Google yesterday signed a deal with Chinese portal Sina.com,
giving the US search engine a leg-up in its race to catch up with
rival Baidu.com.
Under the terms of the agreement, Google will provide Web page
search service for Sina.com. In return, Google will share the
advertising revenue generated by traffic from China's most-visited
portal.
Sina's own search engine, iAsk, which was earlier used to
provide Web page service, will now serve only for vertical search,
or specialized search, including news, photo, blog and mobile
search, said Charles Chao, CEO of SINA Corporation.
The two companies also said they will expand their cooperation
into news and other content areas.
Lee Kai-Fu, vice-president of Google and president of Google
Greater China, said the strategic partnership with Sina.com is
another example of Google's continuous localization efforts in the
country, which will help more Chinese users know about Google's
services and products.
In China, Google is a distant second behind market leader Baidu.
Its market share in the first quarter of this year reached 19
percent compared with Baidu's 58, according to Analysys
International.
"Traffic is vital to all search engines, but it's not the most
important for us," said Lee. "Our aim is to provide high-quality
search services."
Since the beginning of this year, Google has deepened its
activities in China. In the past six months, the company has forged
alliances with China Mobile, China Telecom and China Netcom.
These partnerships, according to experts, have helped Google
generate a huge traffic for the company's Chinese website,
Google.cn, which can translate into cash through Google's AdWords
and AdSense programs.
In the first quarter of this year, Google's online advertising
revenue reached US$3.6 billion, an increase of 63 percent compared
with the same period last year. The advertising growth rate in
China, according to Lee, is "much, much higher".
"China's Internet market is becoming mature where every company
has its focus and unique advantages," said Sina's Chao. "We'll need
to adjust our strategy and make full use of our partner's unique
advantages."
In the first quarter of this year, Sina saw its ad revenue
increase 43 percent over last year to US$31.8 million. But the
company's non-ad revenue, mainly from search and other fee-based
services, plunged 31 percent.
(China Daily June 12, 2007)