Editorial Policy
Japan Search Brief aims to publish useful, evidence-led guidance for overseas teams working with Japanese search.
This policy explains how topics are selected, how information is checked, how commercial relationships are handled, and how corrections and updates are made.
1. Editorial purpose
Articles are designed to help readers make practical decisions about Japan SEO, Japanese keyword research, market entry, technical SEO, content and AI search.
We prioritize questions where Japanese language, local search behavior or the structure of the Japanese market materially changes the answer.
2. Sources and verification
Where practical, factual claims are checked against current first-party or primary sources.
Examples include:
- official company websites;
- service and pricing pages;
- public company information;
- Google search results and live SERPs;
- official documentation;
- Search Console and analytics data where relevant to first-hand case work.
Third-party directories, reviews and industry publications may be used as supporting sources, but important commercial claims should not rely on a single third-party listing when a stronger source is available.
3. Provider comparisons
Comparisons are intended to help readers understand different service models rather than create an artificial universal ranking.
Providers may be selected because they are relevant to the search market being studied, actively serve international clients, represent a distinct delivery model, or have enough current public information to compare responsibly.
Unless a page explicitly says otherwise, inclusion does not mean endorsement and omission does not mean that a provider is weaker.
Japan Search Brief does not currently accept payment for placement in editorial comparisons.
If sponsored inclusion or another paid editorial relationship is introduced in the future, it will be clearly identified.
4. Trees Consulting and commercial interests
Japan Search Brief is published by Trees Consulting.
Trees Consulting may therefore be referenced in articles or comparisons where its service model is relevant to the topic.
When Trees Consulting appears in a comparison, factual information should be presented using the same type of criteria applied to other providers, such as service model, implementation scope, public pricing and fit.
The commercial service pages and the Japan Search Brief editorial pages are intentionally presented as separate parts of the site.
5. Rankings and recommendations
We avoid presenting a provider as universally “best” when the answer depends on company size, scope, budget, internal resources or required implementation capacity.
Where recommendations are made, the intended use case or “best fit” should be explained.
6. Pricing and time-sensitive information
Prices, staffing, services and contract terms can change.
When a guide contains time-sensitive commercial information, it may include a reviewed or updated date. Readers should confirm current terms directly with the provider before making a purchase decision.
7. AI-assisted workflows
AI tools may be used to assist research organization, drafting, comparison, editing or quality assurance.
AI-generated output is not treated as an authoritative source. Final editorial responsibility for published pages remains with the human editor.
Important factual claims should be checked against the underlying source rather than accepted solely because an AI system produced them.
8. First-hand experience and case results
Where articles refer to SEO results from previous work, we aim to distinguish first-hand project experience from general market research.
Results are presented as examples rather than guarantees. Search performance depends on competition, site condition, implementation and many other factors.
9. Corrections
If a material factual error is identified, we aim to correct it rather than leave outdated information in place.
Providers or readers who believe a factual statement is inaccurate can contact us through the contact page.
A correction request should ideally include the page, the disputed statement and a current source supporting the correction.
10. Updates
Editorial pages may be updated when search results, pricing, service offerings, market conditions or best practices materially change.
An updated date indicates that the page was reviewed, but does not imply that every external fact will remain unchanged after that date.
Contact
For editorial questions, corrections or source updates, please use the contact page.