Japan SEO Content Specialist

About this role

About the Group/Team

The International SEO team sits within Canva’s Growth SuperGroup and plays a critical role in helping users across the globe discover Canva through search. We work across markets, languages, and content surfaces—from templates to landing pages—driving both top-of-funnel growth and long-term user value. Our team thrives on combining craft excellence with systems thinking, making SEO a force multiplier for international impact. About the role

As Canva scales, change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that's all part of the fun. So this will give you the flavor of the type of things you'll be working on when you start, but this will likely evolve. Canva's SEO is world-class, and we're looking for a passionate SEO Content Specialist to join the International SEO team to help scale our next phase of growth in Japan! This is a 12-month contract role, starting at 20 hours per week, with the option to scale up to 40 hours per week. The SEO Content Specialist will work closely with the Japan SEO Lead and local team. The role of an SEO Content Specialist is to create and manage engaging, SEO-optimized copy and content that informs, inspires, and converts local audiences. As an SEO Content Specialist, you will provide initiative, direction, and support to create helpful and culturally relevant content for users in the Japan market. You are a native Japanese speaker with proficient reading and writing skills in English, and having conversational English abilities is a nice to have. Canva is a fast-growing, mission-driven company, and we're looking for talented people who want to contribute to something meaningful. If you're excited about the opportunity to make an impact, show us what you've got—strong performers in this role have significant opportunities to grow with us. About the team The International SEO team is responsible for improving SEO performance of logged-out pages across the Canva website. Our mission in SEO is to empower every user in the world to discover Canva. We're a global team of specialists spanning keyword research, technical SEO, content strategy, outreach, engineering, data analytics, design, and operations. We work across many regions and languages, combining proven frameworks with deep local market expertise. What you’ll do (responsibilities) Content Creation & Optimization

Champion content requirements for landing pages and blog articles, supporting the development of long-term content strategy by maintaining an up-to-date editorial calendar and publishing plan

Create and edit SEO-optimized, engaging content about various design topics that align with the SEO team's content strategy and resonate with local audiences

Upload and publish content that follows the latest SEO best practices and fits our local tone of voice (as defined by our language managers)

Regularly track and optimize landing pages to maintain freshness, improve content credibility, and enhance user engagement

Maintain a high level of quality and consistency in alignment with Canva's brand guidelines

Provide feedback on content management systems, translation quality, and page layout to continuously improve efficiency and quality

Collaboration & Strategic Partnership

Work closely with the wider Japan SEO team to align on goals, priorities, and SEO best practices that drive growth

Support broader SEO activities such as keyword research, competitor analysis, and collaboration with Outreach Specialists for content production

Collaborate with the country SEO team and broader marketing/community teams to ensure content strategy reflects local market dynamics and user needs

Contribute local market intelligence and user insights that inform content priorities and opportunity identification

Build relationships across functions to understand how your content work supports broader country initiatives

Navigating the Evolution of Search & Discovery

Stay curious about emerging search and discovery trends in your market—including how users find information through AI-powered platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews, etc.)

Understand where traditional SEO drives value versus where new channels and approaches may be more effective in your country

Stay up to date on GEO/AEO evolutions and next-generation optimization techniques

Be open to experimenting with new content formats and optimization approaches as the search landscape evolves

Share observations and learnings about how users in your market discover content, contributing to our global understanding of emerging trends

What we're looking for Core Skills & Experience

Native or near-native proficiency in Japanese with business-level English

Proven experience in SEO content writing and/or content marketing, with a portfolio demonstrating successful outcomes (minimum of 3 years of SEO experience required)

Strong copywriting and copy editing skills, including experience giving constructive feedback to other writers

Experience with editorial planning and publishing content in a CMS (content management system)

Solid understanding of SEO fundamentals: keyword optimization, content structure, user intent, and how content fits within broader SEO strategy

Familiarity with SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or similar platforms (bonus!)

Experience using web analytics tools to understand how users engage with content and to measure content performance

High attention to detail with the ability to closely follow detailed written instructions and maintain quality standards

Strong time management: Ability to self-manage capacity, meet project deadlines, and balance multiple priorities

Experience in creating landing page assets

Cultural & Market Intelligence

Deep understanding of local cultural and linguistic nuances that goes beyond language fluency—you know what resonates with audiences in your market

Appreciation of local writing trends and content preferences, ensuring content feels native…