Recent Japanese Innovations in Maps

Local advertising is hot. Revenue from advertising using local information (search queries or physical locations through GPS) are growing. Apps are being created everyday that use this info and serve these ads.

So what innovations does Japan have in store to make online maps more attractive? Here are some recent innovations.

Let's start with goo. This top 10 most visited site in Japan is a directory similar to Yahoo Japan. They recently revamped their maps service. Cosmetic changes include the modification of the tabs and changing the lay-out so the map is some 30% bigger than previously. Also, they added information like altitude.

I had never used goo's maps before, so I am in no position to compare it with the older version, but I do see some points of improvements.

• No auto-complete of search queries
• When I type in a certain location, I still need to click the right location (for example, typing in Shinjyuku brought me to a place with suggestions; Shinjyuku area in Sendai city? No thanks. There's a Shinjyuku in Yamagata-ken as well? Not interested!)
• Typing 'Shinjyuku Tokyo Metro' didn't return any results

But in any case, the maps do look very large indeed and, if you're used to the Japanese style of lay-outs, very informative. With a single click I can search for the nearest ATM, convenience stores and world heritage sites. Nice!

What about Yahoo maps, from Japan's favorite search engine? Earlier this month, Yahoo Japan merged 7 services into what is now called Yahoo Loco. The 7 separate services were 'maps', 'regional info', 'traffic info', 'gourmet (dining) info', 'coupons', 'phone directory' and 'local search' (this was called Machimoba and allowed searching based on the location of the phone user).

The maps look good and they're slightly bigger than Google's, but smaller than goo's. It includes all the info you need; it is clear that the merging of the services works.

Possibly more interestingly, Yahoo is working on a iPad app that has 3D maps. Nothing too exciting you may think since Google's Android has had a Street View app for a while, but as the maps are rendered rather than photographed, this may be a smoother and faster-loading alternative to Street View.

Also, as there are no people, dogs or cars to be seen in these maps, this may avoid privacy concerns. According to ITmedia News (Japanese), Yahoo is working on integrating other functions like directions, restaurant search and location tagging of photos.

So what is Google doing in the meantime? In India they are having trouble Street Viewing, and there is no recent news about innovations in Google maps.


In the UK (and I suspect in many other countries as well) Google maps are the preferred choice. The ease of use is probably the deciding factor, in my case it is anyway. In Japan however, user preferences may be different. This may become apparent when you compare the richness of information in the maps of goo, Yahoo and Google.

Should this be a sign for Google? Should they adapt the lay-out of Google maps in Japan?

Satisfaction of the translation accuracy is "translation Google" tops.

If you try to search for something on the Web, English page is inevitable. Automatic us immediately when such a translation (machine) translation services if there is, very useful.

Say what?

The title and first paragraph is the translation of this article, which is in Japanese. The article says that Google Translate has the highest rate of satisfaction among users in Japan.

The survey was carried out by japan.internet.com and goo Research (weird name, I know). Of the 1,082 respondents, 42.1% had used an online translation tool to read a page that was in English. Google Translate had the highest satisfaction rate (43%), followed by Yahoo Honyaku (38%) and Excite Honyaku (37%).

I did some tests myself, for example by translating the previous paragraph, and came up with some findings:

• Google Translate is the only one to translate "goo Research" and "Excite Honyaku" to its names in Japanese. Yahoo translates the first name to "sticky research".
• Google is the only to have text-to-speech.
• Yahoo Honyaku has an auto-detect function to determine the language, similar to that of Google. The number of languages however is much lower (63 of Google vs. 9 of Yahoo Honyaku).
• Interestingly, Yahoo Japan's Honyaku is completely different from Yahoo's Babelfish.
• Excite also has only 9 languages, and no auto-detect.

The implication of these results is that when you would have to rely on automated translations of websites, Google Translate is the safest bet; the rate of satisfaction is the highest and although I am no language expert I can see that Google's solution has the least amount of errors and fewest strange translations.

Also, a translation tool based on Google's technology can be easily added to your site by using this wizard. This is a very good way of offering your website in different languages while your resources may be limited. In all fairness it has to be said Yahoo offers something similar, which has a cute yellow fish as a logo.

