- Hire for one clear gap first. Store build, marketplace management, ads and SEO, and influencer work are different skills.
- Agencies charge by retainer, fixed fee plus a share of sales, share of ad spend, per project or per campaign. Compare total cost as a share of the sales they'll touch.
- Your store, seller accounts, ad accounts, domain and content stay in your name. The agency gets user access only.
- Never let an agency run your business on its own CR or licence. In Saudi Arabia that's tasattur (commercial concealment).
- Score every proposal on the same weighted scorecard, then start with a three-month trial.
The right agency can put your brand in front of Gulf shoppers months sooner than you'd manage alone. The wrong one burns your budget and keeps your accounts.
The good news? Choosing well is a repeatable process, not luck.
You'll get that process here, from agency types and pricing to a scorecard you can use on three real proposals. It's part of our growth guides for Gulf sellers.
Which type of agency do you need?
Start with your gap, not the agency's pitch, because Gulf sellers usually hire one of four quite different types.
| What they do | Hire them when | Usually charge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Store build (Shopify, Salla, Zid) | Design, Arabic RTL theme, payments, couriers, COD flows | You're launching or rebuilding your own store | Per project, then a support retainer |
| Marketplace management | noon and Amazon listings, ads, stock, account health | Marketplaces need daily work you can't staff | Retainer, or fixed fee plus a share of sales |
| Ads and SEO | Google, Snapchat, TikTok and Meta ads, Arabic SEO | Your store works but traffic is thin or costly | Retainer or a share of ad spend |
| Influencer | Creator casting, licence checks, contracts, tracking | You need fast awareness or coupon-tracked sales | Per campaign or retainer |
Not sure which platform you're building on yet? Settle that first with our Shopify vs Salla comparison, because many agencies only build on one.
How do agencies charge?
Most Gulf agencies quote after a free audit. A few publish prices, and those make a useful benchmark.
| Model | How it works | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | Fixed fee for an agreed scope | The scope in writing: hours, listings, reports |
| Fixed fee plus % of sales | A base fee plus a commission | Which sales count, and is there a cap? |
| % of ad spend | A share of what you spend on ads | It rewards spending more, not selling more |
| Per project | A build, migration or catalogue upload | What "done" means, and how many revisions |
| Per campaign | One price for an influencer brief | Creator fees and agency fee as separate lines |
Here's what published Gulf prices look like:
- Ads only. Ecomclips lists Amazon ad management from USD 100 a month.
- Listing SEO. BrandStory quotes AED 3,500–12,000 a month for Amazon and noon listing SEO.
- Full marketplace management. Nasam advertises SAR 1,500 a month plus a 2–7% commission. The first SAR 10,000 of monthly sales is commission-free.
- Influencer campaigns. Vamp says campaigns start from US$1,000, with no minimum term.
Your ad budget and creator fees always sit on top of these. For store builds, ask for a fixed price against a written page, template and app list.
What should you ask every agency?
Send the same questions to each agency and ask for written answers, because vague replies are an answer too.
What are the red flags?
Most bad agency deals in the Gulf fail in the same few ways, so spot them in the proposal before the first invoice.
The legal routes for foreign sellers are in our guide to Saudi anti-concealment rules.
What must the contract include?
A good contract makes leaving boring, and that's exactly the point. Check for these clauses:
- Ownership. You own the store, theme code, domain, seller and ad accounts, analytics, images and copy.
- Access. The agency works through user access you grant, and you can remove it anytime.
- Data handover. On exit, you get reports, creative files, listing copy and campaign settings within an agreed number of days.
- Exit terms. A clear notice period, no penalty after the trial and no fee on sales after you leave.
- KPIs and reporting. Named metrics, one source of truth and a monthly review.
- Content rights. For creator content, the channels, duration and paid-ad use in writing.
Local or offshore: which is better?
