Motoko’s weblog

I am now getting ready for the next search conference in Chicago, Search Engine Strategies Conference and Expo next week. This time, I will speak for “New Exporters: How Search Marketing Can Be Used to Build Overseas Trade” on the 7th. (The session starts at 11:45am.)

Me and 3 other speakers will talk about:

The global markets offer rich pickings for many US firms who haven’t yet dipped a toe in the water! This panel will explain how to identify Continue Reading »

A quick note.  This month, I’m speaking at two conferences.

November 19th: International Search Summit in London, England - Search in Japan

November 24th: Search Engine Strategies Berlin, Germany - Search Around the World

Hope to see you there.

The first ad:tech Tokyo was held on September 2 and 3 at the Price Park Tower Tokyo, and it was indeed a blast as it is commented on their website. Despite the current downward financial situation in Japan and Asia, the place was packed with people eager to hear and learn from some of the leading figures in the industry. I haven’t seen the conferences filled with positive energy like this one in recent years in Japan, and was great to be a part of it.

One of the biggest differences between the ad:tech conferences in Tokyo and other locations was that this one was more focused on the advertising with heavy mass media messaging rather than the digital marketing and the search marketing. You could see strong Dentsu influences to many sessions, which probably shows the current advertising market in Japan. Continue Reading »

I’ve been a member of SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization) since 2003, and been heavily involved in its activities especially in Asia. Back in 2004, we established one of the first regional working groups, SEMPO Japan. Since then, we created SEMPO Asia Committee to support our activities and efforts in Asia, and were able to establish SEMPO India and SEMPO Singapore. While our membership in Asia is still small compared to that in US, I’m fortunate to welcome and work with some of the leaders in these markets through the committee.

Currently, Asia has more than 40% of Internet users in the world. 3 of the top 5 countries on Internet are in Asia (China, Japan and India). SEMPO definitely recognizes that Asia is a very important market, and in order to learn more about the market, the board members are Continue Reading »