According to a report released by iResearch last week, China search engine market Q2 sales increased to 2.64 billion yuan (US$389m). Baidu’s market share increased by 3% to 70.8%.

Search queries on Baidu also increased by 2.1% to 78.2% while search queries on Google dropped by 2.3% to 14.4%.

In China, the second quarter is the time when holiday is over and students go back to school; also with growing acceptance of Baidu’s phoenix nest system, it makes sense to see the Baidu’s market share has exceeded seventy percent.

Also read::China Search Engine Market Report 2009

Baidu launched handwriting input on Baidu search not long ago this month. Searchers can use mouse to “hand write” search queries. The technology is obviously provided by Hanwang, a company specializing in handwriting recognition technology.

Also read::Baidu Adds Handwriting Support for The Senior

Yahoo has enhanced search suggestion in Web search for Yahoo! Taiwan (Yahoo! Kimo) and Yahoo! Hong Kong. This feature helps users easily enter queries in traditional Chinese in the search box using Changjie and Cantonese Pinyin, which are language input systems used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, respectively.

For example, to search for “Shanghai World’s Fair,” searchers can start typing the Cantonese spelling of the query while in English mode and see search suggestion in traditional Chinese.

Source: Yahoo Search Blog

Also read::Active Facebook Users in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong

Click on the image above for Complete Screenshot with Annotations

Baidu Map has launched a very interesting section to show real time search results on the map.

Called “Post Bar Map”, it’s hosted on say.map.baidu.com, latest posts from i Post Bar (Baidu’s twitter like product) related to the search keyword will keep popping up on different locations of the map (user locations).

Also read::Baidu Post Bar Updated with Twitter Features

Baidu is going to launch its paid search desktop editor on Jan 26, 2010. Its official name for the editor is “Baidu Promote Assistant“.

The Baidu PPC Editor looks a lot like the Google AdWords Editor including the following features:

• Multiple accounts management
• Quick navigations with filter and advanced search abilities
• Mass create, edit, and copy keywords and ad copies
• Identify duplicate keywords
• Detailed information about keywords and ad copies status
• Auto updates

Take a closer look at the window of “adding a new campaign” as an example how similar it looks like AdWords Editor:

Add New Campaign in Baidu PPC Editor

Baidu PPC Editor allows users to update campaign settings including campaign name, campaign status, daily budget, ad copy display option, day parting setting, geo-targeting, negative keywords, and IP address filtering.

According to my source at Baidu, the software was developed by AdSage,  a software product and service company specialized in online advertising business based in Beijing. It requires .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

Baidu Editor

Also read::Be A Baidu Wikipedia “Authority Editor” for Branding and SEO Benefit

Yesterday evening, Baidu homepage was found updated with two more links.

Baidu Old Homepage

The new homepage has two links added, one link to “baidu map” above the search box and one link to “baidu baike (wikipedia)” below the search box:

Baidu New Homepage

Are more links coming to the homepage? What if Google does pull out of China?

Also read::Baidu MP3 Homepage Updated

Google this morning issued a statement regarding a “big decision” about Google China operation,

We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

Just minutes ago, a friend in China sent me a link that indicates Google.cn is no longer censored:

I’m wondering how much longer Google.cn can stay accessible in China.

Also read::Google.cn stopping to redirect to HK with a deceptive landing page

An article at cnBeta.com earlier this week shared (link broken) a screen capture of a new Baidu search interface, which is similar to Google’s:

Baidu could be testing this new UI among a small group of searchers as no one else yet has reported similar UI.

Also read::Baidu Launching Baidu 123 for Senior Citizens

Baidu has a page life.baidu.com showing different types of search services such as hotel search, stock info, mobile phone info, calendar search…

One of the tool shown on the page is translation where Baidu simply embeds Google Translate box. Is Baidu too generous to its competitor? Or, is it desperate for a translator tool?

Also read::Baidu Launching Baidu 123 for Senior Citizens

Chaoyang district court in Beijing ruled that Evercare (Chinese name: Yi Mei Er) and Baidu engaged in unfair competition and ordered them to pay over 130,000 yuan for damages to Shisanba Co.

