Quick summary
- Naver is the most top search engine in Korea
- Naver is consulted for almost everything
- Familiarity and speed matter for Korean consumers
Search engines of choice in South Korea, the US and Japan
Every country has a certain preference when it comes to how they look up information they need. According to a statistic by Open Survey, Naver is the top search engine in Korea with 71.8 % of Koreans confirming that they use Naver frequently. A popular second choice with 52.1% of frequent users is YouTube. Google only makes it to the third place in the ranking and while it is still a well accepted choice with 33% of people saying they use it frequently, Naver clearly dominates in Korea.
In the US, Google clearly takes the cake with 58.8% of people using it frequently, while 31% of people in Japan only prefer it slightly to YouTube which comes in second with 28.3% of frequent users. In addition, the US also likes to consult Facebook and Japan quotes Yahoo as the third most popular search engine.
Naver does it all
Not only is Naver the most popular search engine in South Korea compared to others, it is also the go-to for almost any inquiry a Korean might have. Ranging from restaurants to discovering the location of a new pop-up store to knowledge questions or the news, Koreans almost always consult Naver first. The only other search engine to cover the search for content is YouTube coming in 6th place among the most popular topics.
Americans very clearly favor Google for all searches and all topics, while Japan also adds Yahoo to the mix. While searches in America are highly concentrated on Google, Koreans very clearly prefer Naver over anything, making it the top search engine in Korea in almost all areas of life.
The secret behind Naver’s success as top search engine in Korea
According to Open Survey, Koreans value familiarity and speed when deciding on a search engine, and Naver delivers just that. Results appear quickly while also including other people’s reactions, therefore offering a variety of different perspectives on one click. Naver is well established and has successfully maintained its status as the top search engine in Korea.
While Japan applies the same criteria, it finds them in Yahoo, while the US favors Google for its reliability and convenience, being able to use it from any device.
Conclusion
Naver is a great addition for any brand looking to appeal to the Korean market. The platform is very popular, and it is people’s first choice for almost any topic in life. Brands can therefore reach a large audience on a locally trusted and preferred platform by leveraging the top search engine in Korea, Naver, with other platforms like Google and YouTube.
If you would like to find out more about how to use Naver for your specific marketing needs, Waterbe can help you build the bridge in combining its knowledge and familiarity with Korean preferences with your marketing goals and brand values. Contact us for more insight into the Korean market, while also profiting from our experience of establishing brands successfully in a Korean marketing environment to unlock your full potential.
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