Google Ads, Saudi Arabia

Planning the account in Arabic first

Saudi consumers and many business buyers search in Arabic, and the words they choose are not always the formal terms that appear in a translated brochure. A service may have a formal name, an everyday Saudi name and a borrowed English word written in Arabic script, and all three can show up in search terms. Some people also type Arabic in Latin letters, especially on mobile. Spelling variations, such as different forms of the same letter, add more variety.

I begin keyword research in Arabic and build English campaigns only where the data supports them, typically for professional services, technology and engineering topics where English terminology is common. Each language gets its own campaigns, ads and landing pages. Search term reports are then read in Arabic every week, because irrelevant queries such as job searches, training courses and do-it-yourself guides appear under the same broad keywords.

The engagement runs in English. Arabic ad text and landing page copy come from Arabic-speaking writers in your company or an agency you hire locally, and I give them clear briefs: the search intent, the promise of the ad, character limits and the call to action. That keeps the copy natural while the structure stays consistent.

Targeting a large Kingdom city by city

Saudi Arabia is too large for a single location setting to work well. Demand, competition and service capacity differ between Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah region, the Eastern Province around Dammam and Khobar, and smaller cities. An account that targets the whole Kingdom with one budget usually spends most of it where competition is highest, whether or not your team can serve those customers quickly.

I structure campaigns around the areas you actually cover. A company with branches in three cities may have one campaign per region, each with its own budget, schedule and call routing. A business that delivers nationwide but installs only in certain cities can separate product searches from service searches. Location options are set to people present in the area unless there is a clear reason to reach people who are only interested in it, such as pilgrims or visitors planning a trip.

Ad schedules matter as well. Working hours, prayer times and evening shopping patterns shape when calls get answered. If a call goes unanswered, the click is wasted, so I align schedules and call assets with the hours your branches and contact center can respond, and review them as patterns change through the year.

Calls, WhatsApp and the contact center as conversions

Many Saudi customers would rather call or send a WhatsApp message than complete a long form. For businesses with a contact center, the phone is often where the sale actually starts. Measuring Google Ads only by form submissions therefore misses a large share of the results, and measuring only button clicks overstates them.

I set up tracking in layers. Calls from ads are measured through call assets with a minimum duration that reflects a real conversation. Website calls and WhatsApp click-to-chat buttons are tracked as separate actions, and where possible a unique number or prefilled message reference links the conversation to its campaign. Forms capture the click identifier and the landing page.

The decisive step is importing outcomes. When the contact center or sales team marks a lead as qualified, quoted or won in the CRM, that stage is sent back to Google Ads. Bidding can then favor searches that create real sales rather than idle calls. The CRM and routing design behind this is described on the Saudi CRM consultant page.

Saudi Arabia's Personal Data Protection Law affects how lead data is collected, shared with platforms and transferred abroad. I configure consent settings and enhanced conversions so they can be reviewed, and your legal advisor confirms what is permitted.

Landing pages and sector rules in the Saudi market

A landing page for a Saudi Arabic campaign should be written in Arabic, designed right to left from the start and fast on mobile networks. Common problems include English menus on an Arabic page, forms whose fields and error messages stay in English, phone fields that reject local mobile formats and WhatsApp buttons that open the wrong number. I review each page against the ad that sends traffic to it and list specific fixes for your web team.

Trust signals matter too. Saudi buyers often look for a commercial registration, a local address or a physical branch, clear prices or price ranges where you can share them, and delivery or installation coverage by city. Where those facts are true, the page should show them.

Several sectors face extra rules. Healthcare, financial services, real estate, education and some consumer products may need licenses, approved wording or specific disclosures under Saudi regulations, on top of Google's own advertising policies, which also restrict some categories in the country. I prepare ads and pages so compliance review is simple and manage policy appeals in the account. Your compliance or legal advisor makes the call on whether a claim needs a license reference.

Performance Max, seasonal pacing and account ownership

Performance Max blends search, video, display and maps inventory under one goal. For a Saudi retailer with a product feed and reliable purchase data it can be useful. For a service business whose only signal is a form or a button click, it often spends on low-intent placements and on your own brand searches. My approach is to build Search campaigns first, import CRM outcomes, and only then test Performance Max against them with brand exclusions and clear location settings.

Budget pacing in the Kingdom follows a distinctive calendar. Ramadan changes when people search and shop, the Eid holidays and summer travel shift demand, and the start of the school year affects many sectors. Rather than leaving a flat daily budget in place, I agree a pacing plan in advance, moving spend toward the periods and regions where your team can convert demand.

The account should be registered to your company, with your own billing, analytics and tag manager access. I work as a user you can remove, and I leave documentation behind. Reporting shows qualified leads and pipeline by region and language. For the wider sales process see B2B lead generation in Saudi Arabia, and for the market overview the Saudi Arabia hub.