weareigloo - Tumblr blog

[weareigloo]

5 Strategies for Local SEO in Dubai: How to Boost Your Online Presence and Drive Traffic to Your Website

In today’s digital age, having a robust online presence is critical for the success of any business. Local search engine optimization (SEO) is a powerful marketing strategy that helps businesses to improve their visibility in local search results and drive targeted traffic to their website. 

In Dubai, where the market is highly competitive, implementing effective local SEO strategies can give businesses a significant advantage over their competitors. In this article, we will discuss five proven strategies for local SEO in Dubai that produce impressive returns.

WHY SEO LOCALIZATION MATTERS FOR YOUR DUBAI BUSINESS

Local SEO involves optimizing a website and its online presence to increase visibility and traffic from local search engine results. Through local SEO, businesses employ techniques and practices that target potential customers in their immediate vicinity. Thus, localizing your content is an essential marketing strategy and can benefit your business in the following ways.

INCREASED BRAND VISIBILITY

Impressive visuals and outstanding copy aren’t the only factors that increase your chances of appearing in the top results of local search engines. SEO-optimizing your website tells Google it’s readable, easy to navigate, and fast-loading.

When your website achieves Google’s approval, it often appears within the top 10 results, making it easier for potential customers to discover your products and services.

TARGETED TRAFFIC

Localizing your SEO campaign attracts visitors more likely to convert into customers as your products and services become relevant to their location. If you’re having trouble developing a target audience, consider customers who are already showing interest in your brand.

Gather their information to determine their interests, pain points, and demographics. Build buyer personas according to how they interact with your website. Ask:

What search terms are they using to end up on my website?

Which product pages are gathering the most traction?

What types of customers are engaging with my social media profiles?

Read more: https://www.weareigloo.com/5-strategies-for-local-seo-in-dubai-how-to-boost-your-online-presence-and-drive-traffic-to-your-website/

[weareigloo]

What Is the Scope of Digital Marketing in UAE – 2023?

COVID hit us all very hard…

Whether it was panic, outbreaks, illnesses and losses, or the business ramifications of all of those, it’s safe to say COVID-19 changed everything about our lives.

Then, just as we were getting accustomed to the “new normal”, the Russia-Ukraine war hit.

Globally, businesses suffered from supply chain deficiencies, revenue drops, major stakeholder uncertainty, and ultimately, numerous rounds of layoffs. It may not have been a global pandemic, but it did affect the world on a global scale.

With no imminent end to the war in sight, communities and businesses across the globe are having to adapt to a new “new normal”, and the UAE is no different.

As media budgets, customer spending patterns, and product inventories continue to spiral downward, marketers have been forced to find ways to navigate this “newest normal” for their employers with emphases on bringing down costs and communicating effectively with members of Generation Z, whose disproportionate spending habits present a large opportunity for marketers across the globe.

For us, as a digital marketing agency in Dubai, we’ve certainly felt the impact of recent global events, and we’ve seen firsthand the effects they have had on key marketing metrics. However, through developing a keen understanding of the current situation and continuously optimizing our internal and external processes, we’ve been able to weather the storm effectively for ourselves, and much more importantly, for our clients.

THE SCOPE OF DIGITAL MARKETING IN UAE IN 2023

To build an informed understanding of the scope of digital marketing in UAE in 2023, it’s important to understand the key statistics and trends from 2022. In this article, we’ll be looking at four main factors:

2022 Digital Marketing Statistics in UAE

The Current Digital Marketing Trends in UAE

The Top Digital Marketing Platforms in UAE

The Future of Digital Marketing Careers in UAE

Most importantly, we will discuss the impact of each of these factors on SMEs, corporations and digital marketing agencies.

2022 DIGITAL MARKETING STATISTICS IN UAE

The first notable statistic to take note of is that out of the 10M+ residents in UAE, 98.99% of them use social media with 810,000+ new active users added in 2022. This highlights the massive opportunity being wasted by any UAE brand that is not making social media a priority in 2023.

