Begin with the free step: get a free visibility check. We ask Google and seven AI engines the questions your buyers ask, in English and Arabic, show you which logistics companies are named instead of you, and give you the three fixes that matter most.
The licence and registration facts below are taken from the free zone's or authority's own page, or from one dated web search, on 20 October 2026. This is a marketing guide, not legal or customs advice. High Street has no logistics clients to report and has not measured a UAE freight company; the figures of our own on this page come from other categories, and each one says so.
How freight buyers shortlist now
Logistics is bought slowly. A shipper changing forwarders, or an importer looking for a warehouse in a free zone, compares several companies over weeks, and the first list is drawn up before any salesperson is called. That first list used to come from a Google search and a few referrals. It now often comes from an AI assistant asked a long, specific question: a lane, a cargo type, a certification, a free zone.
An engine answering that question needs facts it can check, and it rarely takes them from a company's own claims alone. In our study of where AI answers come from, 4.9% of citations went to the vendor's own website; the rest went to other people's pages. That was measured in a software category over three weeks in August and September 2026, not logistics, but B2B buyers there asked the same kind of comparison question. Our UAE AI visibility report, measured in August 2026 on two local businesses outside logistics, found both with a working Google presence and almost absent from AI answers. Ranking for your company name is not the same as being named to a buyer who has never heard of you.
The records engines read about a logistics company
| Source | What it says about you | Who writes it | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free-zone or mainland licence | Legal name, licence type, licensed activities | JAFZA, Dubai South, KEZAD or the economic department | Your site describes the same activities in plain words |
| Dubai Customs business code | That you are registered to clear goods through Dubai | Dubai Customs | Say you clear in-house or name who does |
| Industry associations | Membership of NAFL and, through it, the FIATA network | The association | Membership stated on your site, current |
| Your service pages | Lanes, modes, cargo types, certifications, facilities | You | One page per service, written as facts |
| Google Business Profile | Office location, category, reviews | You and your customers | Eligible office, real name, staffed hours |
| Directories and marketplaces | Listings and categories | The directory and you | Same name, activities and contact details |
| Trade press and LinkedIn | News, contracts, people | Editors and you | Facts and names consistent with your site |
The licences and registrations that apply
Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA)
JAFZA offers several licence types, including trading, service, industrial and logistics licences. Its logistics licence covers specific logistics services such as storage, transportation, distribution, sorting, forwarding and clearing, order management and inventory management. JAFZA describes it as a common choice for clearing and forwarding companies because of Jebel Ali port next door, and says Jafza follows the business activity list published by Dubai's economic department. It also points to the Dubai Unified License, which it calls the official record of a business's identity and authorisation to operate in Dubai.
Dubai South
Dubai South's pages, as returned by a search restricted to its site, describe a Logistics District made of several zones with direct access to the cargo terminals at Al Maktoum International Airport, including EZDubai, a free zone dedicated to e-commerce, and a Contract Logistics Zone, with company setup as a DWC LLC. We could not read Dubai South's licence types directly, so we name none here.
KEZAD in Abu Dhabi
KEZAD, part of AD Ports Group and next to Khalifa Port, lists its company licence types on its own page. Its service licence covers logistical support services, and it names cargo and freight forwarding as an example. KEZAD also runs the KEZAD Logistics Park, with warehouse units in Al Ma'mourah, Al Ain and Musaffah.
Dubai Customs registration
Dubai Customs lets businesses licensed in the UAE or a GCC state register online through the Dubai Trade portal. When registration is approved, Dubai Customs issues a unique business code. Declarations then go through Mirsal 2, Dubai Customs' electronic clearance system, where a registered business can add users with trader or broker representative roles. These details come from Dubai Trade's and Dubai Customs' own pages as returned by a search restricted to those sites on 20 October 2026.
Why these records matter for search
A buyer asking for "a licensed customs broker in Jebel Ali" is asking about licensed activities, not keywords. If your licence lists freight forwarding and clearing, and your website calls you a "global supply chain partner" without ever saying "freight forwarder" or "customs clearance", the engine has no sentence of yours that answers the question. State your licensed activities, your free zone and your customs registration on your site in the words a buyer uses.
Associations
The National Association of Freight and Logistics (NAFL), founded in Dubai in 1992, represents UAE freight forwarders and logistics companies and is a member of FIATA, the international federation of freight forwarders' associations, according to industry sources found in our search. Membership of a recognised association is a third-party record an engine can read. If you are a member, say so, and link to the association's member listing where one exists.
The questions freight buyers ask
Illustrative examples, not measured search volumes. Each condition in them is answered by a specific record.
- freight forwarder in Jebel Ali that ships dangerous goods to Mombasa
- 3PL in Dubai South with bonded storage for e-commerce returns
- temperature-controlled warehouse in KEZAD for pharmaceuticals
- customs broker in Dubai for re-export to Saudi Arabia
- LCL consolidation from China to Jebel Ali with door delivery in Sharjah
And in Arabic:
- شركة شحن في جبل علي لنقل البضائع الخطرة
- مستودع مبرد في أبوظبي للأدوية
"Dangerous goods" is answered by your certifications and the cargo types you list. "Bonded storage" and "temperature-controlled" are facilities, and they need their own pages. "Re-export to Saudi Arabia" is a lane and a customs service. A shortlist is built from companies that state these things; the ones that do not are left off, however capable they are.
