Blog Optimization in Naver

Mark Kum | April 18, 2012

Universal search (blended search) has been one of the key features in the Korean search market even before Google introduced it in 2007. In the early stages of the Internet, there was a small group of trained people that could make a website. Naturally, there was not enough content shown on the web, particularly in the Korean language. I think it became a background of universal search in Korea, where different types of search results are displayed on the first page by categories such as web pages, directory listings, images, and videos. Relatively, the universal search gives users enough to feel rich content while displaying all kinds of search results on one big screen. It looks quite nice, but I’m not sure about the quality now.

Google universal search displays the search results seamlessly without distinction of web page or video, while Naver and local portal sites classify the search results by categories and the order of category is decided by keywords character. For example, if you search for “weather” in Google, there will be only web page results (of course, Google also recently enhanced the algorithm, so it will be different if you search with a local term like “weather seoul”), but Naver will bring you all weather information; not only geographical weather but also the latest weather from major newspapers and forecasts at once on the first page.

From one point of view, it is a very unique UI and there is no doubt it gives rich experience to users. It is the main reason that Korean netizens are unfamiliar with Google search results. However, if you’re a marketer, the situation is completely opposite to your intention. Because most top search results are occupied with the paid search section, there are only a few ways to be shown with natural search and the blog category will be the last key territory in Naver.

Let’s dive into how to optimize your blog in Naver (including other local portals).

1. Naver loves Naver Blog!

Before, starting a blog in Korea, you need to decide which blog channel is proper to your marketing strategy. I have tested with various blog channels and the conclusion is that Naver blog usually gets an advantage in search results in the Naver blog section. Of course, you can start any blog you want such as WordPress, Tistory, and Blogger, but you’ll learn that the Naver blog is much easier to get your visibility in Naver.

2. Real-time mode

The search results of the blog section in Naver are processed in real-time mode. Some people may doubt why real-time mode in search results is a problem. I believe that the quality of content is not the newest. Naver may show you fresh content everyday but you’ll find that it is hard to get what you exactly want because Naver just displays the lastest instead of the best results. Below is my test article to show the real-time mode in Naver and it only takes 10 to 15 minutes to get visibility in the top position.

3. Poor algorithm

The position of the blog section in universal search of Naver usually is placed higher than directory listing or web page results. And it’s not difficult to get on the first page if you can speak Korean and know some search algorithm. The below image is an interface of the Naver blog and four key components of title, body content, category, and tags decide the relevancy of content.

Title – Title plays an important role in the Naver blog like the title tag in web page, which appears at the top of your browser. It is very important to include your target keywords in the title space.
Body – The first part of body text in blog content will display as a snippet of Naver search result, so try to put some target keywords repeatedly. Unfortunately, the Naver algorithm is not as good as Google. Its mechanical algorithm can’t filter the spamming techniques like keyword stuffing now. But, you should know that some content related with popular or high competition keywords is manually reviewed by the Naver spam team. And if your content violates the rules of Naver, then your posting will disappear instantly.
Category – You can select your theme of each posting in the Naver blog. If your posting is unique and excellent to share with others, then you may get a chance to be visible on the Naver blog home page.
Tag – The tags in each posting are limited by 10 targeting keywords. If you can pick up some good target keywords that are related to the content, it will help you get more visibility in the Naver blog section.

Because the blog was almost the only way to get natural traffic in Naver except directory listings and the web page section, there was a time when it was naturally accepted to hire some power bloggers to increase their own brand awareness and promotion. But, after problems with blog postings, Naver slightly changed the algorithm anyway.

From a position of a marketer, the Korean online market is a strict and unfair market compared with Google. It’s like a zero-sum game; even now Google is also blamed for similar reasons when seen from the outside. I will discuss this in a later column about the paid search market in Korea.

Tags: Blogs, Google, Naver

About the Author

Mark Kum is search director at GroupM Korea. He formerly worked at EC21, a leading digital agency for the B2B sector in Korea. Before that, in iProspect Korea with an in-depth understanding of SEO/SEM and was involved with top Korean brands such as Samsung Printer, Samsung Camera, Samsung mobile, Hyundai Motor Company, and Samsung Tesco. Kum always returns great results with re-contract and retaining clients. Unlike other online marketers, his career is based on manufacturing that provided him a deep understanding in B2B marketing. Kum also gives profound insights to clients because he is not only a search marketer but his background includes global marketing and economics.

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