The top 10 reasons listed by users as to why they use social media included:

Keeping in touch with friends and family (53.4%)

Filling spare time (34%)

Reading news stories (33.7%)

Finding products to purchase (29.9%)

Following sports (29.7%)

Looking for things to do or buy (29.6%)

Activities for work (28%)

Finding content (27.4%)

Livestreams (27.4%)

Making new contacts (27.3%)

A quick look at that list can help guide your 2023 digital marketing strategy to shift toward a more user-centric approach.

Among UAE internet users, an average of 184 minutes (about 3 hours) is spent on social media platforms every day, while an average of 516 minutes (about 8 and a half hours) is spent on the internet, showcasing the larger opportunity present online when it comes to other digital marketing channels such as search, email and audio.

When it came to digital advertising, 68.1% of digital ads were served to males and 31.9% to females, presenting a potential opportunity to reach females at lower advertising costs in 2023 at a perfect time as companies race to close the gender gap in UAE.

As far as ad spending goes, social media ad spending increased by over USD 70M to reach USD 357.8M. With this figure projected to reach USD 664.5M by 2027, it’s more crucial than ever to ensure that your brand is putting its media budget to good use.

Speaking of brands, FMCG brands continued to spend massive amounts of money on digital advertising, constituting 29.9% of the UAE’s ad spend. Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare, Retail, Telecom, Government, and Energy and Fuel made up the rest of the big spenders with over 5% of the country’s ad budget going into these crucial sectors.

Of this spending, banner advertising actually received more investment from marketers in 2022 than social media. Per user, brands spent an average of $40.83 compared to social media’s $36.98, although social media spending is expected to surpass banner advertising within 2023. Search advertising and video advertising came in 3rd and 4th, with $26.52 and $22.07, respectively.

*Statistics according to research by Statista, Global Media Insight and Aiwa Digital

THE CURRENT DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS IN UAE

These are some of the digital marketing trends in UAE that are taking over the landscape, and which marketers would be wise to keep close track of.

VERTICAL VIDEOS

If you missed the vertical video trend, you’re missing out on the next big social media revolution. A quick read through this article written by our founder Bassem Saber will tell you everything you need to know: Vertical videos are on the rise, and it’s not just a Gen Z thing now. Almost every major social media platform’s algorithm is currently favoring vertical videos in a very big way, and introducing them to your brand’s content strategy is no longer optional.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Artificial intelligence is still in its relative infancy, but it’s already blowing minds with what it could do. In fact, with Chat GPT’s recent rise to fame, you can’t be too sure whether this, or any other recent article, was written by a human or a computer. In all cases, AI’s impact on digital marketing is sure to be major within the coming years, which is why it’s important for marketers to keep up with the latest advancements that could potentially change the game.

VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY

As with the potential of AI, the potential of VR and AR to reshape the digital marketing landscape is seemingly limitless. Whether it’s eCommerce taking a boost thanks to augmented reality tools’ ability to make online shopping much more immersive or the sheer potential of emerging VR experiences to become a marketer’s playground, the VR/AR trend does not seem to be going away any time soon.

AD AUTOMATION AND PROGRAMMATIC ADS

Automation has grown to play a vital role in the advertising landscape in recent years. Advertisers are increasingly relying on automation to maintain key campaign metrics, optimize spending and audience selection, and even experiment with different sets of creatives.

INFLUENCER MARKETING

With younger generations increasingly demanding authenticity and personalization from the brands they like, influencer marketing has become an increasingly important cog in almost every marketing machine. Whether to opt for micro or macro-influencers depends on your budget and objectives, but we believe the potential results of influencer marketing are too good to miss out on for any brand looking to grow awareness, followers, or revenues.

