In order to consistently communicate on Henkel Adhesive Technologies, we rely on some basic rules for writing. Consistently creating engaging content is only possible when we follow a common best practice for how to do things with intellectual property, words, digits, punctuation, SEO, and other areas.
Intro:
Different countries have different rules regarding trademark symbols: in some countries, it is illegal (and in a few countries, criminal) to use the ® symbol if the mark is not registered in that country; in others, we cannot use the TM symbol unless we have a pending application in that country. In the US, notice of trademark rights is required in order to obtain damages in an infringement suit. But in other countries (such as Germany), there is no legal benefit. Other countries fall somewhere in between. In Japan, the use of Registered Trade Marks (®) and Trade Marks (™) symbols is optional. While there is no legal obligation to include these symbols, they are commonly used to indicate the status of a mark—registered or unregistered. Using these symbols can be beneficial as they provide clear indications of a trademark’s status to the public and potential infringers.
® symbol
A. For products and materials distributed only in the US, the ® symbol should be used with ALL marks that are registered (not just pending) in the US. If you are unsure if a particular mark is currently registered, please contact the TM Department.
B. For non-US and global products and materials:
- We know that LOCTITE® AQUENCE®, BONDERITE®, TECHNOMELT® and TEROSON® are registered in the countries in which we do business. Therefore, we always use the ® symbol with these marks.
- This refers to PRITT® and PATTEX® for non-US purposes as well. For US use please contact the TM Department.
- For all other trademarks, we say: 「ここで使用されているすべてのマークは、米国、ドイツ、その他の諸国におけるヘンケルおよび関連会社の商標および/または登録商標です。」
™ symbol
- As a general rule, we do NOT use the ™ symbol.
- The sole exception is in the US only, where we traditionally add the ™ symbol next to the LOCTITE product numbers (for example, LOCTITE® 690™). Note, however, that certain product numbers (namely, 242 and 404) are ALSO registered trademarks, so should get the ® instead of the ™.
How to use
1. ® symbol should be used in:
- headlines, titles, and other prominent uses, and
- the first time the trademark is used in normal text
2. All trademarks should be shown in a way that distinguishes them from the surrounding text – if the trademark is spelled in English, keep it as is and use the same format (ALL CAPS or italic), but if the trademark is spelled in Japanese, use bold to differentiate.
LOCTITE ねじゆるみ止め
Loctite ねじゆるみ止め
3. Use descriptors. Brand names should always be used as adjectives, not nouns. To avoid the mark losing its distinctiveness, always use a descriptor (e.g., LOCTITE 接着剤).
GAP PAD® サーマルインターフェース材料
GAP PAD® ブランドのパッド
4. Trademarks should refer to the product, not the business.
3rd party brands
Always check with the TM Department before using another company’s trademarks - particularly those of our customers and competitors. You need to be sure we are actually referring to a 3rd party’s product rather than our own, and that the use will not open us up to liability. Also, there may be specific contractual requirements we have to meet with respect to disclosure or TM usage.
Use “Henkel” [「ヘンケル」] only to explicitly refer to the Henkel company with all its businesses (i.e., not only the adhesives’ business).
Use “Henkel” [「ヘンケル」] only to explicitly refer to the Henkel company with all its businesses (i.e., not only the adhesives’ business).
Don’t use the abbreviation “HAT”: only use “Henkel Adhesive Technologies” [「ヘンケル アドヒーシブ テクノロジーズ」]
Use “Henkel Adhesive Technologies” [「ヘンケル アドヒーシブ テクノロジーズ」] in the 1st mention, then turn to “弊社”
a. Abbreviations and acronyms
If there’s a chance your reader won’t recognize an abbreviation or acronym, spell it out the first time you mention it, providing the full Japanese term, followed by the English term and its abbreviation in parentheses, using a colon to separate them.
- First use: 技術データシート（Technical Data Sheet : TDS）
- Second use: TDS
- First use: 感圧接着剤 (Pressure Sensitive Adhesive : PSA)
- Second use: PSA
If the abbreviation or acronym is well known, like API or HTML, use it instead and don’t worry about spelling it out.
