RTL website SEO: Arabic, Hebrew and Farsi optimisation on Wix

Right-to-left languages including Arabic, Hebrew, and Farsi present unique challenges for both web design and SEO. Beyond simply translating content, you must ensure the entire layout mirrors correctly, the text rendering is flawless, and search engines can properly parse and index RTL content. Wix provides built-in RTL support, but knowing how to leverage it for maximum SEO impact requires specific knowledge covered in this lesson.

Understanding RTL Layout Requirements

RTL is not just about text direction. When a page switches from left-to-right to right-to-left, the entire visual layout should mirror. Navigation menus that were on the left move to the right. Progress bars fill from right to left. Scrollbars appear on the left side. Breadcrumbs read from right to left. Icons that imply direction, such as arrows, must flip. This mirroring is essential for user experience, and poor RTL implementation leads to high bounce rates that negatively affect SEO.

How Wix Handles RTL Languages

When you add an RTL language through Wix Multilingual, Wix automatically sets the dir="rtl" attribute on the HTML element for that language version. This triggers CSS rules that mirror the layout. Wix also adjusts text alignment, form fields, and most built-in components for RTL. However, some custom elements, third-party widgets, and embedded content may not mirror automatically and require manual attention.

Setting up RTL languages on Wix

• Open the Wix Dashboard and go to Site Settings then Multilingual
• Click Add Languages and select Arabic, Hebrew, or Farsi from the language list
• Wix automatically detects these as RTL languages and sets the dir attribute
• Preview the RTL version of your site to check layout mirroring
• Test all navigation menus to ensure they display correctly in RTL
• Check form fields, especially text inputs, to confirm cursor positioning is correct
• Verify that any custom code or third-party embeds render properly in RTL
• Test the language switcher to ensure smooth transitions between LTR and RTL versions

Arabic SEO: Specific Considerations

Arabic is spoken across more than 20 countries, each with dialectal variations. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the formal written form used in news, education, and official documents. Dialectal Arabic, such as Egyptian Arabic or Gulf Arabic, is used in everyday speech and increasingly in online search. Your SEO strategy must decide whether to target MSA for broad reach or dialectal Arabic for specific regional audiences.

• Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) for formal, educational, or pan-Arab content targeting all Arabic-speaking countries
• Egyptian Arabic for the largest single Arabic-speaking market with distinct search patterns
• Gulf Arabic for targeting Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman
• Levantine Arabic for targeting Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine
• Maghreb Arabic for targeting Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya
• Consider that Arabic speakers often search in both Arabic script and transliterated Latin characters (Franco-Arabic)
• Arabic keywords may vary significantly between MSA and dialect, requiring separate keyword research for each

Hebrew SEO: Specific Considerations

Hebrew is primarily spoken in Israel, making it a more geographically concentrated market than Arabic. Hebrew speakers are highly tech-savvy, with Israel having one of the highest internet penetration rates globally. Hebrew search behaviour shows strong preference for concise, direct content. Google Israel (google.co.il) is the dominant search engine, with Bing having minimal market share in the Hebrew market.

• Hebrew lacks vowels in standard written form, which affects keyword matching and spell-checking algorithms
• Many Hebrew speakers mix Hebrew and English terms, especially in technology and business contexts
• Hebrew domain names (.co.il) signal local relevance for Israel-targeted content
• Google understands Hebrew morphology well, recognising root words with different prefixes and suffixes
• Hebrew content should use standard Hebrew spelling conventions rather than academic transliterations

Farsi (Persian) SEO: Specific Considerations

Farsi is the official language of Iran, and closely related varieties are spoken in Afghanistan (Dari) and Tajikistan (Tajik). Iran has a large and growing internet population, but with unique characteristics. Many international services are restricted, making local platforms significant. Google is still the dominant search engine in Iran, though access fluctuates. Farsi SEO requires understanding both the language and the digital ecosystem of the region.

• Farsi uses the Arabic script with additional characters (pe, che, zhe, gaf), so font selection must support these characters
• The Iranian calendar (Solar Hijri) is used for dates, which affects content freshness signals and structured data
• Farsi speakers in Iran use specific local terms that differ from Dari speakers in Afghanistan
• Many Farsi speakers search using a combination of Farsi script and Finglish (Farsi written in Latin characters)
• Local Iranian platforms like Digikala for eCommerce and Aparat for video are important to understand for competitive analysis

Technical SEO Checklist for RTL Pages

• Verify dir="rtl" is set on the HTML element for every RTL language page
• Confirm lang attribute matches the correct language code: ar for Arabic, he for Hebrew, fa for Farsi
• Check that title tags and meta descriptions render correctly in RTL, with no encoding issues
• Ensure structured data uses the correct language values and does not contain LTR-only fields
• Test Open Graph tags to verify social sharing previews display RTL text properly
• Verify that breadcrumbs, pagination, and navigation elements mirror correctly
• Check that canonical tags on RTL pages point to the correct RTL URL, not the LTR equivalent
• Confirm sitemap includes all RTL page URLs with the correct lastmod dates
• Test page speed for RTL versions, as additional CSS for RTL can sometimes affect load times