LESSON 01
That Attention is Expensive,
and trust though earned over time can be lost immediately. Dubai sharpened me, from inside out.
The Journey
A fifteen-year story of ranking, losing it, rebuilding, and learning what really drives growth — told the way it was lived.
SEO
Google Ads
Branding
Web Design
AI Search
Yasir Ali
Based in Dubai
Chapter 01
The Journey
It’s been fifteen years now.
It all started with writing an SEO optimized article with 3% keyword density and a big link wheel as a backlink profile.
If you remember what a link wheel and bookmark is, you probably would remember those moments Google rolled out the first algorithm update that shook both the Search Engine Rankings and the ground underneath you. I do. It was 2011. I watched the rankings which I spent months gaining and improving unravel in one afternoon. The panda. Then Penguin. Then a silence. Then the quite relearning the art of SEO. The struggle to retake what was lost.
That’s when I became marketer.
Chapter 02
The Shift to Strategy
I didn’t enter the digital marketing out of nowhere. I had to learn it that the hard way.
At first, it was merely about rankings. But rankings alone don’t bring revenue. Leads do. Conversions do. A strong brand that customers trust does.
This Realization Changed the Game for Me.
Over the next few years, I shifted from just an SEO guy to a strategic Digital Marketer excelling in Google Ads, creating campaigns in Facebook’s power editor (those who are enough experienced would know it 😊), email marketing, strategic decisions driven by statistics from Google Analytics, and implementing full-funnel strategy for eCommerce sites. I learned the value of brand consistency across marketing channels. My work focused less on using tools to “do marketing” and more “building growth systems” that would bring revenue and scale.
Chapter 03
The Game Shifted to Dubai
I shifted to Dubai in 2014 and started working in an eCommerce store. Its been over a decade now, I built brands from nothing, redesigned and optimized websites, managed SEO, Google PPC, Meta campaigns, lead generation, trained and worked with teams and handled multiple projects.
Dubai since 2014
Design & Strategy
Chapter 04
The Creative Side
Somewhere down the road, as I learned the name of the colours, I fell into design.
It started with a logo, a very bad logo. But has now evolved into the “wow” factor. I always wanted to create something that would grab attention. From simple graphics and corporate branding, it evolved into complex web designs and eCommerce solutions. As a digital marketer, I witnessed first-hand how a trust in brand translates into business, and I wanted to contribute to making the trust visible. The instinct of “Design first, explain later” has never really left.
Chapter 05
Obzarve
In 2024, I founded Obzarve along with a small but skilled and efficient team. Managing a number of projects at the same time. Creating websites, providing eCommerce solutions, generating leads, formulating PR strategies and learning machines that drive growth engines, and then something happened that took us by a bit surprise.
Founded
2024
Obzarve — a small but skilled team
Focus
Websites · eCommerce · Leads
Growth systems, not one-offs
Also
PR & Machine Learning
The growth engines behind the brand
Chapter 06
When the Machines Started Answering Back…
We know we had it coming, but not this soon. From learning machines to machine learning to machines that do the learning, this new chapter is a strange one. Digital Marketing is not merely ranking on first page, having a strong brand presence, responsive speedy website and brilliant creatives but also where your brand falls in ai search. As it evolves into a giant phenomenon, I am still “observing” and “evolving” along with it.
Chapter 07
The Lessons Learned
As I worked across various industries which include hotel furnishing, hospitality, luxury furniture, real estate, beauty, interior fitout, pubs and sports bars, short term rentals, service markets and eCommerce, I have worked through numbers, a lot of numbers, but the numbers are not the point. The point is what I learned in between.
LESSON 02
That every channel is a conversation,
of the brand with customers. Every landing page and social media page and every other page the brand has acts as the storefront salesperson.
LESSON 03
That SEO, real SEO is actually patience and creating value wrapped in the disguise of strategy.
And many more, perception shaping, mind shaping lessons that make me what I am today. A Hardcore Digital Marketer, Web Designer and Strategist, still curious, still building, one brand at a time.
The Need to Be Found..
If you are an idea owner that needs a brand or a brand owner that needs to be found, congratulations, you have found me 😊.
Let’s Talk.