Google has substantially increased its share of online advertising in China, the world's most populous market, according to new market data. However, the global search leader is still far behind Chinese firms like Baidu.
While still relatively small, China's online advertising market is growing 40 percent every year. During the first three months of 2007, advertisers paid a total of $178 to place ads on websites and search pages in China, estimates Beijing-based Analysys International. Google took seven percent of this, a marked increase from its average 4.8 percent share last year.
Baidu, the Chinese firm that mimicked Google's minimalist style on its way to becoming China's biggest search provider, has used that lead to help it grab 21 percent of the country's online ad market. Local rivals Sina and Sohu are close behind with 19 percent and 15 percent respectively, but according to Analysys International, Baidu is growing fastest.
Google remains the strongest foreign player, while Yahoo saw its share slide from 8.08 percent to 6 percent. In China, Yahoo is operated by locally-based B2B auctions firm, Alibaba.com, in which Yahoo has a 40 percent stake. No other foreign firm rates highly enough to be included in published statistics.
Analysts attribute Google's growth to new ad distribution centers and agencies that it has established around the country.
The total value of China's online ad market is expected to exceed $700m this year, and approach $900m in 2008, according to forecasts that Analysys International released last year.
baidu
the last thing i remember is that Baidu Search China was going to be in english