One search carries Dubai's setup market: "business setup dubai" accounts for 9,900 of the 28,300 monthly searches below, at AED 14 to 52. The dearest clicks come from people typing a full sentence, such as "setting up a company in dubai", which reaches AED 113, while licence searches like "ded license" stay far cheaper.
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Consultant, formation and licence searches in Dubai
| Keyword | Monthly searches | Top of page bid (AED) | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| business setup dubai | 9,900 | 14 to 52 | Medium |
| trade license dubai | 2,900 | 17 to 63 | Medium |
| ded license | 2,400 | 5.48 to 23 | Medium |
| business setup consultants dubai | 1,900 | 24 to 82 | Medium |
| company formation dubai | 1,600 | 20 to 76 | Medium |
| setting up a company in dubai | 1,600 | 25 to 113 | High |
| e commerce license dubai | 1,000 | 13 to 39 | High |
| trade license zone dubai | 1,000 | n/a | Low |
| business setup companies in dubai | 880 | 18 to 65 | High |
| e trader license dubai | 880 | 7.59 to 27 | High |
| freezone company dubai | 880 | 8.7 to 39 | High |
| ded trade license | 880 | 6.54 to 28 | Low |
| dubai register company | 880 | 21 to 100 | Medium |
| business setup in dubai mainland | 880 | 16 to 78 | Low |
| business setup services in dubai | 720 | 16 to 44 | Medium |
Source: Google Keyword Planner, the UAE, Google Search network, September 2026.
Full sentence searches reach AED 113
"setting up a company in dubai" has 1,600 searches with High competition and the top ceiling, and "dubai register company" goes up to AED 100. Both read like someone ready to pick a consultant. Licence searches are a different story. "ded license" draws 2,400 searches but tops out at AED 23, and some of those people may only want the government portal. The headline term sits in the middle of the range, yet its volume makes it the biggest line in any budget. Mainland setup is marked Low competition and still reaches AED 78, so a quiet competition label does not mean a cheap click.
Licence type searches and company formation searches
The terms where someone is choosing a firm come first: "business setup consultants dubai", "company formation dubai" and "business setup companies in dubai". Their ranges run from AED 18 to 82, which is steep, but the searcher is shopping for exactly what you sell. Give the sentence style searches that reach AED 100 or more their own ad group on exact match with a firm daily cap, so one busy week does not drain the month. Licence searches deserve a separate campaign. The e commerce and e trader rows (1,000 and 880 searches) suit firms that can quote a clear package for online businesses. The DED rows are cheaper to test, but add negatives such as "login", "portal" and "status" to screen out people doing it themselves. The "trade license zone dubai" row has no bid data, so keep it off the list at first and treat it as research traffic. Check the search terms report every week for job seekers.
A total price for mainland and each zone
Someone choosing a setup firm wants a total figure. Show starting packages for mainland setup and for each zone you work with, what each includes (licence, visa quota, desk or office, bank account help) and what costs extra. A short form asking for business activity, number of visas and preferred location lets you quote quickly. Show your licences and approvals, office address and named advisers, since this buyer is wary of hidden fees. A visitor from "freezone company dubai" should land on the zone packages, not the mainland page.
Paying up to AED 113 for "setting up a company in dubai" is easier to judge once you know whether the wider Dubai market runs this hot, and the Dubai benchmarks page answers that. For consultant, formation and licence searches run in separate campaigns with their own caps, read about Big AL's approach to running Google Ads.
Sources & References
Official references used in this article.
About the author
Big AL Consulting is a performance marketing agency in Dubai and a Google Partner since 2021. We run paid media across Google, Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, LinkedIn and ChatGPT ads for brands in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and have managed $25M+ in ad spend.
Written by Ahmad Alshareefi, Founder
How we make our guides: we use AI tools to help draft, and build each guide on our own campaign experience in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and on the ad platforms' official documentation.
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