A Danish toy manufacturer was revamping its product pages and aimed to create more localised content tailored to the Japanese market. To support this effort, I was engaged as a freelancer to provide content ideations for SEO and keyword research to inform the internal team’s PPC strategy.
The Approach
To uncover valuable keyword opportunities, my process included:
- Analysed existing content performance using Google Search Console to identify missing keyword opportunities.
- Mapped English-equivalent pages to assess the search volume of the target keywords and relevance in Japanese.
- Conducted competitor gap analysis to identify strong topic clusters absent from the existing site.
- Performed general keyword research using SEO tools to evaluate search volume and search intent for localised queries.
Deliverables
As part of my deliverables, I provided the client with:
- Unisex Keyword Insights – While “Toys for Girls” presented many opportunities, unisex toy keywords showed strong potential for future expansion.
- Non-Branded Keyword Recommendations – Focused on keywords specifically targeting girls, such as “6歳 女の子 知育玩具” (6-year-old girl educational toys) and “組み立て おもちゃ 女の子” (Building toys for girls)
- Branded Keyword Suggestions – Identified product-related keywords catering to both boys and girls, including “[Client Name] エルサ” ([Client Name] Elsa) and “ハリー・ポッター [Client Name]” (Harry Potter [Client Name]).
- Unique Topics for the Japanese Market – Suggested content themes around traditional Japanese events and sales, such as “ひなまつり プレゼント” (Girl’s Day present for girls) and “おもちゃ 福袋 女の子” (Girl’s Toy Lucky Bag).
- Comparative and Informational Keywords – Recommended keywords related to toy rankings and trends could be leveraged for blog content, PPC campaigns, or third-party partnerships.
Reflections
This project reinforced the importance of localisation beyond direct translation. Understanding search intent, cultural nuances, and competitor strategies is key to developing an effective content approach. While this was a short engagement, my contributions gave the client actionable insights to refine their PPC and content strategies for the Japanese market.