Dubai is not your ordinary city. Sure, there are hustles and bustles quite similar to any other city. But underneath that seemingly perfect exterior lurks a dark side known as the ‘virtual city’. As the world’s most popular and wealthiest shopping destination, Dubai is also home to some of the most established businesses. Many large corporations have opened up shop there, and the city is a hub for international trading. As the business process becomes less physical, more and more people are turning to the online world. Dubai’s extraordinary development means there’s always the possibility of new opportunities popping up.

With the rise of e-commerce in the region, it’s clear that businesses there are keen to take advantage of the opportunity and engage with potential customers online. According to a recent report from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, 2020 was a landmark year for internet marketing in Dubai. E-commerce revenue in particular reached AED219 billion, an increase of 52% compared to 2019. With more and more people turning to the internet for shopping, it’s an incredible opportunity to connect with potential customers. However, to truly succeed, you need to consider a few things.

Find Your Niche

While it’s incredible to see so many businesses in Dubai, it’s also a cause for concern. Specifically, as the world’s most popular shopping destination, will the city become overly saturated with similar businesses? One of the greatest opportunities for growth in the region is through niche marketing. By exploring smaller markets, you allow for more targeted audiences and hopefully increase conversion rates. It’s all about appealing to the right audience with the right message and, in doing so, creating value for both you and your customer. With the world’s most popular shopping destination, there’s bound to be plenty of competition, but by identifying a small market, you give yourself a chance to carve out your own place in the market. So, by doing your research, you’ll know what audience you’re aiming at and what interests them most about your business. This will help you craft a marketing strategy and, in turn, increase your bottom line.

Make It Visible

To maximize your online marketing efforts in Dubai, you need to ensure that your website is visible to as many potential customers as possible. This means you’ll need to make sure that your website is accessible via the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing). To do this, you need to meet certain web development requirements. One of the best guides to developing a high-quality, search engine optimized website is the Global SEO Guide, by our friends over at Bright Edge. Not only will this get you up and running in no time, it’ll also educate you on the basic search engine optimization process. So, if you’re looking to get started or are already in the process of developing a website, this is a must-read for you.

Get To The Point

According to the Google SEO Guide, most people in the UK want to be able to scan the internet for quick answers to their questions. In other words, they want short, easy-to-digest content. So if you’re looking to grow your business via the internet in Dubai, take note of what the majority want and put that content first. The key to an effective business website is to ensure that it’s simple, yet comprehensive. Ideally, you want to create a website that’s around 100 words long. If you can get your content below that threshold, you’re doing well. A popular, industry-standard phrase that’s proven to increase click-through rates by 60% is ‘buyer personas’. Creating buyer personas allows you to get into the mind of your customer. It’ll help you understand what they want and need, as well as what would appeal to them. When creating a buyer persona, start by asking yourself questions about the person you’re crafting the persona for. What do they like? What are their interests? What would they click on most on a website? Based on the answers to these questions, you can start to build a profile of who they are and what would suit them.

Secure A Trusted Online Identity

In today’s world, consumers have a growing number of options when it comes to choosing where they purchase their goods. If you want to succeed in the online world, it’s essential that your customers know your site is safe and that you’re committed to providing a good experience. One way of doing this is through responsible branding. This involves following established guidelines and using reputable sources when providing information about your business. If your customers can’t find enough information about you online, they’ll soon realize that all of those random websites are not what they’re looking for. This, in turn, could damage your business’s reputation.

Avoid Stereotypes

According to the Google SEO Guide, people searching for luxury brands on Google want to find information about these brands. So if your content promotes a brand that is not necessarily associated with luxury — such as a fast-food chain — you may find that your articles don’t get the engagement that you’d expect. Avoid using language that will make your customers assume you’re trying to pass yourself off as a member of a certain community. You can use ‘we’ when promoting a business, but make sure you infuse that into the text. Remember: your customers are likely to be from a different background to you! So, by creating an identity crisis, you’re putting yourself at risk of appearing incompetent or disingenuous.

Localization Is Key

To truly succeed in the UAE, you need to understand the importance of localization. In English, when you type ‘Dubai hotels’, you’ll likely see a list of luxury hotels in the city. However, if you’re a Korean consumer who searches for ‘디저풍 옵션’, you’ll quickly see a different list of hotels that appear at the top of your screen. Why? The search engines in the country understand what you’re looking for because they’re tailored to the region’s language and culture. When doing business in the UAE, it’s essential that you take the time to learn and understand the language and culture of your audience. If you don’t, you’ll likely struggle to connect with your customers at a deep level. To ensure that your business operates in the right environment, it’s essential that you do research into what language and words your customers use to communicate. This will help you craft an effective strategy and ensure that your customers have a good experience when doing business with you.

When doing business in Dubai, it’s essential that you develop an identity that is separate from the rest of the world. To succeed, you need to find a niche, make it visible, get to the point, and secure a trusted online identity. Following these simple guidelines and having a clear strategy in place will help you find success in the World’s Greatest Shopping Destination.