to diversify your business. There are a few more things you can do to ensure your success.
- Mobile usage: As the mobile penetration rate soars throughout the Middle East, more people are conducting e-commerce on their cellphones. Ensure your site is mobile-friendly, especially with RTL and Arabic.
- Ensure all the pages, not just the ones on your shop front, have an Arabic translation. This will save disputes regarding returns and shipping.
- Corresponding blogposts: Magento is one of the few platforms that allow you to have a blog on your site as well. Writing quality posts in English and Arabic could drive more traffic to your site.
- If you already have a Magento shop, you want to take extra care that the plugins, gateway, and themes you currently have are functional for Arabic speakers.
If you need help getting your Arabic Magento website started, contact us to find out more about how we can help you increase your Magento store sales.
