SEO and SEM strategy in Japan
last update 2012-5-9
Tetsuya IMAMURA, Meiji Univ.
Index
1.
Methods to increase the number of visitors
3.
Search engine marketing (SEM) (listing advertisement)
Contents
(1) SEO (Search
Engine Optimisationj
(2) SEM (Search
Engine Marketing = Listing advertisementj
SEO is the process of improving the
access number of a website in search enginesf natural, or unpaid, search
results. A search result always changes due to both usersf search trends and
current web content. The contents of the site are especially important to optimise results.
<Share of
search engines in Japan>
There are two main search engine
companies in Japan: Yahoo! Japan and Google. Ninety percent of the share is
occupied by these two companies.
Search Engine Market Share in Japan Yahoo! Japan: about 50% Google Japan: about 40% Other: 10% |
Yahoo! Japan adopted the same technology as that of Googlefs Internet search
engine. Therefore, SEO measures prepared for Yahoo! Japan are also effective
for Googlefs search engine.
<Advantages
and disadvantages of SEO>
yAdvantagesz
SEO is a
cost-effective method. It is also a cheaper long-term solution. SEO requires
costs for web content, but it does not require any cost for access, as opposed
to the PPC (pay per click) strategy.
yDisadvantagesz
SEO takes time
to acquire visible effects, so progress takes several months. Therefore, this strategy
is recommended if you have a long-term vision.
Method of SEO
strategy EAnticipating and selecting keywords used by visitors
to find the website It is
important to find relevant keywords to drive the targeted traffic to a
website. Consider who
the website targets before selecting keywords. ECreating SEO-friendly content Offer easy,
readable content for the average Internet user. It is also important to
ensure words appear frequently within the text. Strive to include keywords
and key phrases at least twice in every 400 words. It is better to have bold
headings and subheadings featuring these keywords and phrases. Three
important factors for finding the most suitable keywords and key phrases (1)
Popularity of the word: keywords
should be popular (2) Less
competition: keywords with fewer rivals (3) Relevance
to the website: keywords
should be related to the site itself ESome types of linking (1)
Reciprocal linking A mutual link
between two websites to ensure mutual traffic is an important part of the
search engine optimisation process because some
search engine companies use link popularity algorithms to rank websites for
relevancy. (2) Resource
linking Resource links are a category of links referenced as
resources or information. If the website produces beneficial, useful, and
relevant content for third party websites, the operator would establish hyperlinks to this content. |
SEM involves the promotion of websites by
increasing their visibility in search engine results pages through optimisation as well as through advertising (paid
placements, contextual advertising, and paid inclusions).
For example, if
you want to display the advertisement of a website when a user searches ecopyrightiμ jf, the advertising client needs to make a bid for
the keyword ecopyrightf.
@
<Advantages
and disadvantages of SEM>
yAdvantagesz
It is relatively easy for a specific website
to achieve a good position on the search results pages. In the case of Yahoo!
Japanfs SEM, 12 advertisements are displayed on the first page of the search
results. If other clients have not bid for
certain keywords, it is possible to occupy all ranks in the top positions.
The cost is low because a client incurs
costs only after a search user clicks the advertisement. The advertisement will
be displayed within the limit of the payment in advance.
yDisadvantagesz
The number of guided access is more
unstable than the SEO
strategy. The cost per one click depends on the conditions of other clients,
and the position in the list will be determined by bid price and the nature of
the advertisement. Therefore, if a stable number of guided visitors is required, the operator should always manage the
conditions of advertisement.
It may be effective to adopt an SEM
strategy if you have a fixed budget and want to increase the number of
visitors.
For the website
owner who wants to increase the number of visitors from a long- term
perspective, adopting some SEO strategies is recommended.
It is recommended that he or she take SEM
measures (listing advertisement) if the client has a fixed budget and wants to
increase the number of visitors.
In both SEO and SEM, the display ranking and possible bidding keyword would change due to the content of the website, so it is required to improve those constantly.