Chinese Internet Usage

The Chinese online marketplace has quickly grown into a place that, to Western eyes, really is a different world.

Here's our quick lowdown on China's new Internet landscape.

Market Overview

The Chinese search engine market, now estimated to be worth over $1.5 billion, continues to grow at a phenomenal rate. From 2006 to 2010, it is expected to see a compound annual growth in excess of 30%.

The potential for this growth lies in percentage of China's population currently using the Internet – just over 10% compared to the 68% of people using the Internet in the United States. The Chinese Internet market is still relatively young, and as the rest of the nation starts to get online, the size of its search market is set to rocket.

Contrary to popular belief, Chinese Internet users aren't just searching for MP3s and playing online games. Over the next five years, the number of businesses launching their advertisements through Chinese search engines is predicted to increase at a rate of 17% annually.

The reason for this move? Online spending in China is finally starting to take hold. Chinese Internet users spent over $35 million online in 2006; an increase of almost 50% from 2005. Forthcoming events in China, such as the Beijing 2008 Olympics will further increase levels of online promotion and attract even more advertisement opportunities.

Search Engine Market Share

Google is the search engine of choice for most of the planet, the undisputed number one and by far the most important place to rank if you want to mChina Search Engine Market Shareaximise your website traffic.

In China the situation is a little different. Here, homegrown favourite Baidu reigns supreme, with Google a distant second. Baidu’s dominance in China is equivalent to that which Google enjoys in the West, with a market share of around 65%. In the wake of Baidu's success, Google (20%) has made limited impact and other search providers (15%) including Yahoo, Sohu and Sogou make up the rest of the market.

Baidu.com

As it is so widely used in China, ranking highly on Baidu is a must for any websites targeting Chinese users. You should be aware of the following:

  • Baidu's search results, unlike Google's, mix paid (or sponsored) results in with organic listings. This means it is essentially possible to pay your way to the top for your keywords on Baidu. For Chinese users, this is perfectly normal, with the general opinion being 'If they're willing to pay for the clicks they must be offering something worthwhile.'
  • Even if you choose to pay for high ranking in Baidu, natural search engine optimisation is still important. This is because your natural ranking is part of the formula that determines just how much you will need to pay.
  • Baidu also offers a separate sponsored listing, similar to that of Google.com, with spaces that can be rented for a given period. As these listings are not well regarded by users and are frequently ignored (again, similar to Google.com), these listings do not form part of the Backbone IT Group China Search Marketing service.
  • As you might expect, Baidu is particularly China-centric. To rank highly on Baidu a website needs to be in the Chinese language and hosted inside China.

Find out more about the importance of hosting in China or contact us now and speak to a member of our team about our China Search Marketing service.

The Chinese search market is set to continue its rapid growth during the next decade as it catches up to Western markets.

As Internet usage becomes more prevalent in China's increasingly wealthy population, business opportunities for Western companies are appearing fast.

Backbone IT Group are a UK company with a wholly-owned Chinese office established in 2004. Our extensive knowledge of the Chinese search market is now helping our customers make the most of these opportunities.

Our unique China Search Marketing service includes everything your business needs to target the online Chinese market; from an ICP licence and hosting to a Chinese language website and local optimisation.

If you would like to find out more about the service just complete our enquiry form:

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Last Updated : 14th May 2008

 
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