CNNIC: H1 2009 China Search Engine Users Reach 235 Mln
CNNIC, 9/21/09
The 2009 Report on Chinese Search User Behavior, released today by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), shows that as of the end of June 2009, China was home to 235 mln search engine users, up by 59.49 mln users, or 34%, from June 2008. Search engine use among Chinese Internet users rose to 69.4%. By the end of 2009, the report predicts, the number of search engine users in China will rise to 260 mln.
City and township users and rural users of search engines split 76.6% and 23.4% respectively, with 180 mln search engine users coming from city and township areas, and approximately 55 mln from rural regions. 74.1% of city and township Internet users and 57.5% of rural Internet users use search engines.
As of the end of June, China was home to approximately 155 mln mobile Internet users. Mobile search was the second most commonly used mobile Internet application, with 26.2% penetration, or 40.74 mln users, accounting for 17.4% of overall search engine use. Of the 56.77 mln predicted users of 3G in H2 2009, up to 21.74 mln, or 38.3%, could use 3G mobile search services.
Chinese search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) had 92.9% market penetration, and Google had 32.7%. Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) search engine Sogou, China Yahoo, Tencent (0700.HK) Soso, Microsoft Bing, and Netease (Nasdaq: NTES) Youdao had 26.9%, 22.0%, 13.0%, 6.3%, and 5.1% penetration, respectively. (Penetration is calculated as the percentage of all search users users who had made use of a given search engine.)
77.2% of users said Baidu was their first choice for search, with 12.7% choosing Google, 3.1% choosing Soso, 2.4% choosing Sogou, and 1.6% choosing China Yahoo.
Music was the most commonly searched form of non-text content, with 39.5% of users having searched for music. Movies, videos, and games followed, with 30.3%, 13.7%, and 16.5% of users, respectively.
Baidu led in user loyalty, with 94.8% of its users. Google, Soso, China Yahoo, and Sogou followed with 80%, 78%, 75%, and 53% respectively. User loyalty is determined by the percentage of users who most commonly used a given brand six months ago who continue to prefer the brand.
67.2% of search engine users said they "never click" search advertisements. 31.4% said they did click.
Keywords: statistics online music online video Netease H1 2009 Internet penetration rural Baidu Bing Sogou Soso Google Tencent mobile search CNNIC China Yahoo 3G users Sohu 0700.HK BIDU mobile Internet NTES online search
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