Japanese search engines - any tips?

[JaspalX]

Has anyone got any tips on targeting searchers in Japan from a UK site? This is for a (very) small and niche B2B site.

I've looked at the WBF on international SEO etc. so here, I'm hoping you'll be able to help with which engines & optimisation tips for those engines - I've read that Google Japan is big, but are there any others that people would recommend?

Thanks!

[Marcus_Miller]

Hey Jassy, can you flesh it out a bit? What is the business area and will people in Japan be looking for a UK supplier? I.E. Will they be running queries like 'Green Widget Supplier UK' or are your competing with japanese language sites? I am no international SEO expert by a long shot but am happy to bounce some ideas around if it helps. 
Marcus

[JaspalX]

Sorry, that was a bit cryptic - though not intentionally so!

Its micro-electronics (components etc.) and a handful of devices at that. The queries will likely involve the standards/protocols that the components support - not quite as specific as part-number/serial number queries.

Searchers will be looking for 'widget protocolX' type queries. Might be competing with some Japanese sites.

[Marcus_Miller]

So, is the site also targeting other regions or is it a UK site targeted solely at japanese search?

What I am getting at is, if your site is working for UK but you want to bolt on some japanese traffic then maybe, a new japenese version of the site maybe the best approach. You could then set the region of the site in webmaster tools and target variations in wording and search.

I don't think there is any definitive right or wrong here but I remember taking a good deal from this old white board friday on this subject:

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/international-seo-where-to-host-and-how-to-target-whiteboard-friday

Let me know what you think.

Marcus

[JaspalX]

Thanks Marcus, we're not persuaded either way on the .jp site or /jp approach yet. Just looking at the options since the product being launched is targeted at Japan, but other products are not.

Yep, been through that WBF.

As I understand it, in rough terms, Bing seems to lean more heavily on keywrds on-page (esp. titles) than Google - I was really wondering if there are any similar 'preferences' that engines serving Japanese-language sites exhibit.

Perhaps I'm over-analysing this and should (as I think you've been hinting at) focus more on the basics and targeting of visitors than worrying about the subtleties