Motoko’s weblog

Can a small site with a small budget be successful going against big sites in search? - This is one of the popular questions that I’m asked frequently. It is possible for a small business with a small website to successfully run a business online even in the overseas markets. In fact, there are quite a few of them out there doing really well. Here are my advices and tips to small business owners, who are considering reaching foreign markets through search.

Use your limited budget wisely.

It’s best to localize the site for the target market. It’s not just for SEO purpose, but also for the better customer experiences on your website. Now that the engines are pushing websites with the right signals (local language, local ccTLD, hosted in local market, Continue Reading »

I just posted my presentation about the Search in Japan from International Search Summit in London last month.

As you can see, my presentation shows bunch of numbers, which don’t mean much to you unless you were in the audience. Here’s what I talked about.

Market:
94 million Internet users
75.3% Penetration rate
4% access Internet from TV and gaming devices
73.4% on Broad Band
90% of Continue Reading »

Back in May, Google launched “Rich Snippets” in Google.com search results. This review and price range information appear in the search results. It requires you to add the markup formats to your website.

Rich Snippets was just rolled-out in Japan, which is the second market to use this feature. August and December are 2 of the biggest gift giving months in Japan, and this new feature came out just in time to help those holiday shoppers.

Continue Reading »

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 »