Client Overview

• Business: Newly established café offering specialty coffee, fresh pastries, and comfortable seating for visitors and residents.

• Location: Al Zaher, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

• Initial Status: Brand-new café with no traffic or presence on Google Maps, not listed in the Local Pack for searches like “Mecca cafés” or “specialty coffee in Al Zaher.”

Challenges

• Competition from established cafés in Mecca dominating local search and Google Maps results.

• Lack of any digital identity or reviews due to the café’s recent opening.

• New website not optimized for local SEO, with basic technical performance (3-second load time).

• Need to quickly build a local customer base in a saturated area.

Goals

1. Rank within the top 3 results in Google Maps (Local Pack) for local café-related keywords.

2. Build organic traffic and attract local customers from scratch.

3. Establish the café as a new preferred destination in Mecca within 2–4 months.

Strategy

1. Set Up and Optimize Google Business Profile

   • Created a new profile with accurate details: address (Al Zaher, Main Al Zaher Street), working hours, categories like “Café” and “Specialty Coffee.”

   • Uploaded 20 professional images of coffee, pastries, and modern seating, optimized with keywords like “Al Zaher Café.”

   • Activated the “Posts” feature to promote opening offers, e.g., “Free coffee with every pastry in the first week.”

2. Competitor and Keyword Analysis

   • Analyzed competitors’ Google Business profiles to identify keywords they rank for (e.g., “Mecca cafés” and “specialty coffee”).

   • Targeted local keywords like “Best café in Al Zaher,” “Nearby specialty coffee,” and “New café Mecca” based on search volume.

3. Fast Review Collection

   • Launched a QR code campaign on tables to encourage reviews, offering a 15% discount for reviews in the first 30 days.

   • Responded to reviews within 12 hours using phrases like “Thank you for visiting the new Al Zaher Café” to boost local SEO.

4. Website Optimization

   • Improved loading speed to 1.5 seconds by optimizing code and compressing images.

   • Created dedicated pages like “Al Zaher Café – Specialty Coffee in Mecca,” optimized with local keywords and H1/H2 headings.

   • Added Schema Markup for “Cafe,” including address and menu details to enhance visibility.

5. Targeted Local Backlinks

   • Built manual backlinks targeting local keywords, such as posts on local blogs titled “Best New Cafés in Mecca” linking to the café.

   • Listed the café in local directories like “Mecca Directory” and “Foursquare,” with links including “Al Zaher Café.”

Results
After 2 months, the café achieved:

• Google Maps Visibility: Ranked 2nd in the Local Pack for “Mecca cafés” and 1st for “Al Zaher specialty coffee.”

• Traffic Growth: Built traffic from zero to 400 monthly visitors through local SEO.

• Sales Increase: Sales grew by 320% due to attracting local customers and Google Maps visitors.

• Reviews: Received 50 reviews with an average rating of 4.7 stars, boosting trust and visibility.

• Local Dominance: Became the preferred café in Al Zaher for specialty coffee lovers.

Conclusion
Starting from zero, through local SEO optimization, a strong Google Business profile, and targeted backlinks, we successfully built a strong presence for the café in Mecca, demonstrating the power of local strategies for launching new businesses successfully.

Do you want to achieve similar results for your café or business?
Contact us now and get a free analysis of your website and competitors to boost sales and dominate your local market!