What to fix, in order
How we chose the order
The order is our recommendation from how these records work, not a measured ranking. We start with the facts that answer the most buyer questions and that you control completely (your service pages), then the official records an engine can check them against, then the third parties you influence. We have not measured which fix moves a UAE logistics company's AI visibility most; the free check is how we would measure it for yours.
1. One page per service, lane and facility
A forwarder with a single "Services" page listing sea, air, road, customs and warehousing in five bullet points gives an engine nothing to quote. Give each service its own page, and the lanes and facilities that matter to your business their own sections: modes, origin and destination countries, cargo types, transit times you can stand behind, certifications, equipment, warehouse size and temperature range. Write each as a fact, not a promise.
2. The licence, free zone and customs registration stated plainly
On your about or contact page, name your licensing authority, your licence type, your licensed activities and whether you hold a Dubai Customs business code. That gives an engine the official fact and your own page in agreement.
3. A request-for-quote page that says what you need
Buyers who arrive from an engine are ready to ask for a price. A quote page that lists the details you need (origin, destination, cargo type, weight and volume, Incoterms, dates) answers their next question and shows the engine what you handle.
4. A Google profile that is eligible
Google's guidelines say a profile needs a location customers can visit, or a business that travels to its customers, staffed during its stated hours. Virtual offices do not qualify, and the business name must be the real-world name, without keywords. A haulier that collects from customers can set a service area: up to 20 areas, with the whole area no more than about two hours' drive from the base. Our Google Business Profile checklist covers the rest.
5. Third-party records in step
Association listings, directories and your LinkedIn company page should carry the same legal name, activities and contact details as your licence and your site. Ask customers for reviews the same way each time; Google's content policy does not allow incentives or asking only satisfied customers.
6. Arabic pages for the buyers who search in Arabic
Some of your buyers will ask in Arabic, and an engine can draw on different sources in each language. Translate the service and facility pages that matter most, not only the home page. Our guide to Arabic AI visibility explains what to check.
The checklist
Frequencies are our recommendations, not a free zone's or authority's.
| Item | Why it matters | How often |
|---|---|---|
| A page per service, lane and facility | Answers the conditions in buyer questions | When a service is added |
| Licence, activities and free zone on your site | Lets engines match your claims to the official record | When the licence is renewed |
| Customs registration stated | Answers "licensed customs broker" questions | Once, then on change |
| RFQ page with the details you need | Turns a shortlist into a quote request | Twice a year |
| Business Profile eligibility and name | Google's guidelines | Quarterly |
| Association and directory listings match | One name and activity set across sources | Twice a year |
| Arabic service pages checked | Different sources behind Arabic answers | Twice a year |
How we work with logistics and freight companies
We work from Dubai with logistics companies in the UAE's free zones and on the mainland. Our AI search visibility service puts your buyers' questions to seven AI engines in English and Arabic, records which companies and sources each engine names, and works on the pages and records behind those answers, together with the Google work. We have not yet measured a UAE freight company, so your free check would be the first baseline for your services. Online stores that ship from the UAE are covered on our e-commerce page.
Questions logistics companies ask
Does a freight forwarder need a Google Business Profile?
If you have an office that receives customers and is staffed during set hours, or you travel to customers, you are eligible, and a profile helps buyers who search with a place name. Google does not accept virtual offices or online-only businesses.
Which free-zone licence covers freight forwarding?
It depends on the zone. JAFZA's logistics licence covers forwarding and clearing among its services, and KEZAD names cargo and freight forwarding under its service licence. Check the activity list with your free zone before you apply.
Is a Dubai Customs code the same as a trade licence?
No. The trade licence comes from your free zone or economic department. The Dubai Customs business code is a separate registration, made through the Dubai Trade portal by a business that already holds a UAE or GCC licence, and it lets you file declarations in Mirsal 2.
Sources
- JAFZA: Business licence: licence types, the logistics licence and its activities, the DED activity list, the Dubai Unified License (read 20 October 2026)
- KEZAD Group: Company licence types: service licence covering cargo and freight forwarding, KEZAD Logistics Park (read 20 October 2026)
- Dubai South: Free zone and Logistics District licensing (web search restricted to dubaisouth.ae, 20 October 2026)
- Dubai Trade: How do I register and apply for a Dubai Customs code? and Dubai Customs customer guide (web search restricted to the two sites, 20 October 2026)
- Breakbulk Middle East: National Association of Freight and Logistics and Air Cargo Update: NAFL at the FIATA World Congress (web search, 20 October 2026)
- Google: Guidelines for representing your business on Google and service-area businesses (read 20 October 2026)
- Google Maps user-contributed content policy (read 24 September 2026)
- High Street: Where AI answers come from (measured 20 August to 11 September 2026) and UAE AI visibility report (measured 7 and 8 August 2026), our own measurements in other categories
Which logistics companies do buyers hear about when they ask for services like yours?
The free visibility check puts your buyers' questions to Google and seven AI engines, in English and Arabic, shows you which forwarders and logistics companies each one names, and lists the three fixes that matter most for your company.
Get a free visibility check