Keeping up with these trends, and the many others you’re bound to come across as you navigate the digital marketing world can be confusing. If you’re in need of a digital marketing agency in Dubai to bring your brand’s digital presence to life, we think you might want to click here.

THE TOP SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS IN UAE

With a whole host of social media platforms appearing every year, keeping track of all of them can be difficult. While a few newcomers have recently taken up large chunks of users’ time in 2022, certain platforms continue to dominate the scene. In both cases, making sure your brand is present and active on these crucial platforms has become a must.

YOUTUBE

With 87.4% of UAE internet users using YouTube on a monthly basis, it’s important to ensure that your brand is actively promoting itself on the platform. Whether that’s through regularly creating valuable content, engaging YouTube Shorts, or investing in video ads on YouTube, the platform will remain one of the most important marketing channels in 2023.

FACEBOOK

81.6% of internet users in UAE use Facebook at least once a month, signaling that the OG social media powerhouse is nowhere near a decline. While organic reach has taken a hit for most brands in recent years, advertising on Facebook remains one of the most lucrative, and cost-effective channels for many businesses and digital marketing agencies.

INSTAGRAM

With 77.5% of users remaining active on Instagram, it is still one of the most important social media platforms for many brands. With a unique combination of its massive user base and versatility towards various content formats, as well as being the home of a substantial portion of influencers, Instagram is a platform any business needs to be active on in order to remain top-of-mind.

TIKTOK

59.7% of UAE users frequent TikTok, and we expect the addictive video app’s grip on the market to continue growing deeper. With a unique bite-sized vertical video formula that has been copied by a whole host of competitors, currently unparalleled organic reach for brands, and the fact that a sizable proportion of Gen Z consider TikTok as their search engine of choice, it’s clear that TikTok should be an important channel for any business looking to reach their audience, especially younger audiences.

TWITTER

Even with the whole “will he or won’t he” fiasco perpetrated by Elon Musk, Twitter remains one of the top social media platforms in terms of local and global usage. Its unique user interface is perfect for news, quick tips, and discussions on major events, which provides an opportunity for marketers to jump in and truly bring their brands into important conversations.

LINKEDIN

The undisputed king of B2B ranks 6th in terms of usage in UAE, but that does not mean you should be ignoring LinkedIn by any means. While it’s not the place for humorous memes or snackable videos, it’s hard to find a platform better suited to B2B marketing and lead generation than LinkedIn.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

2 major social media platforms that just didn’t make the very top of the list are Snapchat and Pinterest. While they weren’t at the very top, they do have their unique audiences and use cases. Snapchat, for example, is seen by many as pioneering the future of AR experiences for brands, which is especially major for eCommerce brands. Pinterest, on the other hand, is where many young women search for inspiration for their birthday parties, weddings, interior design, and others making it perfect for brands that operate in those spaces.

Read more: https://www.weareigloo.com/what-is-the-scope-of-digital-marketing-in-uae-2023/

[weareigloo]

WHY SHOULD EVERY STARTUP THINK ABOUT WEB DEVELOPMENT?

Website development is basically the task of creating a website for either the World Wide Web or an internal network (intranet). Development usually involves creating a simple single page of plain text or perhaps with a few lines of code. The next level-up would be building an interactive website, one with interactive elements such as drop-down menus, forms, search boxes, pop-up boxes, and images. Then you get to the really complicated stuff, which involves things like Java, Flash, and other kinds of multimedia systems, as well as database and content management systems.

Every Beginning Shouldn’t be Hard with Professional Website

The importance of websites for startups and small businesses in the world today is undeniable. Online shopping has become extremely popular over the last decade, and this popularity continues to grow. According to numerous web development agencies in Dubai, millions of people turn to the internet to do their shopping, and millions more use alternative shopping websites for the convenience of having everything they need to be shipped directly to their door. Because of these changes in customer expectations, website designers must work closely with marketing professionals to ensure that the final product is both user-friendly, attractive, and appropriate for the target market. This is why website development and marketing are absolutely integral parts of every business’ web strategy.

