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Baidu Phoenix Nest Improves Search Marketing Dominance
With Chinese internet activity increasing at an exponential rate, it was little surprise that China’s biggest search engine Baidu claimed huge profit increases in its latest quarterly review.
Fourth quarter results showed that revenue had jumped by 40 per cent compared with 2008 figures, and profit was up by 48 per cent. Worries that the aggressive marketing push of Baidu’s Phoenix Nest online advertising system might turn users away from the search engine seem unfounded.
Q4 earnings for the company were ahead of Wall Street forecasts with reported earnings reaching 427 million yuan ($62 million) for the quarter. The better than expected results came after online advertising customers improved by 13 per cent, increasing their numbers to 223,000 customers.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Baidu chairman Robin Li said: “The year ended on a positive not as Phoenix Nest’s better than anticipated performance helped us to exceed expectations for the fourth quarter.”
Baidu currently controls around 60 per cent of the online search market in China, a Googlesque dominance that seems certain to increase over the next year. Baidu may have its online dominance enhanced further if Google pursues its threat to quit in the Chinese market altogether.
The American search engine grows increasingly frustrated with China’s overbearing authority, stifling the freedom of content sharing and forcing Google to censor certain search results and information.
Baidu shares increased on the NASDAQ stock market after Google posted speculation of its withdrawal from China in a blogpost made in mid January. If Google followed through and ceased operations in China, the way would be paved for Baidu to become a growing global search marketing power.
Search Marketing news posted by Frank Hudson on 10 February 2010