There are some more tools based on Google Translate's technology, but I will discuss those in another post. For now, I would suggest to advertisers that are thinking of targeting Japan, or other countries for that matter, to look into how Google Translate works.

Having said all this, even with the technology of today, a good translation would still need human intervention.  In international advertising, where you want to convey your message as truthfully as possible, you wouldn't want anything to be lost in translation, right?

Save Energy, Japan and the World (and make a handsome profit while you're at it).

Setsuden is big in Japan. Setsuden is Japanese for saving electricity, and since the terrible disasters on 11 March, it has become a hype, a rage and maybe even a moral obligation.

With the summer well under way, Japanese policy-makers and corporations are alike are trying to get the consumer to save energy. With a part of electricity generating infrastructure still broken, combined with the rising need for electricity during the hot months (airconditioners are ubiquitous in Japan), any reduction in usage is warmly welcomed.

What effects does this have on the search engine giants in Japan? In any case, search volumes of the word Setsuden have risen sharply since 3/11, as can be seen in the graph below.

Some research with the Google Keyword Tool shows that a popular related query is "how to save energy". It seems the demand for innovative ideas is very high.

What are companies doing? On June 17 Google Japan launched the "Go Setsuden" project. On this website users can register and keep track of the energy they are saving, share their results through social media and even publish own ideas on how to save energy. Earlier, Yahoo Japan released its "Setsuden Guide" with many tips and sharing functions. This guide has been online for nearly 2 months when Google's site was released. What are the differences?

Google Go Setsuden
- Functionality to publish own ideas
- Map with power stations in Japan
- Track daily energy savings and publish these through social media

Yahoo Setsuden Guide
- Categorisation in home tips and office tips
- Many other tips including clothing and lifestyle
- Publish energy saving plan once through social media
- Links to external sites of related organisations
- Links to Yahoo Commerce site with related products
- Advertisements on main page

All in all, it can be said that Yahoo's guide is more extensive while the unique features of Google's solution is that it is possible to track daily savings and contribute to generating ideas about generating energy. Also, the advertisements and links on Yahoo's site might seem like a strange way of making money, but it may be argued that these relevant advertisements helps the recovery of the Japanese economy.

So how can the international advertiser act on this? If you sell products or ideas that reduce energy consumption, you could consider targeting Japan. There is a great demand for implementable solutions. It would be hard to compete against local producers in the area of high end electronics, but niche products could do well.

Also, if you're active on the Japanese web, be sure to adapt your strategy to implement energy saving schemes with high visibility. Participating in the discussion will not only make you look good on the web, but it may also lead to energy saving and cost reductions within the company. Pass these savings on to your customers to create a triple-win situation.

So ask yourself: how will you save energy today? How will you save the world tomorrow?

Yahoo Japan is Working on Like.com-Beater

Do you remember when Google acquired Like.com? I had heard about Like.com before, and I found it an interesting move by Google; I saw great opportunities for integration with Google Shopping, Image Search Ads and maybe even Google Offers.

Since then, nothing much has happened between the two. I wonder why. Was this $100M deal just a strategic move in the sense that Google wanted to keep it out of the hands of the competition?

In any case, a new threat has popped up.

In Japan, Google's main competitor (and market leader) Yahoo Japan has just started working on technology similar to that of Like.com. Currently in "Labs", Fashion Navi is to be integrated with Yahoo Shopping and it allows the user to search all available products through categories, price range and colour.

It is still very buggy and slow, and the links don't always seem to lead directly to the specific product pages. However, I do see the value added for the user; it could save great amounts of time if you're looking for a specific color, and when combined with the filtered search it could lead the user to the desired end product efficiently. Just like Like.com.

Try it for yourself here.

To improve the functionality, the people at Yahoo should work on the following:

• More elaborate categories including brands
• Intuitive filtered search with slide bars
• Ranking of product by reviews, price etc.
• Search options for multi-colored items

I am curious to know what this news will do the development of Like.com and similar functionalities in Google's products. Surely the search leader of the world can come up with something interesting? I mean, why does Google Image Search have filtering by color, while Google Shopping doesn't!?