JapanDesk

Sample audit

This is a sample audit of "Bookly," a fictional scheduling SaaS we created to show you exactly what you'd receive. Real audits are, of course, about your actual page.

  1. 1.

    Your headline is translated, not written.

    Bookly's Japanese headline says 「予約をシンプルに」— a literal translation of "Scheduling, simplified." It's grammatically fine and completely forgettable. Japanese SaaS headlines that convert lead with the outcome and the pain, not the product category.

    Direction: rewrite around the no-show problem — e.g. 「無断キャンセルを、仕組みで減らす」.

  2. 2.

    "Free trial" reads riskier than it should.

    The CTA says 「無料トライアル」 with no reassurance around it. Japanese users famously hesitate at sign-up forms: no mention of クレジットカード不要 (no credit card required) means many assume the opposite.

    Direction: add the two magic words under the button.

  3. 3.

    Your pricing page hides the yen.

    Prices are shown in USD only. Beyond the mental conversion tax, USD pricing signals "we don't really operate here" — and makes expense approval harder inside Japanese companies.

    Direction: show JPY (even approximate, clearly marked), and mention whether tax is included — 税込/税別 ambiguity is a real trust issue.

  4. 4.

    No social proof a Japanese visitor can recognize.

    The testimonials are all from US companies. To a Japanese visitor, this reads as "no one here uses this."

    Direction: until you have Japanese customers, use recognizable proxies — user counts, industry categories, or a 日本語サポート対応 badge — rather than untranslated US quotes.

  5. 5.

    Your support promise is invisible.

    Nowhere does the page say what happens after purchase in Japanese. Japanese buyers weigh support heavily before subscribing — silence reads as "English-only support."

    Direction: one line about response times and Japanese-language docs (even if machine-assisted with human review) measurably lowers the hurdle.

That's the format: five concrete issues, each with a direction you can act on.

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