1. Site Architecture and Crawlability

A solid foundation starts with how search engines access and understand your site. For bilingual Arabic-English websites, poor architecture can lead to duplicate content issues or incomplete indexing, especially with Arabic’s right-to-left script.

• Implement Proper URL Structure: Use subdirectories (e.g., /ar/ for Arabic, /en/ for English) rather than subdomains or ccTLDs unless targeting specific countries. This keeps authority consolidated under one domain. Avoid mixing languages in URLs—keep slugs in the respective language for better relevance, but test for SEO impact as English slugs can sometimes perform well in mixed contexts.
• Set Up Robots.txt and Sitemaps: Ensure your robots.txt doesn’t block important pages, and create separate XML sitemaps for each language version. Submit them via Google Search Console (GSC) and Bing Webmaster Tools. For Arabic content, verify that crawlers handle UTF-8 encoding correctly to prevent garbled text.
• Fix Crawl Errors: Use GSC to monitor 404s, redirects, and server errors. In MENA, where mobile traffic dominates, prioritize fixing mobile-specific crawl issues. Aim for a clean crawl budget by removing thin or duplicate pages.
• Hreflang Tags for Multilingual Setup: Add hreflang attributes to indicate language and regional variations (e.g., hreflang=”ar-SA” for Saudi Arabic). This prevents Google from serving English pages to Arabic searchers. Validate with tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs’ Site Audit.

Pro Tip: Regularly audit your site with tools like SEMrush or Moz to ensure 100% indexation of key pages.

2. Mobile Optimization and Speed

With over 90% of internet users in the UAE and Saudi Arabia accessing via mobile, non-responsive sites plummet in rankings. Technical SEO Arabic strategies must account for high mobile usage in MENA.

• Responsive Design: Ensure your site uses media queries for seamless adaptation across devices. Test with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool—focus on touch elements and viewport settings.
• Core Web Vitals Compliance: Optimize for Largest Contentful Paint (LCP < 2.5s), First Input Delay (FID < 100ms), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS < 0.1). Compress images with WebP format and lazy-load non-critical assets. In Arabic sites, RTL layouts can cause shifts, so test thoroughly.
• AMP Implementation (If Applicable): For content-heavy sites, consider Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) to boost speed, but ensure bilingual support with proper hreflang in AMP versions.
• Page Speed Insights: Aim for scores above 90 on Google’s tool. Minify CSS/JS, leverage browser caching, and use CDNs like Cloudflare with MENA edge servers to reduce latency for regional users.

Detailed Audit: Run Lighthouse audits in Chrome DevTools to pinpoint JavaScript bottlenecks, common in dynamic bilingual sites.

3. RTL Support and Arabic-Specific Technical Elements

Arabic’s right-to-left direction introduces unique challenges in website optimization MENA, where ignoring RTL can break layouts and hurt UX/SE rankings.

• CSS for RTL: Use dir=”rtl” in HTML for Arabic pages and mirror styles (e.g., flip margins, paddings). Frameworks like Bootstrap have RTL versions—implement them to avoid visual glitches.
• Font and Encoding Optimization: Choose web-safe Arabic fonts like Noto Sans Arabic for readability. Ensure UTF-8 encoding site-wide to handle diacritics (tashkeel), which users often omit in searches but engines still process.
• Handle Dialect Variations: While not purely technical, structure your site to support MSA and dialects via separate sections if needed, using canonical tags to avoid duplicates.
• Schema Markup for Bilingual Content: Add JSON-LD schema in both languages for rich snippets. For e-commerce, include priceAvailability in Arabic to enhance visibility in local searches.

Best Practice: Validate RTL with browser extensions like RTL Tester and ensure forms, navigation, and images align correctly.

4. On-Page Optimization and Content Handling

Technical SEO extends to how content is presented, especially in bilingual environments where mistranslations or poor optimization can dilute authority.

• Meta Tags and Titles: Craft unique title tags (<60 chars) and meta descriptions (<160 chars) per language. Include target keywords like “technical SEO Arabic” naturally. Use tools to generate and test for truncation in SERPs.
• Canonical Tags: Apply rel=”canonical” to preferred versions in case of duplicates across languages. This is crucial for avoiding penalties in MENA’s competitive markets.
• Internal Linking Strategy: Link between language versions with rel=”alternate” hreflang. Build a logical hierarchy—e.g., link Arabic product pages to English equivalents for cross-audience traffic.
• Image Alt Text and Optimization: Provide alt text in the page’s language, compress files, and use descriptive filenames. For Arabic, include keywords without stuffing.

In-Depth Tip: Use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to verify markup and monitor impressions in GSC.

5. Security, Indexing, and Monitoring

Security isn’t optional—it’s a ranking factor, and in MENA, where cyber threats are rising, it builds trust.

• HTTPS Implementation: Migrate to HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate. Redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS to avoid mixed content warnings.
• Indexing Control: Use meta robots tags (e.g., noindex for staging pages) and monitor coverage in GSC. For Arabic content, ensure Google properly indexes without language barriers.
• Error Monitoring and Logs: Set up server logs analysis with tools like Logz.io to track bot behavior. Fix 5xx errors promptly.
• Analytics Integration: Install Google Analytics and GSC for both languages. Track metrics like organic traffic by region and language to refine strategies.

Ongoing Maintenance: Schedule monthly audits to catch issues early, especially post-updates.

Comprehensive Technical SEO Checklist Table

For quick reference, here’s a summarized SEO checklist in table form:

Final Thoughts: Implementing Your Checklist

Tackling this technical SEO checklist for Arabic and English websites will significantly enhance your website optimization in MENA, driving more targeted traffic and improving conversions. Remember, technical SEO is iterative—combine it with content and off-page efforts for holistic success. As developers and marketers in the region, staying ahead means adapting to evolving algorithms and user behaviors, like the rise of voice search in Arabic.

If you need expert assistance to audit or optimize your site, explore our SEO services at Biodigy. We’re here to help MENA businesses thrive online. Start your audit today!