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I still laugh when clients tell me they're using the "latest" digital marketing strategies but haven't changed their approach since 2022. The online environment has changed significantly in just the past 12 months.

A few weeks ago, I was advising a prominent e-commerce company that had invested over 200,000 SAR on a beautiful website that was failing miserably. The issue? They had simply translated their English site without accounting for the essential design distinctions needed for Arabic users.

• Redesigned the application process to match right-to-left thinking processes
• Created a bilingual form system with smart language switching
• Improved smartphone usability for one-handed Arabic text entry

Last year, I witnessed as three competitors spent significantly into growing their operations on a certain social media platform. Their efforts flopped as the channel proved to be a bad match for our market.

Essential components included:

• First-language producers for both tongues

• Contextual modification rather than direct translation

• Harmonious brand voice across both languages

• Tongue-appropriate search optimization

• Moved product images to the left side, with product details and purchase buttons on the right-hand side

• Modified the product gallery to progress from right to left

• Incorporated a custom Arabic text style that preserved clarity at various sizes

I dedicate at least two hours each regularly reviewing our competitors':

• Online structure and UX
• Articles and content calendar
• Digital channels engagement
• User feedback and assessments
• Search tactics and positions

I use a straightforward spreadsheet to track our rivals' pricing modifications every week. This recently helped us to:

• Identify seasonal price reductions
• Notice special offer approaches
• Grasp their value positioning

A few months ago, a retail chain invested over 200,000 SAR in standard promotion with disappointing results. After transitioning just 30% of that budget to handheld promotion, they achieved a 328% improvement in foot traffic.

Powerful techniques included:

• Industry reports with Saudi-specific statistics
• Executive interviews with notable Saudi professionals
• Success stories from Kingdom-based work
• Online seminars addressing locally-relevant challenges

If you're building or redesigning a website for the Saudi market, I strongly recommend hiring specialists who truly understand the subtleties of Arabic user experience rather than just translating Western designs.

My cousin Mohammed originally picked the most affordable proposal for his business website, only to find out more out later that it didn't include content writing – resulting in an unforeseen 8,000 SAR cost for quality text development.

During a recent business meetup in Riyadh, I questioned 17 entrepreneurs about their website development experiences. The budget spectrum was astonishing – from 2,500 SAR for a basic site to over 150,000 SAR for complex e-commerce platforms.

I presently employ several resources that have significantly improved our market intelligence:

• Search competitive landscape Analysis platforms to track other companies' SEO strategies
• Mention tracking platforms to track competitors' digital footprint
• Digital tracking tools to monitor modifications to their online presence
• Communication monitoring to get their campaigns

For a wellness organization, we converted their reading-intensive medical information into image-rich narratives with infographics. This approach enhanced their content consumption by two hundred nineteen percent.

I recommend classifying competitors as:

• Direct competitors (offering equivalent offerings)
• Peripheral competitors (with partial similarity)
• Potential challengers (new companies with game-changing capabilities)

When I started my retail business three years ago, I was certain that our special products would stand out naturally. I ignored competitor analysis as unnecessary – a decision that practically cost my entire business.

• Shifting CTA buttons to the right side of forms and screens
• Reconsidering content prioritization to progress from right to left
• Redesigning interactive elements to match the right-to-left scanning pattern

Initiate by identifying ALL your competition – not just the well-known ones. Throughout our investigation, we discovered that our biggest competitor wasn't the well-known brand we were watching, but a recent startup with an innovative model.

An acquaintance who runs a eatery in Riyadh originally hesitated at the extra 12,000 SAR for an appointment system, but later told me it became profitable within three months by reducing employee hours spent on phone reservations.

For a investment customer, we implemented a content series about generational wealth that incorporated Shariah-compliant approaches. This material surpassed their previous generic financial advice by 417% in engagement.

During my previous project for a banking company in Riyadh, we observed that users were frequently clicking the wrong navigation items. Our user testing revealed that their eyes naturally moved from right to left, but the important navigation components were placed with a left-to-right hierarchy.