Evercare beauty salon started paid search advertising on Baidu on August 15, 2007. Evercare started bidding on its competitor’s brand name “Shisanba” on April 17, 2009 and used “Shisanba” as headline of its PPC ad copy, which of course directs people whoever clicks on the ad to Evercare’s own website.

The court thinks Evercare bid on a well-known beauty salon’s brand name “Shisanba” and purposely misled visitors to its own websites, which constitutes unfair competition. And, Baidu helped the act and should share the liability.

I suggest you not bid on competitor keywords or use competitor’s brand in your ad copies. If you are doing both, you could be in trouble especially when your competitor is well known.

Also read::Top 10 Keywords in China 2009: Baidu V.S. Google

Top Keywords 2009 Baidu (left) V.S. Google

Baidu recently launched its popular searches list for year 2009; half of its top 10 keywords also appeared in Google China’s Top 10 keywords. The five keywords are:

1. Kaixin001
2. qq
3. Youku
4. Xiaonei
5. taobao

The other five keywords in Baidu’s top search 2009 list are:

• NBA (game)
• DNF
• novel
• xunlei (download manager and bittorrent client)
• 51mole.com (social network for kids)

And the other five keywords on Google China’s top search 2009 list are: baidu, uusee, 163, tudou, sina. All top 10 Google keywords are brand terms.

Also read::Baidu to Pay Damages for Allowing Competitor Keywords for PPC

Let’s take a look at Google Zeitgeist 2009 for China.

The Most Popular

1. Baidu
2. uusee
3. Taobao
4. Kaixin001
5. YouKu
6. xiaonei (now “renren”)
7. qq
8. 163
9. tudou
10. Sina

The Most Asked “What is…”

1. wifi
2. erp
3. twitter
4. 3g
5. facebook
6. skype
7. vpn
8. sushi
9. happiness
10. sap

You can find the complete list at Google Zeitgeist (Chinese).

Also read::Top 10 Keywords in China 2009: Baidu V.S. Google

Chinese e-commerce research company, CIC (China IntelliConsulting), just released their report on China search engine market share:

1. Baidu: 69.9%
2. Google: 19.8%
3. Sogou (part of Sohu): 3.5%
4. Soso (part of Tencent): 3.3%
5. Others: 3.5%

The report shows, Google’s market share dropped slightly by 0.4%; and, its market share in tier-1 cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou) and Shenzhen has dropped by 0.9% to 25.4%. However, Google’s market share in central provincial capital cities and western central cities has increased by 2% and 0.9% respectively.

CIC (Chinese)

Also read::Online Advertising Market Share of Top 4 China Web Portals

Some users spotted Baidu music player while searching for songs over the last weekend:

Baidu Music Search Result

Searchers can play the song directly in the SERP. The music player doesn’t always show up when I tested.

This function is powered by Baidu’s Open Search Platform as indicated below the music player.

Also read::Baidu Quietly Launched Search Open Platform for Webmasters and Developers

Sogou just launched a cloud pinyin input application enabling anyone to type Chinese inside browsers without any software installations.

Sogou Cloud Pinyin input is based on JavaScript technology, Ajax, and cloud technology. Without any installation, one can input Chinese on any operation systems. It is compatible with all major browsers (IE, Sogou browser, Firefox).

Simply go to this page and then drag the icon (as the one shown above) to your status bar; click on it whenever you need Chinese input. The speed is not perfect, slower than desktop applications. And, it doesn’t work well in email when I tested.

This is a very innovative product from Sohu (whose search product is called Sogou if you don’t know) and it’ll further its Pinyin Input market share by penetrating to Mac and Linux users.

Also read::Baidu Added Handwriting Input for Search

Baidu’s third-quarter earnings jumped 42% (Q3 revenue about USD 187.3 million; net profit about USD 72.2 million) as it continued to gain traction with its new Phoenix Nest online-marketing system. However, Baidu’s updated its revenue projection for Q4 to $180 million, well below the $205 million expected by Wall Street.

Q4 projection is not a surprise to me as Baidu is switching all customers to Phoenix Nest from Dec 1, 2009, which is similar to Google’s AdWords. Currently, about 70% of Baidu customers are using Phoenix Nest system professional edition while a classic edition exists which is Baidu’s old keyword bidding system. As the new phoenix nest system will separate sponsored search results from natural search results, it would no doubt affect its Q4 earnings.

