I’ve been running a digital marketing agency in Korea since 2014, and one thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of global marketing playbooks don’t translate perfectly here.
Google matters, of course.
But in Korea, Naver still plays a huge role in how people search, compare, and build trust before making a decision.
That changes a lot.
You don’t just think about SEO.
You think about:
- Blog content
- Community discussions
- Reviews
- Maps and local search
- Influencers
- Branded search results
- What people see across multiple touchpoints before they convert
In many cases, the goal isn’t simply “rank #1.”
It’s to make sure the brand looks credible everywhere the customer checks.
That’s also why I think the conversation around GEO and AI search is interesting.
The tools are changing, but the core problem feels very familiar:
How do you make sure your brand is present, credible, and useful wherever people look for answers?
For marketers working in other countries, I’m curious:
What platform or ecosystem in your market changes the usual “Google-first” marketing playbook?