A bilingual website should not be two copies of the same page with translated text hidden behind JavaScript. Search engines need a stable URL for each language version and clear signals about how the versions relate.
Use distinct URLs for English and Arabic pages. Add hreflang references in both directions, include a self-reference, and provide an x-default option where appropriate. Canonical tags should normally point to the same-language page, not force every version back to English.
Translate search intent rather than only words. Arabic customers may use different category terms, questions, abbreviations, and geographic phrases. Keyword research should therefore be performed separately for each language.
Structured data should also match visible content. Organization details, services, FAQs, breadcrumbs, and articles can be marked up so search engines better understand the page.
Technical fundamentals still matter: fast pages, responsive layout, image optimization, internal linking, XML sitemaps, robots rules, status codes, accessibility, and useful titles and descriptions.
Finally, measure each language independently. Organic traffic, ranking queries, conversion rate, and lead quality may behave very differently between Arabic and English audiences.