Salman Kureishi · Dubai, UAE
About Salman Kureishi
SEO and GEO consultant based in Dubai, UAE. Here's the fuller story behind 11+ years of running an independent search and performance marketing practice across the GCC.
TL;DR: Salman Kureishi founded IBG Digital in Dubai in 2015 and has run it as an independent SEO, performance marketing and competitive intelligence practice ever since. Nine documented case studies across the UAE, a live GEO pilot for a Fortune 500 manufacturer, and ongoing work in Australia and the US. Fluent in English and Urdu.
Background: from a commerce degree to running an SEO practice in Dubai
I finished a Bachelor's in Commerce at the University of Karachi in 2006 and spent the years after that figuring out where I actually wanted to sit in a business: not in the back office, but close to the part where a company finds its next customer. Search struck me early as the channel where that question gets answered honestly. Either a page ranks and gets found, or it doesn't, and the reasons why are usually traceable if you're willing to dig for them.
In February 2015 I founded IBG Digital in Dubai. Eleven years later it's still the base of everything I do: an independent practice built around SEO, performance marketing and competitive intelligence for clients across Dubai and the wider GCC. See the full experience timeline →
Nine case studies, one Fortune 500 pilot, and what changed along the way
Most of what I know about SEO came from running IBG Digital's client work directly rather than from a single formative job. Nine of those engagements turned into documented case studies: a KHDA-approved education brand, a fine jewellery retailer in Ibn Battuta Mall, a global lighting manufacturer, a holistic health clinic, the Caterpillar dealer network across three emirates, a dessert and gifting brand that expanded into three more markets, two dental clinics, a UK immigration compliance service, and a contract furniture company that closed seven-figure business off the back of the work. Each one needed a different read on how that specific buyer actually searches, not a repeated template.
The newer shift is GEO. Since May 2025 I've been running a live generative engine optimization pilot for Schneider Electric, a Fortune 500 industrial manufacturer, across the US and Canada, figuring out what it actually takes to get a large company's content cited and recommended inside AI search rather than just ranked in a results page. That work now runs alongside the Dubai practice, not instead of it.
How I work with clients in Dubai & Abu Dhabi
- Direct, not delegated. You work with me, the person who does the competitive research and reads the analytics, not an account manager relaying notes.
- Built on real competitive intelligence. A channel plan gets built around what's actually winnable in a given market, not a generic checklist applied the same way to every client.
- Cross-market by default. Running SEO and GEO work in Dubai, Australia and North America at the same time means I'm comparing what's working across genuinely different markets every week, not guessing from one city's data.
- Honest about scope. If a business needs a large production bench of designers and copywriters, I'll say an agency is the better fit rather than take on work I'm not set up to do well.
Services: SEO, GEO, Google Ads & consulting in Dubai
The work splits into search and AI visibility (SEO, GEO & AI SEO, plus enterprise, ecommerce, B2B and YouTube and local variants), paid media (Google Ads and Meta Ads), and strategy (content strategy, lead generation funnel strategy and advisory-only consulting for businesses that want a plan without handing over execution). Smaller operators aren't an afterthought either: the small business marketing page and the wider online marketing & advertising offering both scale down to a single-location shop, and PPC covers anyone who just needs paid search run properly without the rest of the bundle.
Nine of these engagements are written up in full on the Case Studies page, and a look at how the approach shifts by sector is on the Industries page.
A few things people usually want to know before reaching out.
Who is Salman Kureishi?
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Salman Kureishi is an SEO and GEO consultant based in Dubai, UAE, and the founder of IBG Digital, an independent search and performance marketing practice running since 2015. He also runs a live GEO pilot for Schneider Electric, a Fortune 500 industrial manufacturer, across the US and Canada.
Where is Salman Kureishi based?
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Dubai, UAE. He works with clients across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, alongside remote engagements in North America and Australia.
How long has Salman Kureishi been working in SEO and performance marketing?
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Over 11 years. He founded IBG Digital in February 2015 and has run it continuously since, alongside more recent roles at Webology World Australia, Schneider Electric and SearchEdge.
What does Salman Kureishi specialize in?
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SEO, GEO and AI search optimization, Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) positioning, competitive analysis and competitive intelligence, Google Ads and performance marketing, lead generation, and account-based marketing for B2B and B2C brands.
Let's talk in Dubai.
Based in Dubai, UAE.