In fact, many small businesses mistakenly believe that their budgets should only cover the coding and design aspects of their websites. While the coding and design work is essential, be prepared to spend some money on web designers. While not nearly as important as the coding, marketing and advertising elements will make or break your business.

These are some of the things every startup should consider when it comes to web development:

1. It’s Hard to Develop, But It’s Worth Your Time and Money

One of the first things you must understand about website design and programming is that the internet is not a simple system. It’s filled with millions upon millions of programs and scripts, many of which will interact with each other. For instance, when building web pages, you may be writing HTML code, but the program that produces that HTML code is also writing JavaScript code, which interacts with your photos and videos. So, you must hire a professional web development agency in Dubai that’ll provide you with HTML experts. Moreover, these experts should understand the intricacies of all the various programs and scripts that make up your website. Otherwise, you’ll experience a lot of trouble when starting up your website, and it won’t be easy to make it run smoothly.

2. Web Development with Easy-to-Use Platforms

Even though hundreds of different website development platforms are available today, two of the most popular remain WordPress and Joomla. Every web development company in Dubai will tell you that both platforms are prevalent because they’re easy to use and have built-in SEO functionality. As a result, even someone relatively new to website development can build a great website, and it’ll start earning money almost immediately. WordPress, however, has become extremely popular among small businesses because of its flexible licensing terms. While Joomla does have rigid licensing terms, it’s still much more flexible to use than WordPress, and that’s why lots of startups are switching to Joomla over WordPress to develop their websites.

3. You Can Choose a Web Development Platform According to Your iOS

There are several key differences between WordPress and Joomla. Firstly, WordPress uses a version of PHP that’s called PHP/Linux-PHP. While this sounds like almost every website developer’s favorite, it’s actually not. Joomla is written in C++ and therefore works well on both Windows and Linux computers. Thus, if you’re a Windows user, then you can definitely use Joomla.

Secondly, both Joomla and WordPress allow their users to create a “front-end” or user interface, which the end-user sees when visiting a website. In other words, these applications allow the person reading your website to interact with it. If you’re writing code, then you probably know how challenging this can be. You want to be able to interact with the data, the layout, the colors, and so forth from a client, not having to go back to add in the code. If at any point you decide you need professional help, locate the closest web development agency in Dubai and hire them to develop you an incredible website.

4. Having Stable Coding Languages is of Vital Importance

Both WordPress and Joomla are written in very stable languages. Both languages are multithreaded, meaning that multiple threads can execute code simultaneously without any crashing or error messages being displayed. This means that both programmers and developers can simultaneously work on the project without any worries whatsoever. Programmers especially prefer these languages as they’ll never have to worry about them crashing. This, along with the fact that both languages are used worldwide, makes them some of the most sought-after coding languages today.

5. Ease-of-Use Allows Beginners to Develop Incredible Websites

Both Joomla and WordPress platforms are very intuitive, and there are plenty of materials and tutorials available online, so even beginners can develop their first websites. Sometimes hiring a web development company in Dubai may seem completely unnecessary, but truth to be told, it’s always better to leave web development to professionals. Having a professional backup is of vital importance if anything goes wrong with your web development project. For inexperienced people, web development may seem overwhelming. That’s why hiring some of the best web development companies in Dubai is a great idea as they offer various services to startups and small businesses. We at Igloo marketing agency can help you develop a website from your dreams without any hassle whatsoever, so make sure to contact us whenever you need our help.

Wrapping Up

Even though it’s quite straightforward to build your own website from scratch, there’s plenty of things you’d have to learn to complete this project successfully. Besides, building a website isn’t the only thing a startup needs, as marketing is vital for success as well. So, if you don’t want to waste months of your time and energy, make sure to hire professional help and let us do the work for you.

https://www.weareigloo.com/why-should-every-start-up-think-about-web-development/