Marketing works when there is something solid behind it. Spending on ads or content before the foundation is in place is pouring water into a leaking bucket. Here is the baseline, in order.
1. Own your domain and email
A .com or .sy domain registered to the company — not to an employee or a former developer. Business email on that domain (name@yourcompany.com), not Gmail. This is cheap and it is the thing people forget until they lose access.
2. A fast, bilingual website you control
- Loads in under 3 seconds on a phone on a normal local connection.
- Arabic (RTL) and English as separate, properly linked URLs.
- An admin panel so you can edit text, prices and content without a developer.
- Clear contact paths — phone, WhatsApp, a form that actually reaches someone.
From about $200 for a landing page; more for catalogue or booking features.
3. Google Business Profile
Free, and the highest-leverage 30 minutes you will spend. Claim it, add your address, hours, phone, photos, and category. This is what shows in Maps and in the panel when someone searches your name.
4. Technical SEO baseline
- Unique title and description on every page.
- Schema.org structured data (Organization, LocalBusiness, and per-page types).
- An XML sitemap and Search Console connected.
- Correct
hreflangbetween your Arabic and English versions.
Around $100 as a one-time setup on a site that was built properly.
5. Analytics from day one
Google Analytics or a lightweight alternative, plus Search Console. You cannot improve what you are not measuring, and historical data is worth more the earlier you start collecting it.
6. A WhatsApp path
Most enquiries in this market start on WhatsApp. A visible click-to-chat button, and ideally a WhatsApp Business number with a catalogue and away-messages.
7. A review pipeline
After a good job, ask the customer to leave a Google review — with a direct link that opens straight to the review box. Reviews drive both ranking and trust, and a steady trickle beats a burst.
What this is not
It is not a full ERP, a mobile app, or a content marketing programme. Those come after, when the foundation is carrying weight. Get these seven right first — most Syrian companies are missing three or more — and everything you spend after works harder.
Codrex sets up this whole baseline as one project. Start here.