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. In Japan, Yahoo’s strength could be attributed to several factors, such as SoftBank’s early investment in Yahoo Inc. and the fact that Yahoo Japan’s parent company is SoftBank. In Taiwan, it may be due in part to Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang having roots there.
However, according to the latest research, Google now overwhelmingly dominates the Japanese market as well.
Google – 82.17%
Yahoo! – 8.94%
Bing – 6.95%
(Source: https://gs.statcounter.com/)
Looking at the numbers more closely, Yahoo still sees more usage on smartphones. I suspect that may be because when you purchase an iPhone through SoftBank, Yahoo services are often set as defaults, like Smart Login and other functions. If I remember correctly, the Yahoo app used to come pre-installed, and Safari’s default search engine was set to Yahoo. These practices have likely become more restricted under antitrust laws.
Also, Yahoo users tend to be seniors or beginners. Many are fans of the easy-to-read news list that appears on the Yahoo homepage.
When developing a web marketing strategy, especially for search ads in Japan, it’s important to clearly define your target audience and choose the appropriate search engine accordingly.
