There has been quite a difference between the concept of SEO in the global as Google and the concept of Search Engine Optimization for Naver world in Korea. Unlike Google, it basically shows most search results mainly on external web pages as search engine while in the case of Naver, it mainly shows content which generated by users within the platform that Naver created itself rather than results from external websites. The most representative NAVER owned platform includes Naver Blog, Naver Cafe, Naver Shopping, Naver Webtoon, Naver Place and Knowledge in(Q&A). In Korea's early Internet environment, it was difficult to show properly prepared content except for news publishers. So unlike Google which could show a variety of search results with web page-oriented content alone, In the case of Naver, it is true that it showed relatively abundant search results by exposing various search results such as web pages, images, dictionaries, and latest news all at once in one page to compensate for relatively poor search results from external source. However, in this approach of NAVER, rather than distributing traffic to the outside of publishers as a search engine, the search results are exposed mainly on Naver's internal platform, making the visibility of web page and search algorithms relatively neglected. It was not until late 2010 that web page search results and algorithms began to be reorganized in NAVER. At the end of 2017, Naver officially announced a change of the existing web page results, and since then, it has been showing the search results of web pages that are somewhat equivalent to Google Web Master guidelines through rapid response.
First of all, Google shows about 10 search results in first page by each query but Naver basically displays 3-4 times much longer search results than Google on one page. Naver takes a unique way to show search results in block units by dividing them into categories such as paid search, Naver Shopping, NAVER blog, News, NAVER café and webpage results. This search results of design were not actually intended by Naver, but it is true that it was far ahead of Google's introduction in 2007 as universal results. Of course, in the case of mobile results, the number of listings exposed by category is relatively smaller than that of desktop, perhaps because it is thought to be different from the experience of desktop. Because of this, paid search in mobile device is much higher competition rather than the paid listing in desktop device. Compared to the past, web page-based search results are exposed more naturally, so it is true that the percentage of natural search traffic into websites has increased. However, it is still difficult to expect sufficient organic search traffic with site optimization alone, considering that the placement of the web page results exposed for each keyword are different, and also the web page is relatively exposed at the bottom of Naver search results compared to Naver owned platforms such as Naver blog.
The biggest barrier that global clients have when asking a lot about SEO in Korea is that they can't get away the concept of their owned website. Now through website optimization, we can get a certain level of organic search traffic that can be expected compared to the past in Naver but still the position of web pages exposed in search results is relatively low in Naver search results, it is difficult to achieve natural search traffic as much as in the Google environment with SEO only.Therefore, an approach to search optimization in Korea absolutely starting from the perspective of an integrated search strategy. It will be change of idea further more later to digital marketer in Korea but Naver SEO is equally meaning to Naver Blog optimization for a long time. Naver Blog is a service launched in 2003. According to Naver, the number of Naver Blog accounts created by 2022 will reach 32 million, which is close to 60-70% of the Korean population. Naver Blogs were in charge of the most important axis of Korean Internet content until Youtube fast growing in recent years, and it is true that most organic search clicks led to Naver Blogs not a website, excluding search ads from Naver search results.
There is no significant difference in the Naver SEO comparing to Google optimization, but the most important thing to consider before search engine optimization for Naver search results is whether your owned content provided in Korean is enough for NAVER SEO or not. Of course, this is content part only and it does not apply equally because it varies by your industry and category. If the number of web pages localized in Korean is not large, it may be difficult to achieve satisfied results simply by relying on technical elements only. Of course, if your website that sells only 1-2 limited products, which is a new category of products, the weight of content may not be a significant issue. We also see that some of website in vertical sector need just one or two targeting keywords as head terms which are key of success in SEO. Conversely, if the global website has a vast amount of content and the Korean site is poor with lack of content, prioritizing the existing English content in the concept of content optimization with localizing it then spreading it through Naver Blog is a shortcut to achieving search results faster. Most of these cases are appropriate even if there is no Korean site, and as owned media channel, it can deliver excellent appropriate content to potential customers. For a global e-commerce, website optimization will be helpful just translating with basic menus or product item. In particular, most of e-commerce key keywords must compete with paid search listing or high competition with Naver bloggers. So, in this case, it may be more appropriate to take a long-tail keywords approach through website optimization. On the other hand, in the case of B2B, there are relatively few bloggers who can provide specialized information, so you can expect much better results than paid search advertising or website optimization simply by spreading well-organized Korean content through Naver blogs as your owned official channel. From the role of search marketing, understanding potential customer’s search behavior and providing optimized content in Naver search results is the key to success in achieving meaningful results from intensifying competition in search rankings rather than technically sticking to your websites.
Naver first launched Naver Webmaster Tools which is similar to Google Webmaster Tools in June 2014 but it shows poor and limited function at that moment. Later in 2015, Naver introduced additional features for the web and apps as well as the ability to add owned social channels for branded sites. In October 2019, Naver Webmaster Tool was rebranded as Naver Search Advisor same as Google Webmaster Tool into Google Search Console then new features and general SEO guidelines are being quickly updated.In order to be exposed in Naver web search results, it is necessary to register your website through Naver Search Advisor and through this process, you can get your website to web page results quickly. However, global brands may face unexpected difficulties in site registration because of site submission level is limited to domain level. In case of global sites, they are divided into directory structure by language or country targeting. Since global sites cannot be registered individually, they can only be registered by top-level domain such as www.example.com instead of www.example.com/ko/. For multiple language of global sites which composed of subdirectories, it is now only one top-level domain can be available. The most interesting part is that updated in 2017, Naver Webmaster Tools show on external links in their dashboard. It is figured that Naver quickly introduced the external link as their one of algorithm as Google's PageRank patent expired in 2017. Unlike Google, Naver is seems to be relatively generous of external links. In particular, it seems that Naver blog links are also regarded as an important link for their algorithm.
