CELADON.AE
The client had an idea to start a software development company in the UAE. He had an office in Dubai and a local sales manager but lacked a clear marketing vision. Key decisions like choosing a niche, devising a marketing approach, and client acquisition were yet unclear. Initially, Celadon relied on external contractors, as it didn’t have an in-house development team, and faced constraints with a limited marketing budget.
Our role was to craft a marketing strategy for Celadon, mindful of these financial and human resource limitations. The immediate goal was to generate leads swiftly to kickstart operations and boost marketing, eventually leading to an expanded budget and the formation of an internal team.
Solution
We conducted a marketing research, examining the demand for software development services in the UAE market. We analyzed competitors and realized that we could break into the TOP10 in organic search and attract traffic from Google Ads in the mobile app development sector.
Together with the client, based on the research and our combined knowledge, we decided to focus on mobile development. React Native was chosen as the main technology due to its cross-platform capabilities, which accelerate and reduce the cost of app development. This provided the company with a competitive advantage of fast development speed and low expenses, allowing the use of a smaller team of contractors, ideal for the initial stage. It was also important that promoting this technology fit within our budget, meaning we needed a technology that was neither too expensive nor too competitive.
Understanding the local market nuances was key. We knew that regional businesses preferred Eastern European developers over Indian counterparts due to their balance of cost and quality. In the UAE, personal interactions and Arabic communication were vital, which Celadon’s local staff member could facilitate. Recognizing the regional audience’s preferences, we built a bilingual website for Celadon and executed on-page optimization in both Arabic and English. We faced challenges with the Arabic language, not only on the website but also in collecting keywords for Google Ads and creating ad copy. This was a complex task. We placed photos of our Eastern European team on the website, began investing in link building and social media development, listed ourselves in local directories, and started creating blog content in both languages with our own resources.
In the first 3-4 months, we increased organic traffic and started receiving initial leads from Google Ads.
In the first year, Celadon.ae obtained 200 sales-qualified leads.
We also began getting traffic from Clutch and local directories. Content placement on Medium yielded leads earlier than our blog, as the blog was still in the early stage in terms of link building and organic search visibility.
Thanks to the Arabic version of the site and regional promotion, we started receiving leads from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other countries.
Crucial Moment
After 6 months of work, thanks to a thoughtful approach, we secured an important client – EIEV (Emirates International Endurance Village).
Celadon was commissioned to develop a mobile and web application system featuring tournament tables, race ratings, athlete profiles, tournament information, and other data. This project became a key milestone for Celadon in its further development.
Result
Such a significant client as EIEV enabled Celadon to invest more in marketing and hire an in-house team. With the increased budget, we intensified our investment in SEO. Within 6 months, we achieved TOP5 rankings for all queries related to “mobile app development” in the UAE in both Arabic and English. In the first year, the client garnered 200 sales-qualified leads, many of which became long-term clients.
Apart from local directories, excellent results were achieved through Clutch and content marketing, both on our blog and through content distribution on other platforms. Consequently, the client considered establishing an international software development company. Read our case study about Celadonsoft.