Choosing an SEO company in Japan – a checklist and the red flags

What an SEO company does – and how providers differ

"SEO company" covers very different services. Knowing which area you actually need gives you a clear basis for comparison.

• Technical and on-page SEO: site structure, speed, mobile layout, titles and descriptions, structured data, indexing
• Content: keyword research, then planning, writing and improving articles and service pages
• Consulting: strategy and analysis, with your own team or web agency making the changes
• Build-and-SEO studios: search is planned into the site structure and one contact handles both the build and the fixes
• Local search (MEO): Google Business Profile setup and review management

If you have people who can edit the site, a consulting setup can work well. If you want the changes made for you, look for an SEO company that also builds and edits sites. See SEO services explained for what the work involves and SEO consulting for the advisory model.

How to choose an SEO company: 7 points to compare

Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order. How specific the answers are tells you a lot about how they work.

• Do they start from your site? A good provider looks at it first and names concrete issues
• Is the monthly work spelled out? You should see in writing what will be done each month
• Who does the work? If sales and delivery are different people, can you talk to the person doing the work?
• What do reports track? Inquiries and sales alongside rankings
• Can they change the site? Or does the work stop at recommendations?
• Whose accounts? Search Console, GA4 and the domain should stay in your name
• Contract terms: minimum term, how to cancel and what happens to content and settings afterwards

"Best SEO company" lists are sometimes paid placements. Use them as a starting point, then run each name through these seven points. For typical budgets and pricing models, see SEO pricing in Japan.

Red flags of a bad SEO provider

Some SEO vendors sell short-term numbers. If several of these appear together, pause before you sign.

• Guaranteed rankings, such as "number one in three months"
• The work is described only as "our proprietary method"
• Offers of large volumes of backlinks, which can break Google's spam policies
• Pay-per-ranking deals based on phrases almost nobody searches for
• A mandatory contract of a year or more with heavy cancellation fees
• Search Console or analytics held in the vendor's name and never shared
• Pushy phone sales or "sign this month for a discount" pressure

Search engines decide rankings, so no company can guarantee a position. If unnatural links trigger a penalty, recovery can take a long time. When an offer worries you, ask for the task list and the cancellation clause in writing and compare them with another provider's answers.

What to prepare before you contact an SEO company

A little preparation gets you a specific proposal from the first conversation and makes quotes easy to compare.

• Your goal: inquiries, bookings, online sales or job applications from search
• Keyword ideas: five to ten phrases your customers would actually type
• Competitors: two or three sites that rank above you
• Data access: view access to Search Console and GA4 – or simply say they are not set up yet
• Resources and budget: can you write content in-house, who updates the site, a rough monthly budget
• Site basics: your CMS (WordPress, Shopify, BASE and so on) and how you log in

SEO typically takes three to six months before results become visible. Ask at the start what happens in the first months and when progress will be reviewed.

When a small remote studio is the right fit

SEO companies range from large agencies with many account managers to small studios. For small businesses, shops and new brands, a small studio is often the easier partner.

• Your site has a few to a few dozen pages and needs technical and content work together
• You want the person who analyzes to be the person who fixes, so changes go live quickly
• You want one contact who knows your history and stays with you
• You prefer written messages with a record over phone calls and visits
• You want MEO, Google Ads and site updates handled alongside SEO

Working remotely is easy when Search Console and GA4 are shared. What matters is that everyone knows from day one who does what.

How UNANOBO handles SEO: see the improvements in a free demo

Before you commit, UNANOBO reviews your current site and builds a free demo that shows the proposed improvements – a structure that is easier to find in search and clearer service pages – as real screens on your computer and phone. You see what the work looks like first, then decide.

The process is free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally, from analysis and page edits to improvements after launch, so what is proposed is exactly what gets built. Everything runs by message in Japanese or English, and Search Console, GA4 and your domain stay in your name.