My product title mixes Arabic with an English brand name, like an Arabic word followed by Dior Sauvage, and the order looks scrambled. How do I fix it?
The whole title's direction is set by its first letter. Start with an Arabic word and it runs right to left, with the English brand sitting inside it. Start with the brand and it runs left to right, with the Arabic words inside it. «عطر Dior Sauvage الأصلي» reads from the right; «Dior Sauvage عطر أصلي» reads from the left. Try both orders in the preview, which applies the same rule, and keep the one that reads naturally for your customers.
Why the title looks scrambled
A screen does not know what language a sentence is in; it infers it. The common rule, which the Search snippet preview applies, is that the first strong character decides the direction. Strong characters are Arabic and Latin letters; digits, symbols and spaces decide nothing. So if your title opens with the brand and then has Arabic words, the whole thing is laid out left to right, and the Arabic words end up where an Arabic reader does not expect them.
Worked examples
- «عطر Dior Sauvage الأصلي» (original Dior Sauvage perfume): first letter Arabic, so right to left.
- «Dior Sauvage عطر أصلي»: first letter Latin, so left to right.
- «2026 عطر Dior»: the number does not count, the first strong letter is Arabic, so right to left.
- A title opening with « and then Dior: the quotation mark does not count, the first strong letter is D, so left to right.
The last one surprises many people: an Arabic quotation mark at the start does not make the title Arabic. Note also that the preview takes its direction from the title and only looks at the description if the title is empty.
Which order to choose
- If your page is Arabic and your audience searches in Arabic, open with an Arabic word describing the product, perfume, oil or watch, then the brand.
- If people search by brand first and your page speaks to an English-reading audience, start with the brand and keep the title mostly English.
- Avoid an Arabic title that opens with a number followed by a brand, such as 100 ml then Dior then an Arabic word; its order is hard to predict. Put the size after the product name.
- Write the separator and store name in the title's own language, so the direction does not jump at the end.
What the preview cannot promise
The preview applies the common rule, but search engines render results with their own layouts and may set direction by the searcher's or the page's language. So the goal is not for the preview to match the result exactly, but to pick an order that does not depend on luck: a title that opens in its main language and reads correctly either way. If you try two versions and want to see exactly how they differ, compare them in Text comparison.
Common questions
Should I write the brand in Arabic to avoid the problem?
You can, but ask how your customers actually search for the brand. You might use one spelling in the title and the other in the description.
Does direction affect ranking?
Nothing in the tool affects ranking. Direction only affects how easily your result reads.