For Baidu, even a setback is a win

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on July 23

Further confirmation that Google has a long way to go in China: Beijing-based research firm Analysys International has just come out with its Q2 report on the Chinese search market, and Google’s rival Baidu.com has 58.1% share. That compares to just 22.8% for Google. The picture is not completely grim for Google, though. In Q1, Google had a market share of 18.7% vs 57% for Baidu, so Google did close the gap a bit. But still: While Google is making some progress, Baidu has a gigantic lead.

Some additional good news for Baidu comes from this Pacific Epoch report that the company has lost its position as the No. 1 site for porn-related searches. According to Pacific Epoch, citing a report (that I haven’t been able to find) in Techweb, Nasdaq-listed gaming-and-search site Netease’s Yodao search engine “is replacing Baidu as the preferred search engine for pornography.” Adds Pacific Epoch: “Baidu blocks certain search keywords for picture search, while Yodao has no limitation. Searches for unregulated keywords return similar amounts of results on both Baidu and Yodao, but Baidu picture search does not return any results for restricted keywords.” Given the constant reports in China’s official media about crackdowns on online porn, this is probably one leadership position that Baidu is happy to lose.

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