How can Japanese users transfer to a new SE

[azimao529]

Japanese users are known as be loyal to their suppliers if they like them.

If a new SE want to enter Japan, what things it must do can make Japanese users to consider transfering to this new SE?

What are the necessary conditions?

[bill]

Great question!

If I could answer that one authoritatively I'd probably be hired by another company very quickly. ;) There are several companies in Japan who would love to know the definitive answer to that one.

I'm afraid that the most you'll get is speculation on this level. This has probably been one of the questions that a lot of the other SEs in Japan (aside from Google and Yahoo) have used in their market research. And they aren't likely to share their results with us.

The short history of the Internet in Japan has shown us that the Japanese public are reluctant to switch to new SEs. The only time they have is when there has been a groundswell of adoption. The Google groundswell is evidence of this. Google was really just picking up the pieces of all the failed engines and Yahoo hardly budged.

A new SE would have to build up a massively popular public community in addition to having clearly superior SERPs. And any market strategy would have to consist of a very long-term plan. There's no way a newcomer could come in and jump into any of the top 3 spots at this rate. A battle of attrition would be the best a newcomer could hope for I'm afraid.

[azimao529]

Many thanks for your reply!

For ^{"The Google groundswell is evidence of this. Google was really just picking up the pieces of all the failed engines and Yahoo hardly budged. "}, could it be possible that you explain this sentence in detail?

In addition, how can i understand ^{"a massively popular public community"}in a SE?

Thank you, very much!

[bill]

Google actually provided SERPs for Yahoo Japan not long ago. Google did a lot of work providing quality SE back-ends to many sites here. Right around the time when Yahoo switched to its own engine some people were starting to realize that they liked the Google SERPs better. A lot of Yahoo users switched at that time.

Google was providing a better back end to a lot of engines/portals and that helped squeeze a lot of the smaller players out of the market. Google's growth in Japan, in part, came from the demise of the smaller competitors.

Yahoo Japan was always the market leader and despite Google's attempts and the changes in the market they are still on top.

In addition, how can i understand "a massively popular public community" in a SE?

A new SE would need something viral, or something extremely popular, that draws in a large portion of the market. It would need to be something that people felt they needed and that other services didn't provide. That's a tough proposition in today's market though.

[azimao529]

I totally agree with what you said in the lastest paragraph. Thanks! And I also think it's the most tough for a newcomer to find out what kind of service users need and haven't provided yet.

I heard that Yahoo's style is more suitable for Japanese users. For exsample, it provides many other services besides search and different users can meet their different needs on it. However, though google may give a better result, it is too simple.