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How AI Overviews Are Disrupting Web Traffic
Awhile ago, Google began displaying AI-generated summaries at the very top of search results. From our experience, these appear in about half of all searches. According to recent discussions in the industry, these AI Overviews (also called AI/O) tend to show up less when users are searching for a company website or something to buy,…
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Enhancing SEO by Improving User Experience
For many years now, it’s been widely understood that Google prioritizes website content over superficial technical tweaks or external link-building. Many of you may already be aware of this. What Google values in a website’s content isn’t copied information from elsewhere or AI-generated filler; but original, high-quality content that provides real informational value. That’s what…
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Better Alternatives to Sending Large Files by Email
Compared to the early days, it’s now much easier to send large files as email attachments. There was a time when attaching a 5MB file could cause an error, but these days, it’s not uncommon to attach files as large as 20MB, or even 100MB. However, just because you can send large files by email…
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User Engagement vs. Bounce Rate
Over a decade ago, one of the primary metrics for measuring a website’s effectiveness was page views (PV). That is, the number of times a page was viewed. Page views (roughly speaking) count how many times a page is opened. So in extreme cases, someone could simply open and close the same page repeatedly, and…
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Understanding Hallucination in Generative AI
This is a term that has come into wider use over the past year or so. In English, “hallucination” usually refers to seeing or sensing things that aren’t real. In the context of generative AI, a hallucination refers to the phenomenon where the AI produces false information that sounds believable, as if it were true,…
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Why War Metaphors Can Be Detrimental in Business
There was recently an article* that made an interesting point. It seems that when executives use war- or battle-related metaphors, it can negatively impact how they are evaluated by external analysts. According to the research, when such language is frequently used in presentations, the likelihood of receiving a negative analyst report increases by as much…
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Updated Search Engine Usage Statistics
Sometimes, overseas clients ask whether Yahoo still holds a large share in Japan. In most cases, it’s someone who used to live in Japan or has some experience with Japan-specific web marketing. It’s true that just a few years ago, while Google dominated in most countries, Yahoo was still holding strong in Japan and Taiwan.…
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Why Global Business Is Slower Than You Think
Dealing with time differences is always a challenge when doing business internationally. While the time gap with countries like Australia or others in Asia isn’t too severe, it becomes much more difficult with clients in Europe or North America, where day and night are completely reversed. This makes communication tricky. Since the COVID pandemic, web…
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The Hidden Dangers of Broken Links
As I’ve written many times on this blog, having URLs on your website that return errors is a significant negative both in terms of SEO and user experience. And yet, it’s surprisingly common to see them left unattended. Even on the websites of major companies, it’s not unusual to encounter an error after clicking a…
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Left-Hand Drive Japanese Cars, Right-Hand Drive Foreign Cars
Most Japanese cars in Japan are right-hand drive, with a few exceptions for luxury sports cars. They’re designed this way to suit Japanese roads, while other countries like Germany use left-hand drive. If these cars had been sold as left-hand drive from the start, they likely wouldn’t have gained the same popularity in Japan. The…
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This Year Will Be The First Year of AI as Well as DX in Japan
Fortunately, at our company, being an IT company, everyone actively uses multiple AI tools, including ChatGPT, and nearly all documents (except for government-related ones) are paperless. On top of that, most of our work is completed on the cloud or through online platforms. But Japan as a whole… it’s a different story, and frankly, it’s…
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Free Samples of The Digital Age
The strategy of attracting customers with free samples has been a cornerstone of business since the analog era. For instance, newspapers often offered the first month free to encourage subscriptions, and free samples of cosmetics, supplements, or food tastings were common ways to entice customers. This tried-and-true approach remains relevant in the digital age, where…
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Corporate Site & Shop Site
This is a question we occasionally receive from customers. Some companies that specialize in online shops only maintain their shop site without creating a separate corporate website with detailed company information. They often say that their shop site is sufficient for attracting customers and that it already includes basic company details. While this approach might…
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Be Careful When Posting Videos on Chinese Websites
Creating a website for China requires careful attention to the country’s strict regulations. It goes without saying that political or adult content is strictly prohibited, but even if your own website complies, you could still face issues if any other site hosted on the same web server violates these rules. This makes it essential to…
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Perseverance is Important in Social Media Marketing!?
