In May, Search Engine Watch asked me to write an article on alternatives to Google . This research was illuminating. It gave me another perspective on the research sector in the global context and how it varies from market to market.
This sparked a slew of other - in-depth posts that helped me speculate on how search - even under Google - might evolve over the next few years. . My article on Ecosia looked at the environmental cost of digital activity and suggested that we may see research officials working to be more transparent about the ecological ramifications of everyday internet activities up to 'to individual research. An article on DuckDuckGo celebrated the research tool that puts user privacy before salable ad data - un USP which is more valuable as the growing number of Internet users are fed up with spooky online tracking and privacy breaches.
Today we turn to Baidu - China's leading search engine.
The 'Google of China 'According to Alexa , Baidu is the world's fourth most popular website (behind Google, YouTube and Facebook). StatCounter says it currently reaches around 70% of search engine users in its home country. That 'sa whoppi ng 448 million people if we base the number of users on the latest CNNIC report .
Baidu has many similarities with Google. He dates back to the 1990s, offers a range of digital products, and is currently the leader in the development of AI and self-driving cars. Butarguably, while Google dominates search in the west and looks likely to continue to do so for a while, Baidu's dominance in China in 2018 seemed a bit less stable.
Let's see why.
China is mobile
At the end of 2017, there were 772 million internet users in China according to CNNIC. To give us a European perspective, it is more than our whole continent. For the American public, this is about double the number of Internet users in North America.
The really important fact, however, is that Internet use in China is massively mobile. Once again, CNNIC reports that 97.5% of Chinese internet users connect through mobile devices.
It is in the mobile context that most research takes place in China and, above all, growth isstill significant. Between December 2016 and December 2017, the number of mobile search users increased 8.5% to 624 million people.
Baidu loses share
Baidu benefits from mobile search offering, but a number of new companies have entered and disrupted the market these last years. Not surprisingly, this resulted in a loss of Baidu's share.
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Since August 2016, Baidu's mobile search share has increased from 87% to 69%. Other well-established national search engines, Sogou and Haosou, are having an impact. B Major Part of this land grab was won by Shenma, a newcomer to the research scene in China. Since its inception in 2014, it has grown to represent 21% of the market.
Shenma : China "mobile only " search option
Shenma's unique selling point is that it is only available on mobile. But the companies that are at the origin of the tool are certainnt very visible on Chinese desktops and laptops. Alibaba is the umbrella conglomerate under which brands such as Taobao and AliPay sit, while UCWeb is the internet company that owns UC Browser, the world's third largest browser.
The influence of the two parent companies of Shenma is quite evident when we start to look at the functionality of the service. First, the tool is very focused on shopping , with app purchases being as important to the model as physical products, along with local search and a unique 'new search' for users who like to read books on their devices.
Shenma was also able to take advantage of the market presence of UC Browser - the search engine included in its mobile offering - and partly explains the success of the ia company facing such tough competition.
Can Baidu respond to Shenma's progress?
Although Shenma still lags behind Baidu in terms of search sharing, it is clearly doing something right by providing a service tailored precisely to the needs of the Chinese mobile audience, and its growth. is the proof. In order to answer, Baidu may need to do more to reverse-engineer its already well-established research tool to be even more mobile-centric. In other words, to make it less desktop and more research-oriented on the go and the capabilities of the mobile devices themselves.
In a way, it does. Recent news from the company's Baidu Video branch saw a new wave of investments totaling $ 100 million. In light of this increase in funding, one of the goals now is to make the company the most successful.rand provider of professionally generated video content (PGC) in China. Another goal is to develop its short video services, which will see it more appealing to viewers who watch this content on mobile devices.
Is Google ready to come back into the fray as well?
Shenma isn 't the only threat to Baidu ' s grip on the Chinese mobile search market. Google has spent 2018 negotiating with key digital companies based in the country, including a patent cross-licensing agreement with Tencent (owners of QQ and WeChat) and a partnership with e-commerce company JD.com.
These deals predated the very recent announcement that Google is also preparing to launch a mobile-centric search platform in China that links mobile phone numbers to search terms and plans to comply with the country's strict censorship laws. Despite criticism leveled at the company from some corners, a Weibo poll indicates that there is a good appetite among the majority of Chinese internet users for Google to enter the market since the search giant was banned in 2010.
Perhaps Google will come back to China with their new partnerships, their mobile-specific tool and their Already leader in mobile web browsers (Chrome is the most popular in the country, as in the world), Baidu has little choice but to look elsewhere in their development and evolution. Its plan to push its video offer may suggest it. Mobile video is also a growing sector in China - and their position in this vertical sector could be stronger.
Another theory might just be that Baidu is waiting for Google to come back to see how this affects the home search market as a whole. After all, it is probabThe next yes R or two won't be easy for Shenma either if Google's mobile search platform comes along and disrupts the market again. One thing is certain, however: mobile research in China is fascinating - and I think it could take surprising turns in the not too distant future.
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