Online advertising in Japan


Among the largest advertising markets in the world, Japan ranks third, trailing only the United States and China. This means that search engine activities in Japan have become incredibly competitive–and can translate to big business for companies here in Japan. But to compete within this huge market and promote your company in the most effective ways, it’s imperative to be well-versed in the ins and outs of search engine advertising campaigns and knowing which types of campaigns on which search engines will produce the best results. The best place to start is to understand the major players in the search engine scene right now. In fact, there are only two search engines that currently account for more than 90% of searches conducted on any given day in Japan: Google and Yahoo! Japan.

Online advertising in Japan

Among the largest advertising markets in the world, Japan ranks third, trailing only the United States and China. This means that search engine activities in Japan have become incredibly competitive–and can translate to big business for companies here in Japan. But to compete within this huge market and promote your company in the most effective ways, it’s imperative to be well-versed in the ins and outs of search engine advertising campaigns and knowing which types of campaigns on which search engines will produce the best results. The best place to start is to understand the major players in the search engine scene right now. In fact, there are only two search engines that currently account for more than 90% of searches conducted on any given day in Japan: Google and Yahoo! Japan.

Google Ads vs. Yahoo Ads

While Yahoo! Japan dominated the search engine field in Japan in the early 2000s, Google has quickly overtaken the company in recent years. In fact, over the last twelve months, Google has only increased its lead ahead of Yahoo! Japan, and by a growing margin. Between October 2019 and October 2020, Google accounted for 77.27% of the overall share of online searches in Japan, far outperforming the second-place Yahoo! Japan, which accounted for 18.01% for the same time period. On desktop devices, Google’s lead was even higher, with its search share coming in at 79.69% and Yahoo! Japan falling back at only 12.48%. This is a huge change from only ten years ago, when Yahoo! Japan held a much greater share of daily search activities. Even on mobile devices within Japan, currently, Google accounts for nearly three-quarters of all search activity within Japan at 74.51% and Yahoo! Japan coming in second by a wide margin at 24.85%. Other search engines that are used much less frequently in Japan include Bing, Baidu, and DuckDuckGo.

Google Ads vs. Yahoo Ads


While Yahoo! Japan dominated the search engine field in Japan in the early 2000s, Google has quickly overtaken the company in recent years. In fact, over the last twelve months, Google has only increased its lead ahead of Yahoo! Japan, and by a growing margin. Between October 2019 and October 2020, Google accounted for 77.27% of the overall share of online searches in Japan, far outperforming the second-place Yahoo! Japan, which accounted for 18.01% for the same time period. On desktop devices, Google’s lead was even higher, with its search share coming in at 79.69% and Yahoo! Japan falling back at only 12.48%. This is a huge change from only ten years ago, when Yahoo! Japan held a much greater share of daily search activities. Even on mobile devices within Japan, currently, Google accounts for nearly three-quarters of all search activity within Japan at 74.51% and Yahoo! Japan coming in second by a wide margin at 24.85%. Other search engines that are used much less frequently in Japan include Bing, Baidu, and DuckDuckGo.

Benefits of Google Ads

Coupled with Google’s wild popularity and brand recognition, there are several factors that make it an attractive platform for running ad campaigns for your business. To begin with, Google offers businesses the flexibility of selecting from eight different types of ad formats, ranging from text-only ads, to video ads that can stand alone or be embedded in other videos, to product shopping ads that enable the audience to immediately click through to purchase the product they want. Google Ads also allows you to create up to 10,000 separate campaigns per account, which far surpasses Yahoo! Japan’s limit of only 100 campaigns per account. This allows our team to create numerous campaigns crafted in collaboration with your company’s decision makers. When combined with Google’s powerful search algorithm and ease of use, we can position your business’s products and services in front of a greater number of your target audience.

Benefits of Google Ads


Coupled with Google’s wild popularity and brand recognition, there are several factors that make it an attractive platform for running ad campaigns for your business. To begin with, Google offers businesses the flexibility of selecting from eight different types of ad formats, ranging from text-only ads, to video ads that can stand alone or be embedded in other videos, to product shopping ads that enable the audience to immediately click through to purchase the product they want. Google Ads also allows you to create up to 10,000 separate campaigns per account, which far surpasses Yahoo! Japan’s limit of only 100 campaigns per account. This allows our team to create numerous campaigns crafted in collaboration with your company’s decision makers. When combined with Google’s powerful search algorithm and ease of use, we can position your business’s products and services in front of a greater number of your target audience.

Our Google Ads
Services

Account Restructuring
Wasabi Communications also offers account restructuring services to improve your advertising campaign performance. Account restructuring is one of the most decisive factors in the efficacy of your advertising activities. Our team constantly studies methods and new information to stay up-to-date on the best strategies to maximize performance and meet all objectives.
Account Management
Paid search campaigns allow you to target your audiences based on your chosen demographics and guarantee that your message hits its mark. Our Paid Search experts will manage your campaigns (be it Search, Display or Remarking campaigns), closely monitor your ad performance and make the necessary optimizations so that they are always on point.
Google Data Studio Reporting
Each client uses different reporting styles. With Google, you have the option of using Google Data Studio Reporting. This is a powerful tool for reports and analysis, and Wasabi Communications can assist with Google Data Studio reporting. We can also merge the data from your Yahoo! Japan Ads account and synthesize information across platforms so you can view your performance data all in one place.

Our Google Ads
Services

Account Restructuring
Wasabi Communications also offers account restructuring services to improve your advertising campaign performance. Account restructuring is one of the most decisive factors in the efficacy of your advertising activities. Our team constantly studies methods and new information to stay up-to-date on the best strategies to maximize performance and meet all objectives.
Account Management
Paid search campaigns allow you to target your audiences based on your chosen demographics and guarantee that your message hits its mark. Our Paid Search experts will manage your campaigns (be it Search, Display or Remarking campaigns), closely monitor your ad performance and make the necessary optimizations so that they are always on point.
Google Data Studio Reporting
Each client uses different reporting styles. With Google, you have the option of using Google Data Studio Reporting. This is a powerful tool for reports and analysis, and Wasabi Communications can assist with Google Data Studio reporting. We can also merge the data from your Yahoo! Japan Ads account and synthesize information across platforms so you can view your performance data all in one place.

With Google currently maintaining such a strong presence in online searches across devices in Japan, your business will benefit from teaming up with local experts who understand the cultural landscape and effective ad campaign strategy here. Not only is the Wasabi Communications team highly skilled and experienced in creating and deploying solid Google Ad campaigns across a wide range of industries, we also have the knowledge and local insights you need for your business to make a strong impact in this market.

Get in touch today!