Never use the acronym “HAT”.
b. Ellipsis
In Japanese texts, use three half-width periods [...] for indicating the omission of words within a sentence. Do not use the 三点リーダー (…).
「最新のソンド工場の開業は […] インパクトのあるソリューションで […] エレクトロニクス業界における世界の幅広い顧客ベースにとって大きな出来事です 」とヘンケル アドヒーシブ テクノロジーズ Vice President ヤン-ダーク・アウリスは話しました。
c. Bold
We don’t use bold to amplify a certain message in regular body copy. For that purpose, you should take a step back and re-write your messaging to make it more engaging.
However, using typography as visual support for messaging in headlines is a central part of our branding efforts. Read on for more information about usage of typography. To distinguish a trademark spelled in Japanese from the surrounding text, use bold to differentiate the trademark.
d. &
“&” cannot be used to replace “と”/“および” (unless it is the official name of a brand)
a. Numbers
Use single-byte characters for numbers. Do not use multi-byte characters.
b. Dates
Always adhere to the Japanese date format.
c. Temperature
Use the degree symbol and the capital F abbreviation for Fahrenheit or capital C for Celsius:
d. Telephone numbers
Use dashes without spaces between numbers. Always use a country code:
e. Decimals and fractions
Spell out amounts less than one, using hyphens between the words.
When writing decimal numbers in Japanese, use a period (.) to separate the integer part from the decimal part, as in '3.14'. For large numbers, use a comma (,) to separate every three digits, starting from the right; for example, '1,000' or '100,000'. For expressing fractions, write the numerator and denominator as separate numbers with a space in between, followed by the kanji for 'parts' (分), such as '1 分の 2' for '1/2' or '3 分の 4' for '3/4'. Ensure that all numbers are written using Arabic numerals to maintain clarity in scientific and everyday contexts.
f. Percentage
Use figures and a single-byte percent sign (%) without a space.
g. Money
For numeric amounts in Japanese, always express the currency in Katakana following the number. For example, '1000CAD' should be written as '1000カナダドル'. This format ensures clarity and consistency in financial documents and related texts. As in: 「これは 445 万カナダドルの価値があります。」
h. Time
In Japan, the 24-hour clock is the standard format for displaying time to avoid confusion between morning and night. Always use this format without adding 'AM' or 'PM'. For example, express '7:00 PM' as '19:00'. Always use a single-byte colon without spaces for time notation.
Use a double-byte tilde “～” to indicate a time period between hours. For the Japanese market, employ the 24-hour clock format instead of using 'a.m.' and 'p.m. Always use a single-byte colon without spaces for time notation.
Always specify time zones.
a. Colons
Use a colon (rather than an ellipsis, em dash, or comma) to offset a list. As in:
「2021 年の発表のとおり、Loctite が ETEC Envision One プリンターで使用可能にした素材の一部は次のとおりです: Loctite 3D 3955 HDT280 FST、Loctite 3D IND406 HDT100 High Elongation、Loctite 3D IND402 A70 High Rebound。」
b. Periods
Titles, subtitles, headers and CTA buttons should end without a period.
Periods go inside quotation marks.
They go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside the parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.
c. Question marks
Always use double-byte question marks (？).Question marks go inside quotation marks if they’re part of the quote. Like periods, they go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside the parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.
d. Quotation marks
Use the Japanese square brackets 「 for opening and 」for closing quotations in Japanese text.
Periods and commas go within quotation marks. Question marks “「」” within quotes follow logic—if the question mark is part of the quotation, it goes within. If you’re asking a question that ends with a quote, it goes outside the quote. Use Japanese double quotation marks “『』” for quotes within quotes.
e. Dashes & hyphens
Avoid using an em dash (—) in Japanese texts.
Use a hyphen (-) without spaces only for certain cases such as street number in address or phone number.
f. Exclamation marks
Use exclamation points sparingly, and never more than once at a time. They’re like high-fives: A well-timed one is great, but too many are annoying.
Exclamation points go inside quotation marks. Like periods and question marks, they go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.
