The SEO and AI search blog
Things I keep having to explain to teams launching in Korea. What I have checked in the field, conversations with people in the industry, and the retrospectives and strategy left over after a project ends.
Google gave readers a button to pick your site
Google Search now lets a reader mark your site as a preferred source. What the documentation promises, what it does not, and how to add the button properly.
Watch and read →Search in practice
Korea and Japan are not one search market
Two neighbours with completely different search maturity. What that means if you are planning an Asia rollout.
Watch and read →Why Korean product pages are invisible to search
Korean sites often render all their copy inside images. Why they do it, what crawlers see, and how to fix it without losing the design.
Watch and read →Long tail keywords in Korean
Why the biggest search volume is usually the wrong target in Korean, the four checks that come before it, and the real numbers behind the notes on this site.
Watch and read →Naver or Google in Korea, which one matters
Why a national market share number will not help you choose, and how to measure the split for your own buyers instead.
Watch and read →Relaunching your Korean site without losing search
A relaunch changes your URLs, not just your design. The five step order Google recommends, eight lines for the brief, and what to watch for two weeks after launch.
Watch and read →How to vet an SEO agency in Korea
The warning signs Google published, the eight questions to ask in a first meeting, and how much account access to hand over and when.
Watch and read →AI search and channels
Google gave readers a button to pick your site
Google Search now lets a reader mark your site as a preferred source. What the documentation promises, what it does not, and how to add the button properly.
Watch and read →When AI gets your brand wrong
A chatbot told voters a candidate had missed the ballot deadline in nine states. It was wrong for ten days. The same failure applies to any brand entering Korea.
Watch and read →When someone searches your name and finds someone else
Five people share my name in Korean. What I changed on my own site over a few months, what moved, and what still has not.
Watch and read →Why a hundred views can be enough on YouTube
A new channel took the top of a Korean YouTube search result in two months. What ranked it, why tags barely matter, and why a hundred views converted better than a hundred thousand.
Watch and read →SEO and GEO, which one comes first
What separates SEO, GEO, and AEO, why a single piece of structured data will not change your traffic, and the survey numbers behind treating GEO as a layer.
Watch and read →AI search is stacking on top of search
Gary Vaynerchuk called Gemini a guaranteed winner in AI search. The reasoning is more useful than the verdict, and it says something about where Korea stands.
Watch and read →Business and people
Korea's first international SEO conference
Why Korea had no SEO conference until now, who is speaking at Search SEOul, and what the organizer said when I asked whether it makes money.
Watch and read →Going where nobody planted a flag
Why entering a smaller market first can beat competing in a large one, the four checks before you commit, and how to read whether a market is even open to you.
Watch and read →Negotiation is playing the cards you already hold
How a FIFA licensed agent prepares for a negotiation. Map the range first, build the case on comparable numbers, get the agenda in writing, and use the meeting to sign.
Watch and read →Let us start with where you are stuck right now
If you are weighing up a move into Korea, send a note. Tell me about the company and where you are now, and I will look at where to start with you.
If it is too early to talk
What I check while working across Korea and other markets. How search moves here, what actually worked, what did not, and at least one thing worth trying after you read it.