How to choose an SEO agency in Dubai and judge its proposal

SEO is the part of marketing where the gap between what is promised and what can be controlled is widest. That is why an SEO choice needs more care than most. Below is the order in which I would test a provider, with Google’s own guidance as the yardstick wherever it exists.

A disclosure first. This site is published by Web Marketing International FZCO, which sells SEO services. If I am on your list, score me with the same scorecard as everyone else. Nothing here is a ranking of providers.

What can be promised

Google states that no one can guarantee a number one ranking, and it warns against any SEO who claims a special relationship with Google or offers a priority submission^[1]. Google’s own starter guide adds that timing varies: some changes can take effect within hours, others could take several months, and it suggests waiting a few weeks before judging whether a change helped. It also says there is no guarantee that any particular site will be added to Google’s index^[2].

Read a proposal with those three statements beside it. A realistic provider talks about work, timeframes and measures. An unrealistic one talks about positions.

Start from an audit

A proposal that has not looked at your site is a template. Ask for it to be based on an audit, and ask what the audit covered. The detail of what the proposal should then contain is in what an SEO proposal should contain.

If an SEO offers an audit, Google’s guidance is to grant only read access to Search Console at that stage, and not write access^[1].

Links and content

Two areas hold most of the risk. Google lists buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam. Paid links are acceptable for advertising or sponsorship only when they carry a rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored" attribute. Sites that break the policies may rank lower or not appear in results at all^[3].

On content, Google says its ranking systems prioritise helpful, reliable information created to benefit people, and it advises against content made primarily to gain search rankings^[4]. Ask the provider how it earns links and how it decides what to publish. Both answers should be specific. The fuller treatment is in links, content and SEO risk.

Access and ownership

In Search Console, an Owner has full control and can add and remove users. A Full user can take most actions, such as submitting a sitemap, removing URLs and disavowing links, but cannot manage users. A Restricted user has simple view rights on most data. Only property owners can add or remove users^[5]. Keep the Owner role in your business and give the provider the level of access the work needs. The steps are in what access to give an SEO agency.

Who you are contracting with

Ask which legal entity will sign and invoice, and check its licence through the official channels the UAE Government portal lists, including the National Economic Register and the emirate economic departments. The page does not say whether free zone licences appear in them, so for a free zone company ask the free zone authority^[6].

Comparing providers

Ask each one the questions Google suggests: examples of previous work, expected results and the timeframe, how long they have traded, experience in your industry and in your country or city, and how you will communicate^[1]. Record the answers in the SEO proposal scorecard, treat a deal-breaker as decisive, and ask the leaders about whatever is still unanswered.

If you want a concrete document to compare proposals against, I offer a free SEO audit. I sell SEO, so treat it as an offer from a provider and score me as you would anyone else.