China’s Search Engines
♫ June 22nd, 2010 4:26 amChina’s four-year censorship of Google has come to an end. Initially, Google agreed to abide by the strict Internet regulations that China has implemented to prevent certain information from circulating the Internet. To tap into China’s exponentially growing Internet usage and to show its disapproval of Chinese Internet polices, Google has refused to honor the censorship policies that China currently holds, opening vast amounts of information to the Chinese people.
Now, all Google searches are being redirected to Google.com.hk, which is based out of Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong does not need to abide by the same Chinese Internet regulations, the users of this site are afforded total Internet access.
Currently, Google is the second most widely used search engine in China behind the search engine: Baidu. The end of censorship will open up more information to the Chinese, making the available Internet content more accessible and useful to many people. This new accessibility creates great opportunities to e-marketers, as there will be no restriction on the material they display on the Internet. Through this policy, e-marketers will be able to reach a greater audience and therefore expand their clientele base.
Baidu also presents an attractive opportunity to e-marketers looking to do business in China. With Google’s decision to direct its users to the Hong Kong Google site, Baidu’s profits have doubled. Since the beginning of the year, Baidu gained over 60 percent in American trading. However, Baidu is still subject to the censorship laws of the Chinese government.
Both Baidu and Google present promising options for e-marketers. While Baidu reaches a great audience, there are no restrictions to the information available to Chinese citizens through Google. Each search engine provides the opportunities for businesses to delve into the ever-expanding Chinese market.
