The Future of SEO: Pursuing Performance

Continuing from last time, we asked Tomohide Katsuya and Eiichi Yano to discuss the current state of SEO strategies, their differentiation from advertising-driven customer acquisition, and the strengths of Nextedge Dentsu Inc. We also heard their perspectives on the future direction of SEO strategies.

*Note: Nextedge Dentsu Inc. became "Dentsu Digital Inc." effective July 1, 2016.

Sometimes we focus on the content itself and run the PDCA cycle

　

──Do companies often request keyword suggestions?

Katsutani: We fundamentally prioritize search keywords in our proposals. We had a client with an in-house SEO team, and one of their main challenges was expanding their keyword strategy. While they covered basic keywords, they struggled to identify the right insights for further keyword expansion.

Another concern was uncertainty about how to evaluate content. Since their content PDCA cycle wasn't functioning, they asked us to focus our proposals on addressing that.

For keyword expansion, we looked beyond the client's own site data. We investigated competitor sites, social media, and how search keywords were discussed online. We also leveraged DMP data and Dentsu Inc.'s proprietary data to identify keywords with gaps or oversights. We then plotted these into the user funnel and proposed prioritization for implementation.

Regarding content PDCA, we set KPIs for each piece of content. For example, for content aimed at increasing awareness or encouraging social sharing, we partnered with an editorial production company to have well-known writers create the content. After creation, we verified the actual social media buzz and ratings, as well as how well it contributed to the set conversions. We also used tools to break down the content sentence by sentence and analyzed how Google evaluates and recognizes it. We are refining these measures while continuously running the PDCA cycle.

What is Dentsu Inc.'s strength in being involved in the client's overall advertising strategy?

　

──I thought SEO measures mainly involved tagging and keyword settings, but it requires considering content substance, conversion goal setup, and effectiveness verification too.

Yano: Modern SEO isn't just about boosting search rankings through keywords. If conversion means sales, it's becoming a job of designing sales funnels in collaboration with various people. In that sense, Nextedge Dentsu Inc. isn't just an SEO-specialized company; it has analytics experts, algorithm specialists, and the creative talent needed to produce great content. The ability for this team to collaborate and make proposals is a major strength.

Katsutani: Another strength is that, at Dentsu Inc., we often engage with clients from the broader perspective of advertising strategy, which sits above web marketing. Compared to working as a single vendor, we have touchpoints with people from various departments and positions. In that sense, we can share SEO strategy with many people within the client company, which makes project execution smoother.

SEO and paid search advertising each have their own areas of expertise.

　

──Listening to you, I can't help but feel that if SEO is done properly, paid acquisition methods like paid search ads might not be necessary.

Yano: While you can certainly improve your portfolio, completely eliminating paid search ads and shifting everything to SEO would be difficult. I believe the key is finding the right balance between them, leveraging the strengths of each.

──Could you explain their respective characteristics?

Katsutani: With ads, you get exactly what you pay for. For example, if you invest 50 million yen this month, and then stop next month, the traffic from paid search ads drops to zero the instant you stop. Conversely, this makes them highly effective when you need targeted traffic at specific times, like when launching a new product or when sales targets have deadlines.

SEO, on the other hand, requires a medium-to-long-term perspective. Unlike PPC ads that show results immediately, SEO involves gradual, meticulous tuning over time. However, unlike paid ads, there's no concept of "stopping" SEO. Once you build it and maintain it consistently, it becomes an asset. Effectively combining both is crucial.

Yano: For some clients, PPC and SEO fall under different departments with separate personnel. For example, suppose SEO efforts succeed in securing the top position for a specific keyword. In this case, a discussion about how much PPC spending can be reduced is warranted. Furthermore, insights abound: responses from display ads or Facebook ads can spark content ideas, and SEO effectiveness can be fed back into the creative for various digital acquisition channels.

However, because personnel are often siloed, this frequently becomes impossible. At Nextedge Dentsu Inc., however, we don't just handle SEO. We also have specialized teams for PPC advertising, various programmatic ads, and analytics. Even when client personnel struggle to coordinate, we can collaborate internally to share insights and propose the optimal portfolio for the client.

Nextedge Dentsu Inc. is a rare advertising agency that also houses specialists

　

──Could you share other strengths that Nexedge Dentsu Inc. possesses regarding SEO?

Katsutani: Our specialists possess deep domain expertise, enabling us to identify partners offering cutting-edge solutions and advanced analytical approaches in the market. This allows us to enhance solution precision and refine them. While we've built unique strengths specific to Nextedge Dentsu Inc., we recognize that in this rapidly changing industry, collaboration with external partners is essential to consistently deliver the best solutions for our clients.

In some cases, we co-develop systems necessary for data collection or engage in discussions to develop solutions from scratch. In a positive sense, not being fixated solely on in-house development is one of our strengths.

Yano: While collaboration with external specialized vendors is a strength, collaboration within the Dentsu Group is also one of our strengths. There are benefits like being able to propose keywords using data unique to Dentsu Inc., but personally, I think the creative power to produce interesting content is significant. Interesting concepts and out-of-the-box ideas are hard to capture solely from an algorithmic perspective, but Dentsu Inc.'s creative team is brimming with such ideas.

Combining this with Dentsu Inc. unique data to propose solutions to clients is precisely the kind of SEO strategy only Nextedge Dentsu Inc. can deliver.

The proliferation of smartphones is changing search keywords themselves.

　

──What direction do you see SEO strategies heading in the future?

Yano: As long as content remains the primary interface between companies and users, creating "good content" remains a constant. Refining this isn't just for SEO; it's something companies must do for user convenience. Google is also evolving its algorithms to favor sites that offer high user convenience, so this context is absolutely essential.

Katsutani: Looking ahead—or rather, at trends already underway—access to content is becoming significantly easier. This is closely tied to smartphone adoption. For instance, while desktop users typed search keywords on keyboards, smartphones offer a unique search experience through voice search. In fact, analyzing client site data shows a clear increase in colloquial search terms.

Yano: May I add one final point? SEO measures impact the entire website, so without understanding from company executives or upper management, progress can be slow. Proposals that gain their approval require data, logic, evidence, and convincing conversions. We need to move beyond the old habit of getting excited or disappointed over whether a single keyword's ranking went up or down. A broader perspective is increasingly necessary. I believe the attitude of understanding this and building an SEO framework is crucial.

Katsutani: We aim to eliminate cases where content is interesting but not read, or read but uninteresting, ultimately failing to directly contribute to the client's business.

To achieve this, we believe it's essential to improve content precision through thorough user analysis, design an appropriate acquisition portfolio that includes advertising, and establish a PDCA cycle that's properly linked to strategy.