Arabic and English website: how to build one that ranks in both

Arabic visitors read right to left, search with different words and expect different examples, and Google needs to know which page is meant for whom. Both versions of a site can rank once those are handled.

One URL per language

Each language needs its own address, such as /services/ and /ar/services/. Google indexes each version on its own and can show the Arabic page to people searching in Arabic. Switching the language with a cookie, or with a button that swaps the text on the same URL, hides one version from search engines.

Don’t redirect visitors automatically based on their location or browser language. Show a clear language switch and let people choose. Google’s crawler usually visits from the United States, and automatic redirects can stop it from ever seeing your Arabic pages.

Tell Google the pages belong together

Every page should list its other-language version with hreflang tags, and each version should point back. Add an x-default for the version to show when no language matches, and include both languages in the sitemap.

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/services/">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="ar" href="https://example.com/ar/services/">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/services/">

Write the Arabic for Arabic searches

People search differently in Arabic. Someone in Cairo might type تصميم مواقع, شركة برمجة or عمل موقع, and a word-for-word translation of your English headings rarely matches any of them. Research Arabic searches separately, then write the titles, headings and meta descriptions for them.

Keep brand and product names in Latin letters where your customers do. Shopify, ERP and Paymob are searched that way.

Right-to-left, done properly

• Set dir="rtl" and lang="ar" on the Arabic pages.
• Mirror the layout: navigation, arrows, sliders and progress bars all flip.
• Use an Arabic typeface designed for screens, with more line height than Latin text. Arabic set at a Latin line height looks cramped.
• Check numbers, phone numbers and prices. Mixed Arabic and Latin text can jump around without the right direction marks.

Technical checklist

1. Separate URLs with one clear pattern per language.
2. hreflang on every page, pointing both ways.
3. Titles and meta descriptions written around the words Arabic speakers type into Google.
4. Structured data in both languages, with the same business name, address and phone.
5. Both versions in the sitemap, checked in Search Console.
6. Speed in both. Arabic fonts are heavy, so load only the weights you use.

These details also help AI assistants describe your business correctly. We cover that in how to show up in ChatGPT and Google AI answers.

Questions we get

Does a bilingual site cost more?

Yes. Two layouts and two sets of copy add real work. Our website cost guide suggests budgeting roughly 30 to 50 percent more than a single-language site, and it adds about a week to the project timeline.

Should Arabic be the default language?

If most of your customers search in Arabic, yes. Choose the default by the language your buyers search in.

Can you add Arabic to my existing English site?

Usually, but it depends on how the site was built, because some themes handle right-to-left badly. We check the code before quoting. See our SEO service and website development service.