A recent Chinese government report predicted that Baidu’s dominance over Google will continue to grow because Baidu is more popular among new Internet users in the country, who often come from rural areas.

Mobile search is rising and Baidu is working hard to develop new mobile services. Last week, it announced a search deal with local carrier China Unicom.

Also read::China’s Q2 Search Market Exceeds 2.6 Billion Yuan

Baidu tried to segment the Chinese search market by launching Search for Senior Citizens this April. Today, it added a very useful handwriting feature to this site.

Handwriting Input on Baidu Seniors Search

This is very helpful to the seniors as many senior citizens in China find it difficult to type Chinese characters. This product is likely a collaboration effort between Baidu and Hanwang (shown as strategic partner in footer) who is famous for its handwriting device in China.

Also read::Baidu Launching Baidu 123 for Senior Citizens

Baidu Ad Manager

Baidu opens its Ad Manager for public testing today. Baidu Union (Baidu’s content network like AdSense) users can login and use this ad inventory management tool for free.

Key Features of Baidu Ad Manager

• Ad Placement Management. Systematic management of ad placement supporting fixed, pop-up, and floating windows.
• Revenue optimization. Optional ad placement with Baidu content ads.
• Targeted ad delivery. Nine ways of targeting: geographic, internet access type, dates, web browsers, browser languages, operating systems, monitor resolution, referrer domain, visiting URL targeting.
• Flexible Billing. Three ways of payment: by impressions, by clicks, and by days.
• Ad Hosting. Server storage support for text, images, flash, and rich media four formats.
• Reporting. Delivery reports, sales reports, resources reports three major categories with seven types of data reporting.

It looks a lot like Google Ad Manager. Bus still, Baidu’s shown its commitment in long term growth.

Also read::Baidu Quietly Launched Search Open Platform for Webmasters and Developers

CNNIC has released its latest search engine report showing that by the end of June 2009, the number of Chinese search engine users has reached 235 million with an increase of 59.49 million people, annual growth rate of 34%. The number will likely reach 260 million by the end of year 2009. Here is a summary of some interesting findings in China search engine market:

1. Main purpose of search engine uses: entertainment (especially music, over 39.5%)
2. Urban search engine users: 180 million
3. Rural search engine users: 55 million.
4. Mobile Internet users: 155 million
5. Mobile Search users: 40.74 million
6. Male search engine users v.s. female: 52.4 v.s. 47.6
7. Student search engine users: 37.1% (over 87 million)
8. Over 81.7% of students use search engines
9. 88.8% users search with more than one search engine
10. Among those who use only one search engine: 73.2% choose Baidu, 11% choose Google
11. 42.9% users’ monthly income are below 1,000 yuan; 27.3% between 1001 and 2000 yuan; 29.8% over 2000 yuan.

Search Engine Penetration Rate

1. Baidu: 92.9%
2. Google: 32.7%
3. Sogou: 26.9%
4. Yahoo: 22.0%
5. SoSo: 13.0%
6. Bing: 6.3%
7. Yodao: 5.1%

“First Choice” Market Share

1. Baidu: 77.2%
2. Google: 12.7%
3. SoSo: 3.1%
4. Sogou: 2.4% with 41.2% increase, the highest among all search engines
5. Yahoo: 1.6%

High-End Search Engine Users

CNNIC defines high-end users as those above 25 years old with college education and and income of over 3,000 yuan. 8.5% of all search engine users are high-end search engine users.

69.8% of high-end users take Baidu as first choice having increased 10% over the last year. However, only 22% choose Google as first choice.

Also read::China Search Engine Report 2008 Advertisers and Users Behavior Study

Blogger Gordon Choi put up a good post on Baidu web analytics. Baidu web analytics is still in beta open to its advertisers and publishers.

Baidu web analytics tracking requires you embed two sets of tracking codes in header and body sections respectively. Some metrics helpful identifying quality traffic include average visit time, average pageview per visit, and percentage of people who viewed more than one page.

It enables the advertisers to see the performance by time, locations, and traffic sources. One important feature is conversion tracking, which does surprise me. Baidu is catching up!

Also read::China Paid Search (PPC)