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Should You Include The Date?
The same applies to new information, blogs, customer testimonials, and so on. Including dates is obviously better—it’s common sense. However… That’s true only for those who can update content frequently. If updates aren’t feasible, it’s preferable to omit dates altogether. If the latest post in the “latest information” section is from three years ago, it…
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Deliberately Aiming for a High Ranking in a Niche Field
When you sell on a major online shop, you can choose your category. If you simply list your book as “business books,” it will be challenging to achieve a high ranking due to intense competition. However, if you narrow down the category of business books further, the competition decreases significantly, making it easier to achieve…
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The Necessity of Marketing
It’s quite common in Japan for many companies to have sales teams but no dedicated marketing teams. Even among large companies with 1,000 employees, it’s not unusual to find 100 sales staff but no marketing department. At most, there might be a “public relations” department responsible for press releases and advertisements. Interestingly, website production often…
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A Company’s Domain is a Sign of Trust
Until recently, there were situations where you needed to provide a landline number instead of a mobile number for certain applications. The rationale was that mobile numbers were considered less trustworthy. The same scrutiny applies to company phone numbers. Even if a company’s website appears reputable and large, having a phone number starting with 090…
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Native Doesn’t Mean Expert
We often have American contacts review the English we’ve translated or written to ensure its accuracy. Anyone involved in international business has probably encountered this situation at least a few times. If English is written by someone who hasn’t lived in the United States, it might include expressions that native speakers wouldn’t naturally use, even…
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Personal Appeal
When translating websites for Western companies, we often notice some interesting differences. The other day, while working on the executive introductions for a certain American company, we observed that unlike in Japan, they not only detail their professional roles but also share insights into their personal philosophies and private lives. Similar to Japan, they include…
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Content is King
In the US SEO industry, there’s a popular saying: “Content is King.” This phrase emphasizes that for a website’s SEO (Google optimization), nothing is more crucial than the quality of its content. This concept predates Google’s current emphasis on content. Tactics like keyword stuffing or aggressively building external links are seen as superficial in SEO…
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Mistaken Ways of Creating a Website
Who among these individuals can effectively create a website that attracts customers? 1. Founding CEO 2. Fashion designer 3. IT staff 4. Sales staff The answer is… none of them. To begin with, a founding CEO often tends to be too emotionally invested in the company’s narrative, focusing on its struggles, success stories, and history—topics…
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Creating Your Own Brand
A few years ago, Google started prioritizing the actual content itself as a key factor in determining search rankings. They also began considering the authority of the author as a measure of content quality. For instance, when it comes to articles about topics like dieting, content written by professionals such as doctors and nutritionists tends…
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Why is Digital Marketing Work Enjoyable?
What we find fulfilling about working in the digital marketing field is the tangible results of our efforts, quantifiable through clear metrics. Take SEO, for example. We implement SEO strategies on our clients’ websites and monitor how the keywords perform in rankings. Initially, a keyword might rank below the 100th position, but seeing it climb…
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A Surge in Digital Fraud
When a friend was locked out of his Facebook account and forced to start anew, he was immediately bombarded with fraudulent messages. This scenario is not uncommon; often, right after we update our information or make changes online, we become targets for scam emails. These scammers employ a myriad of tactics. One common ruse involves…
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The Enduring Charm of Print in Travel
With smartphones nearing ubiquitous adoption in Japan, virtually all travel-related needs—from vehicle schedules and hotel reservations to maps, sightseeing guides, restaurant and shopping details, and even translations—can be conveniently managed on these devices. In many instances, both ticketing and payments can be seamlessly executed on a smartphone. The notable exception in the realm of travel…
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Delivering a Trivial Item – Now and Then
Yesterday, witnessing a delivery person dropping off a file at the neighboring office triggered a memory of an old comedy sketch I used to enjoy. The bit featured a greengrocer cheerfully announcing, “Hello! I’m a greengrocer! I’m here to deliver your order! Today I have one onion for you!” It humorously questioned the practicality of…
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Time Traditions and Hidden Financial Impact
The convention of starting breaks at noon and salary payments on the 25th of each month is widely observed, particularly in larger corporations in Japan. It’s a norm that many of us accept without much thought. However, the practical implications of these seemingly arbitrary timings can be surprisingly significant. For instance, a long queue is…
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DX-Navigating the Gap Between Ideal and Reality
At a recent event, we had the opportunity to listen to a compelling lecture by a famous Japanese entrepreneur Mr. Horie, often referred to as “Horiemon,” which I’m eager to share insights from. The focal point of his talk was the digital transformation (DX) journey, and he immediately set the tone with a provocative statement:…
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What is “Black Hat SEO”?
In English, the term “black hat” typically connotes a villain or wrongdoer, a usage that traces its origins to old Western films where heroes wore white hats and villains donned black ones. In the contemporary landscape of IT and the internet, “black hat” is frequently associated with hackers who engage in unauthorized intrusion into computers…
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AI Revolutionizes Maintenance: From Data Centers to Air Conditioners
The announcement that Sakura Internet, a prominent Japanese webserver hosting firm, will employ artificial intelligence (AI) for data center inspections has captured widespread attention, significantly boosting its stock price in the process. In a related development, an AI specialist we spoke with recently shared insights into a similar application of AI within his organization. They…
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Common Pitfalls in SNS Marketing
The comparison of Japan Airlines’ (JAL) and All Nippon Airways’ (ANA) Instagram accounts has recently sparked considerable interest on the web. Curious, we took a look ourselves, and the observations many have made are spot on. JAL’s Instagram feed is a visual journey, showcasing stunning landscapes from across Japan and beyond. The images are captivating…
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Japan’s Hesitation Towards Recurrent Education
The concept of “recurrent education,” surprisingly, has not gained widespread recognition in Japan. This term refers to the ongoing process of education that individuals engage in throughout their lives, even after entering the workforce. In Japan, this often takes the form of continuing education without taking time off from work, commonly known as “relearning for…
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Targeting the Future -The Revolution of Personalized Marketing
Let’s talk a bit about the evolution of marketing strategies. In the past, traditional advertising cast a wide net, often not specifying a target audience. This approach was evident in mediums like street billboards, TV commercials, and print ads in newspapers and magazines. While there was some level of targeting—like selecting late-night TV slots or…
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Negative Comments Come First. Ignore.
Yesterday, we came across a story where a famous critic slammed ChatGPT. ” Sentences generated with ChatGPT not only have many errors, but may also have statements that are false or even untrue.” This is probably true. We’ve seen it a few times too. And the critic’s final remark was, “That’s why it’s useless.” It’s…
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The Misadventures of Misaligned Sales Pitches
The crux of the matter is the often stark difference between what one intends to communicate and what the listener is interested in or wishes to hear. This discrepancy can be quite significant. Take, for instance, the scenario of a car salesman with an engineering background. He might be keen to delve into the sophisticated…
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Japan’s Slide in Global Digital Rankings
According to the 2023 edition of the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, which was evaluated based on “knowledge,” “technology,” and “preparation for the future,” announced by IMD (a famous business school in Switzerland), Japan fell in the ranking for the second consecutive year, ranked at 32nd. There are more than 200 countries in the world, and…
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Zombie Companies Increase
Teikoku Databank announced today that the number of companies that are unable to pay their interest out of their core business profits and are extending their lives by asking financial institutions to change terms or receiving government support, so-called “zombie companies”, has rapidly increased to 250,000, approaching the all-time high. This is probably because excessive…
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