This phase is true: the most important thing in social media (SNS) marketing is perseverance. This applies to both free SNS tools like Facebook and Instagram, as well as blogs. When starting a business or a store, many people, actually about two out of three, consider using blogs or SNS to attract customers. They might…
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Consulting About Anything and Everything Doesn’t Sell
When it comes to consulting, many smaller firms or solo consultants often try to attract customers by claiming, “We can handle any industry and any type of consultation!” However, this approach tends to lack impact and makes it harder to stand out or attract clients effectively. Instead, specialization can make all the difference. For example,…
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Hard Bargaining
This practice is rare in Japan but does occur occasionally in the West. In business terms, it’s referred to as “chicken.” The name comes from the “chicken game,” a contest in which two cars speed toward each other, and the first driver to swerve loses. For example, after verbally informing a subcontractor of an order…
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Having A Strategy is Important
This was spoken about during a mini-course at a business school. It’s simple yet so true: there is no inherently right or wrong strategy. You can’t know the outcome of any strategy until you put it into action. But one thing is clear—there’s a significant difference between having a strategy and not having one. When…
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The Role of Business Matching Sites
If you frequently shop online, you likely have a few favorite sites you always turn to. Platforms like Amazon, Yodobashi, Yahoo!, and Rakuten are incredibly user-friendly for members, so most people tend to visit those sites first, search for what they need, and make their purchase. But what about B2B? When searching for a reliable…
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Why Your Site Isn’t Searchable Overseas
It’s common to hear complaints from Japanese companies that their website appears at the top of search results for their company name in Japan but not in searches from other countries. Depending on the situation and the environment of the customer experiencing the issue, one or more of the following could be the cause: 1.…
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Brand Safety
In the world of internet advertising, the term “brand safety” comes up from time to time. According to Wikipedia, the definition is as follows: “Brand safety is a set of measures that aim to protect the image and reputation of brands from the negative or damaging influence of questionable or inappropriate content when advertising online.”…
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The Security vs. Ease of Use Dilemma
This is always a challenging issue to navigate. The more you strengthen security, the less convenient the experience becomes. Of course, the specifics depend on individual account settings, as well as computer and app configurations. Take online banking, for example—most of the time, you’re required to log in every time you access your account, and…
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Guest Posting is Not Popular in Japan
We often receive inquiries from overseas customers asking about websites where they can post guest articles. Guest posting is a method where an article you’ve written is published on a third-party blog or informational site. Including links and references to your own website in the article is believed to benefit SEO, and there are even…
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Using “No. 1” in Advertising is Banned
In Japan, it’s well known that terms like “No. 1,” “the best” and “the largest” in advertising are regulated. These expressions aren’t outright banned, but when used, they require solid evidence that must be available for verification. This is why many ads on the streets use phrases like “one of the largest in Japan” or…
Recent Posts
- How AI Overviews Are Disrupting Web Traffic
- Enhancing SEO by Improving User Experience
- Better Alternatives to Sending Large Files by Email
- User Engagement vs. Bounce Rate
- Understanding Hallucination in Generative AI
- Why War Metaphors Can Be Detrimental in Business
- Updated Search Engine Usage Statistics
- Why Global Business Is Slower Than You Think
- The Hidden Dangers of Broken Links
- Left-Hand Drive Japanese Cars, Right-Hand Drive Foreign Cars
- This Year Will Be The First Year of AI as Well as DX in Japan
- Free Samples of The Digital Age
- Corporate Site & Shop Site
- Be Careful When Posting Videos on Chinese Websites
- Perseverance is Important in Social Media Marketing!?
- Consulting About Anything and Everything Doesn’t Sell
- Hard Bargaining
- Having A Strategy is Important
- The Role of Business Matching Sites
- Why Your Site Isn’t Searchable Overseas
- Brand Safety
- The Security vs. Ease of Use Dilemma
- Guest Posting is Not Popular in Japan
- Using “No. 1” in Advertising is Banned
- Phishing Hit New All-Time High
- Be Careful About Reusing Passwords
- Forcing Password Changes is Counterproductive
- Why is LinkedIn Not Popular in Japan
- The Various Effects of Digital Advertising
- Declining Ad Click-through Rates
- Using Personal SNS for B2B Business
- Is Social Media Not Suitable for Japanese B2B Business?
- Three Points About Video Avertising
- Request for Unified Image
- Marketing Business Problems
- The Mystery of Downtime Due to Heavy Access
- Direct Naming of Products
- The Key to an App is its Ease of Use
- The Purpose of an EC Site is Not Just Sales
- WordPress Takes a Long Time to Load