In this article, we explore the triumphs of foreign companies successfully navigating the Japanese market. Delving into various success stories, we reveal key strategies and insights that led to their achievements. From adapting SEO practices to understanding unique cultural nuances, these cases offer valuable lessons for any international enterprise looking to thrive in Japan’s dynamic business landscape.

foreign companies to succeed in Japan

For foreign companies to succeed in Japan, it’s crucial to empower local Japanese personnel with decision-making authority. Tailoring web marketing strategies to Japanese preferences, especially focusing on SEO, increases the likelihood of success. Successful SEO and attention to UI, UX, and conversion-oriented landing pages, aligned with Japanese corporate site UI, can boost inquiries. Understanding Japan’s unique SEO practices at the headquarters is indispensable.

Choosing our company as your partner can significantly enhance your success in entering the Japanese market. Here, we introduce business cases of foreign companies that thrived with our support.

Success Case 1

This client, a manufacturing and sales company in the BtoB sector, achieved remarkable SEO results. SEO is increasingly adopted by small and medium-sized Japanese manufacturers, even in BtoB sectors, to sell software and hardware products.

Over four years of SEO strategy, they saw a 150% increase in sessions and growth into the next phase with Marketing Automation (MA) implementation. The strategies included link building, specialized content articles (especially glossaries), and site renewal for improved UI and UX.

SEO strategies vary with each phase of the site’s life cycle. Initially, enriching content is vital. This is followed by acquiring external links, content enrichment for higher rankings, and Japanese-style CV strategies (improving UI and UX for conversion rate optimization) as session numbers increase.

The client’s site sessions increased eightfold over four years, growing by 150% annually. With SEO bringing more visitors, retargeting and email marketing are used to build customer relationships.

Once lead generation via SEO is established, nurturing these leads into high-intent prospects through lead nurturing is essential. Implementing an MA tool to manage customer lists and share valuable information helps transform prospects into customers and ultimately into loyal fans.

The goal is to consistently rank for targeted keywords, optimize web-based sales strategies, and generate profit. Our company, with extensive experience in web marketing strategies for foreign enterprises in Japan, can be a valuable ally in this endeavor.

Success Case 2

We present a case where specialized content SEO led to stable first-place rankings.

Currently, corporate site columns in Japan tend to rank well, especially for sites with specialized articles or unique primary information. After the Helpful Content Update in September 2023, low-quality, AI-generated articles ranked lower, favoring sites with well-researched, comprehensive content marketing.

This BtoB client sought top rankings for specialized keywords. Starting with internal SEO and progressing to external SEO and content article creation, the site’s ranking improved significantly after surpassing 20 articles.

We managed everything from keyword selection to article creation, significantly increasing site sessions. The challenge was improving conversions. By creating landing pages with a UI and UX appealing to Japanese users and explaining services clearly, we constructed conversion pathways. Persistent efforts in UI/UX improvement, guided by analytics and heat maps, were crucial in optimizing the conversion process. It’s unwise to retreat hastily when results don’t show immediately; profitability began in the second year.

Success Case 3

Lastly, we supported a global company operating in 32 countries, offering over 500,000 products to more than a million customers through the internet, catalogs, and trade counters.

We assisted them with link building and internal SEO for their large-scale e-commerce site, a type referred to as “database-type SEO” in Japan, which is technically challenging.

Despite restrictions on modifying the site’s directory structure and design, we made improvements in page titles, text, and meta descriptions to resonate with Japanese users. Fortunately, the e-commerce site design wasn’t drastically different from Japanese norms.

Link building focused on Product Listing Pages (PLPs) and targeted keywords, achieving first-page rankings and increasing sales proportionally. However, internal changes led to contract termination despite years of effort improving rankings.

Success in SEO is challenging to sustain, with external factors often impacting projects. Foreign business leaders should understand this and engage directly with agencies like ours, where English-speaking consultants can provide direct reports.

These cases illustrate the complexities and rewards of SEO in Japan, underscoring the importance of strategic partnership and cultural understanding for foreign enterprises.

Summary

This article highlights successful cases of foreign companies in the Japanese market, focusing on effective SEO strategies, adapting to cultural nuances in web marketing, and the importance of empowering local Japanese managers. It illustrates how tailored approaches, especially in digital marketing and SEO, can significantly enhance a foreign enterprise’s presence and success in Japan.

Author Profile

International Web Consultant Paveena Suphawet

A trilingual professional in English, Thai, and Japanese, she has numerous achievements in international SEO. She studied the latest IT technologies at Assumption International University, Thailand, and majored in International Business at the University of Greenwich, UK. Following her tenure at ExxonMobil’s Thai branch, she became a key member of Admano from its establishment.

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