The latest articles on DEV Community by Ecommerce Southfield (@ecommerce_southfield_5e85). https://dev.to/ecommerce_southfield_5e85 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4159151%2F8af43b79-6c11-4ba1-b7c9-73e222fff06c.png https://dev.to/ecommerce_southfield_5e85 en Ecommerce Southfield Sat, 03 Oct 2026 06:59:33 +0000 https://dev.to/ecommerce_southfield_5e85/shopify-seo-checklist-for-bilingual-english-arabic-stores-in-saudi-arabia-4501 https://dev.to/ecommerce_southfield_5e85/shopify-seo-checklist-for-bilingual-english-arabic-stores-in-saudi-arabia-4501 <p>Running an e-commerce store in two languages, one of them right-to-left, brings SEO problems you won't hit on a single-language site. Here's the checklist I use for Shopify stores targeting Saudi Arabia.</p> <h2> 1. Set up hreflang correctly </h2> <p>Each page needs to point to its English and Arabic versions so Google serves the right one. Use <code>hreflang="en-sa"</code> for English and <code>hreflang="ar-sa"</code> for Arabic, each pointing to the matching page URL. Use the country-specific codes (not just <code>en</code> / <code>ar</code>) if you want to target Saudi Arabia.</p> <h2> 2. Don't rely on auto-translated titles </h2> <p>Arabic search behavior differs from English. People search "قلاية هوائية" (air fryer) or "مدفأة كربون" (carbon heater), not a literal translation of your English title. Do keyword research in Arabic separately.</p> <h2> 3. Write unique meta titles and descriptions </h2> <p>Generic titles like "Quality Products | Brand" waste your best ranking signal. Put the main keyword and location first.</p> <h2> 4. Check RTL layout and Core Web Vitals </h2> <p>Mixed-direction text (Arabic with English model numbers) often breaks layouts. Test on mobile, since most Saudi traffic is mobile.</p> <h2> 5. Add Product schema </h2> <p>Price, availability, and reviews in JSON-LD help products appear as rich results.</p> <h2> 6. Handle out-of-stock pages </h2> <p>Don't let sold-out products return errors or lose their rankings. Keep the page live, show "sold out", and link to similar products.</p> <h2> 7. Offer local payment options </h2> <p>Cash on delivery is a major conversion factor in KSA. Stores like <a href="https://sanford.sa" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sanford KSA</a> show it in the announcement bar next to the free-shipping threshold, which is a good pattern to copy.</p> <h2> Wrap up </h2> <p>Treat each language as its own SEO project rather than a translation layer. What other bilingual SEO issues have you run into?</p> <p><em>Disclosure: I work with Sanford KSA.</em></p> marketing seo webdev