Recently, I began noticing a gradual rise in overseas traffic on ZIDOOKA!, especially from English-speaking regions. Although my site is primarily written in Japanese, the English technical posts I have published over the past weeks are now showing clear traction. This article summarizes what happened and why the numbers point to a positive direction.
Why Overseas Traffic Started Growing
In my case, I published several English posts focused on technical errors—mainly Vercel deployment failures, API key configuration issues, and Next.js build errors. These topics have significantly higher search volume in the English-speaking world.
Because of this, Google appears to have started “international test distribution” of my content, exposing my pages to small groups of users in multiple countries.
What the GA4 Data Revealed
The December data in GA4 showed that the United States accounted for over 5% of active users. Engagement metrics were also healthy: Belgium and Sweden recorded engagement rates around 50%, meaning that users actually read the articles rather than bouncing immediately.
This pattern is typical when Google evaluates the quality of new English pages. If the performance is acceptable, Google gradually expands the exposure to a broader audience.
What to Expect Moving Forward
As more English content accumulates—10 posts, 20 posts, and beyond—the international discoverability of the site naturally improves. Technical troubleshooting content tends to attract global readers, regardless of the site’s primary language.
In my case, the data strongly indicates that the site has entered the early stage of global SEO growth. Even small numbers at this phase are meaningful signals of upward momentum.
Conclusion
Publishing English articles can increase overseas traffic even on a Japanese-oriented website. The recent GA4 results clearly show that my own site has entered the “international testing” phase, and continued posting is likely to amplify this effect.
I hope this practical report helps others who wish to expand their reach to global audiences.