Never use exclamation points in failure messages or alerts. When in doubt, avoid it.
g. Bullet points
Choose formatting based on the average length of the majority of bullet points in the list.
- CASE A) If sentences, end each one with a period (full stop).
- CASE B) If just one word, a few words or fragments, use no end punctuation.
a. URL naming
- Keep URLs as simple and accurate as possible.
- Keep URLs short and clear.
- Include target keyword(s).
- Use hyphens to separate words.
- Use lower case letters.
- Avoid numbers.
b. Page title
- Include target keyword(s) in the beginning of the title.
- Use active language (CTA/Feature).
- Use the brand name.
- Use how, what, why and where.
- Use words that trigger an emotion from the user.
- Keep length between 55-65 characters.
- Keep consistency between SEO title and page content.
- Use a unique SEO title for each page.
- Avoid ALL CAPS in SEO titles.
c. Meta description
- Create a unique meta description, for each page, that summarizes the page content.
- Include target keyword(s).
- Include CTA and brand name.
- Keep the length less than 155 characters.
d. Image filename and alt text
- Make image filename short and without spaces and dashes.
- Describe the image with a maximum of 125 characters.
- Select image alt text that reflects the image and keywords.
- Make image filename short and descriptive. Use only hyphens to separate words.
- Assign for each image a unique filename.
- Use unique images.
- Include for each images a specific alt text.
- Write a descriptive alt text (imagine having to describe the photo to a blind person).
- Keep the alt text length up to 100 characters.
e. Header tags
- If possible, include the target keyword in the H1 tag and secondary in H2 tag.
- Only include one H1 tag on the webpage, and it must be placed above any other heading tag.
- If using page H1 as SEO title, make sure to adapt it using active language when possible.
f. Links
1) Use descriptive keywords in anchor text. Anchor text is “descriptive” if it includes the exact match of the keyword you are targeting. For example: “弊社のねじゆるみ止め用接着剤をご覧ください” links to a page about threadlocking solution.
2) Use natural and relevant links
3) Type of links: in text vs buttons vs teasers vs images
Use links in buttons + teasers-links according to page-types’ and modules’ designs stated in the Website guidelines (Brand-Hub)
On top of the above, also use text-links – when natural – to help users and Google navigate the website at best
Do not link images
4) How many text-links:
do it, but not overdo it
less than 1 every 200 words
only when helpful for users, you can go above the limit of 5 per page
in the same page, do not iterate the same text-link (e.g., if in the same page you mention in text 3 times “ねじゆるみ止め用接着剤”, hyperlink “ねじゆるみ止め用接着剤” only once)
5) Same vs new tab:
a) open internal links in the same tab
b) open external links in a new tab
6) Follow or no-follow links:
internal links: always "follow"
external links: always check that the domain we link to is trustworthy. If not sure, “no-follow”
g. Body copy
- Cover different angles on the topic.
- Include branded and/or target keyword(s) within the first 100 words.
- Keep reuse of content to a minimum to avoid duplicate content.
- Include secondary and other long-tail keywords.
- Avoid keyword stuffing – you are writing to the user and not to a search engine.
- Content should match the user’s search intentions and be as in-depth and clarifying as possible
a. URLs
Capitalize the names of websites and web publications. Don’t italicize.
Avoid spelling out URLs, but when you need to, leave out http://www.
b. File extensions
When referring generally to a file extension type, use all uppercase without a period. Add a lowercase to make plural. As in: GIF, PDF, HTML, JPGs.
When referring to a specific file, the filename should be lowercase. As in: press_release_1.gif
c. Names and titles
The first time you mention a person in writing, refer to them by their first and last names. On all other mentions, refer to them by their first name.
d. States, Cities and Countries
Spell out city and state names. Don’t abbreviate city names.
All cities outside Japan should be accompanied by their country (and state, in the case of cities in the United States of America, as they may not be widely recognized.
On first mention of a country, write out the full name in Japanese. On second mention, the commonly accepted abbreviation is fine (欧州連合と EU、 英国と UK , etc.).
e. Schools
The first time you mention a school, college, or university in a piece of writing, refer to it by its full official name. On all other mentions, use its more common abbreviation.