Neither wins by default. Local teams know the market and the shoppers, while offshore teams are often cheaper per hour.
| Gulf-based team | Offshore team | |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic and dialect | Usually native | Often translated, so check samples |
| Payments and couriers | Knows mada, Tabby, Tamara, COD | Ask for live Gulf examples |
| Time zone and meetings | Same day, in person possible | Can lag in peak season |
| Cost | Higher | Lower |
A common mix is a Gulf lead for strategy and Arabic, with offshore hands for development. Just make sure you know who does the work, because many "Dubai" agencies subcontract it.
How do you score agency proposals?
Use one weighted scorecard for every agency. Rate each line from 1 to 5, multiply by its weight and add the results.
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Gulf proof: live stores or accounts in your category | 25% |
| Ownership and exit terms | 20% |
| Arabic quality | 15% |
| Reporting and KPIs | 15% |
| Cost against scope | 15% |
| Team and access | 10% |
One rule overrides the maths: any red flag above disqualifies the proposal.
Worked example: three proposals at SAR 100,000 a month
Say your brand sells SAR 100,000 a month on Amazon.sa and noon KSA, and you need marketplace management. Three agencies send these proposals:
| A: Riyadh full-service | B: Dubai specialist | C: The bargain | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | SAR 1,500 + 4% of sales after the first SAR 10,000 | AED 3,500 a month, listing SEO only | SAR 2,000 flat |
| Monthly cost | SAR 5,100 | SAR 3,575 (at 1.0215 per dirham), plus your own ads work | SAR 2,000 |
| Terms | 3-month trial, 30-day notice | 3 months, then monthly | 12 months, no exit |
| Accounts | Yours | Yours | Ads on the agency's account |
| Promise | KPIs: sales, ad cost, account health | Arabic listings live in 6 weeks | "Page one guaranteed" |
Now score each one from 1 to 5 on the six criteria:
| Criterion (weight) | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gulf proof (25%) | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Ownership and exit terms (20%) | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Arabic quality (15%) | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Reporting and KPIs (15%) | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Cost against scope (15%) | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Team and access (10%) | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Weighted score | 4.30 | 3.65 | 2.10, disqualified |
Proposal C looks cheapest, but it fails on ownership and promises results nobody controls.
B is strong on Arabic but leaves the ads to you, which works only if you already have someone to run them.
A costs the most, yet at 5.1% of sales it covers listings, ads and account health. So A wins, on a three-month trial.
Notes for marketplace sellers
- Check noon, not just Amazon. Many global agencies skip noon. Ask for a redacted noon account they run.
- Shortlist from a directory. Our noon and Amazon agency directory lists 13 independently researched teams.
- Plan for peaks. Ask for the Ramadan and White Friday deal calendar in the proposal.
Notes for brands hiring creators
- Licences first. Ask for each creator's licence number before you approve the list.
- Separate lines. Creator fees, agency fee, usage rights and boosting should be priced apart.
- Compare agencies. See the fee models and rates in our influencer agency directory.
MiddleEastEcom also offers Shopify, SEO and market-entry services. If you're weighing us, use the same scorecard.
Frequently asked questions
Think in share of sales, not the monthly fee. Full noon and Amazon management usually lands at about 3–8% of the sales the agency handles, before ad spend. Store builds are quoted per project, so ask for a fixed price against a written page and feature list.
Sources & further reading
- Anti-Concealment Law — Ministry of Commerce, Saudi Arabia
- Licensing for providing advertising content through social media platforms (Mawthooq) — General Authority for Media Regulation (GAMR)
- Shopify Partner Directory — Shopify
- Nasam marketplace management plans — Nasam
- Marketplace SEO for Amazon and noon — BrandStory
- Ecomclips services and pricing — Ecomclips
This guide is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and fees change — always confirm with the official source or a licensed advisor.
Maya is MiddleEastEcom's lead guide and editor. She researches GCC marketplaces, payments and regulations and turns them into practical playbooks for sellers.
Meet Maya
