China’s second-largest search engine Sogou announced total revenues of $314.9 million in the third quarter, a 14% increase year-over-year, or a 17% increase in RMB terms.
Chinese Search Engine Market Trends and Insights
The revenues of Chinese search engine companies were estimated to reach 135.76 billion yuan (US$19.74 bn) in 2018, with an increase of 20.8% YoY.
China’s search engine companies revenue is estimated to reach 158.08 billion yuan (US$22.98 bn) in 2019 and 183.17 billion yuan (US$26.63 bn) next year.
The user base of mobile search in China grows to be near 685 million as of Q4 2018, an increase of 3.79% as compared with 660 million in the prior-year period.
Top Chinese Search Engines in China
The top Chinese search engines in China are Baidu search, Sogou, Qihoo 360, Shenma.
Google China's search engine is not accessible without a VPN. However, Bing is still accessible in China with both Chinese version and international version in English; some Chinese use Bing search to conduct global research.
Baidu remains the dominant search engine in China on both desktop and mobile devices with about 70-80% market share. It offers Google Ads (AdWords) similar SEM and display advertising opportunities. In recent years, newsfeed ads are driving its revenue growth.
Despite the lack of presence in the China market, Google is the preferred search engine among many Chinese. Over 70% would choose it over Baidu in an online surveys.
You can follow the link to visit the top Chinese search engines websites: Baidu, Sogou, Qihoo 360 search, Shenma (mobile search; JV by Alibaba and UCWeb).
Mobile Search. Smartphone built-in browsers are the first choice for most users (59.6% ) when they search for information on mobile devices. 28.2% of users tent to search for information on search engines installed on their mobile devices or tablet. More on mobile search segment here.
Popular Search Channels in China
In additional to traditional search engines, there are several other channels with popular search queries.
Shopping Searches
Many China internet users would directly visit online shopping and e-commerce websites and apps such as Taobao, Tmall, Jingdong, or Pinduoduo to search for product information.
Search engines like Baidu still account for some proportion of product searches. And, Baidu has launched e-commerce ads accordingly.
News Searches
In addition to Baidu, users conduct searches on WeChat and Weibo for trending news too. Weibo is often a place for breaking news; many users go to Weibo to look for trending information that is not yet in the mainstream news media. And the deep analysis on a topic is often available on WeChat.
China search engine users overview in Jun 2019; PC vs. Mobile
The number of search engine users reached 498 million on PC, down 2.4% YoY, and 528 million on mobile with an increase of 6.7% YoY, according to data from iResearch. The average time spent per user on search engines dropped to 9.12 minutes in June 2019 from 9.15 minutes in May 2019 and increased to […]
Baidu highlights for Q2 2019; voice queries up 7.5 fold
Baidu delivered a solid second quarter in 2019 with revenues reaching RMB 26.3 billion, growing 9% QoQ, and Baidu Core revenues growing 12% QoQ. In June, Baidu App DAUs reached 188 million, up 27% year over year, in-app search queries grew over 20% year over year and smart mini program MAUs reached 270 million, up […]
Sogou revenues up 1% in Q2 2019; Input app DAU grewed to 453 million
Chinese search engine Sogou’s search-related revenues totaled $276 million in Q2 2019, accounting for 91% of total revenues according to its announced financial results.
China search engine revenues to reach US$23 bn in 2019
The revenues of Chinese search engine companies were estimated to reach 135.76 billion yuan (US$19.74 bn) in 2018, with an increase of 20.8% YoY according to iResearch.
China online advertising to exceed US$90 bn in 2019, led by e-commerce, newsfeed, and search ads
China is to see internet advertising market exceed over US$90 billion by 2019, over 80% of which is from mobile advertising. The US$36.02 billion native advertising market accounted for nearly 50% of the total in 2018. Advertising has consolidated its position as an important source of revenue for internet businesses. This market is expected to […]
China internet users snapshot 2019
98.6% of internet users accessed the internet through mobile devices in China. Internet penetration in urban areas rose from 71% to 74.6%. The 10- to 39-year-olds represented 67.8% of all internet users in China. The largest user group were students (25.4%). 610 million users shopped online in 2018, 14.4% more than a year ago. And, […]
China mobile search market overview Q4 2018; 60% chose smartphone built-in browsers
The user base of mobile search in China grew by 3.79% year-on-year to 685 million in Q4 2018. Baidu was still the first choice for users searching for information (42.5% in proportion). Nearly 60% of users tent to choose smartphone built-in browsers across mobile devices. The user base of mobile search in China grows to […]
Baidu App DAU up by 24% to 161 million in 2018
DAUs of Baidu App increased by 24% year-on-year to 161 million. Baijiahao, or BJH accounts, Baidu’s content network, grew to 1.9 million publishers. MAUs of Baidu Smart Mini Program totaled 147 million, up by 30% sequentially. 98.5% of iQiyi’s subscribers were paying subscribers. DAUs of Haokan reached 19 million.
China search engine market to reach US$20 bn in 2018
There are 656.88 million search engine users in China as of June 2018, 637.4 million among which were using search engine via mobile devices. China’s search engine market is expected to reach US$20 billion in 2018. And, search advertising market is expected to reach US$14 billion in 2018. China’s search advertising market totaled 85.23 billion yuan […]
Over 70% Chinese will choose Google over Baidu if it returns
Not long after Facebook’s Hangzhou subsidiary launch, Google was reported to be planning a launch of a censored search engine in China. A poll was created on Weibo asking “if Google returns to China, which will you choose between Google and Baidu?”. 72.8% voted for Google.
Chinese search engine Sogou revenues up 43% in Q2 2018
Sogou achieved solid results in Q2 2018 with revenue increasing 43% year-on-year to US$301.4 million and non-GAAP net income up by 58% to US$38.2 million, according to its financial results. That was greatly driven by the twin growth engines – search and mobile keyboard – and AI-focused strategy.
Baidu search exhibiting robust revenue growth driven by AI in Q2 2018
Baidu had a stronger quarter in Q2 2018 with search exhibiting robust revenue growth driven by AI-powered monetization capabilities and Baidu feed continuing strong traffic, according to its financial results. The newly launched Xiaodu series speakers and the adoption of DuerOS handled over 400 million queries in June 2018, almost doubling the workload again over […]
WeChat launched Brand Search
WeChat team announced the launch of brand search on WeChat Official Accounts platforms. Those having brand search enabled will get extra features including a brand zone and micro-page.
China search engine market in Q1 2018; 79% driven by mobile search [UPDATED]
The revenue of search engine market in China totaled 20.374 billion yuan (US$3.2017 billion) in Q1 2018, an increase of 29.21% year-on-year, led by Baidu, Sogou, and 360 search. In Q1 2018, Baidu continues to lead China’s search engines market with a market share of 80.09% by revenues, followed by Sogou (6.63%) and 360 (3.27%). Baidu’s […]