China Search Daily

China Internet Conference 2007

1, They dont speak English
I can still remember that there were two English holding pages for China Internet Conference at 2005 and 2006. I still keep the link here. But the link is dead and there isnt any English holding page for China Internet Conference 2007. I know Mr Huang Chengqing is always looking forward to expand the brand of China Internet Conference, but I dont think the organization that runs the event really understand his idea. Although the chinese website and the event looks more fancy this year, there are just a few English words there. Yes, they dont speak english on the website. Or they just dont care.  

2. Search Engines say alike
The search engines are those I care during the China Internet Conference. From Dr Li Kaifu of Google China to Dr Charles Chang of Sohu, both believe that they care the people, the users. Agree! All the business and technology development should be user-oriented, better result for searchers and better turn out for advertisers. We havent heard anything from the NO.1 about this, very likely they will talk about better ADs, just the ADs itself, and nothing to do with user.

3. Mobile! Mobile! Mobile!
We just cant wait any longer to welcome the mobile era for internet. We truely believe that all the handhold eletronic devices will get on wap in the future, or the 3G. So everyone is talking about mobile applicaiton in China Internet Conference 2007.

More in Chinese

To be continued.

Mr. Xie said good bye to the CEO position of Yahoo China recently. He was only there for about 40 days. Allen Wang, the one who picked the chinese name for Google, said good bye to his Google China position.

And Johnny Chou almost did the same things.

I felt like this was the farewell season for internet industry in China. Are they graduating from the position? I dont think so.

This is just a game. Players moved from one to the other, or from managers to entrepreneurs. Yes they all said so, they wanted to launch their own business.

Good idea, maybe good excuse.

Yes, That was the Keynote speaker for Google China at SES Nanjing and for China Internet Conference.
Johnny Chou was confirmed that he will leave Google China next month.

His Google China Tour was just almost 1 year. Some said that this was the signal for the failure of google’s localization in China. But anyway, Johnny is a good guy, he had tried to do something for the real localization and expanding the business scale. But the expanding strategy for Google China was already there before his joined Google. How could he bring a change to that. Some might double that.

Some said Johnny will be a VC after his Google China Trip. Why not? He really got something from this trip.

Google anounced its 19th china reseller, Hangzhou Gototime, at today.

Let’s review the first step of google china reseller project:

Google signs up first AdWords partner in China

SHANGHAI, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) has agreed to sell its popular AdWords advertisements in China through a local firm, in the first such deal for the global search leader since winning a China business license.

Under their agreement, China Enterprise, a provider of IT services and a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Sino-i Technology Ltd. (0250.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), has been authorised to sell the Google AdWords service — used in markets around the world — in China.

Sino-i Technology shares were up 6.47 percent at HK$0.148 on Monday, after rising as much as 11 percent.

“By aligning with CE, with its leading position in China’s e-commerce and (small and medium enterprise) market and large customer base, Google can now provide… businesses in China with easy access to Google AdWords,” the companies said in a joint statement.

 

AdWords allows advertisers to pay to have their ads appear on a results page when an Internet user searches for particular words on Google.

 

The partnership is the first to be announced by Google since it received a business license earlier this year to operate in China, the world’s second-largest Internet market with more than 100 million users.

Google is in the process of formulating its China strategy, including expanding staffing for an eventual permanent office and staff in the country despite its relatively late arrival.

Rival Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) made its big move into China in 2003, with the $120 million purchase of a popular local search site, 3721.com.

Google already owns a 2.6 percent stake in leading Chinese search engine Baidu.com (BIDU.O: Quote, Profile, Research), whose shares more than quadrupled on their debut after the Beijing-based firm’s IPO last week — the best debut on the Nasdaq since the dot-com era.

Google is believed to have tried to increase its stake in Baidu prior to the IPO, but was rebuffed by the Chinese company.

California-based Google is now trying to formulate its next step in China, deciding on whether to wait for a new chance to boost its stake in Baidu or to forge ahead in a market where it already enjoys strong brand recognition despite its late arrival.

12 months, 19 players, looks like a very good performance report. But if you look at the market share report, Google China didnt had significant improvement compared with 12 months ago. Baidu and Yahoo china still in front of Google China, although the real name business at Yahoo China was suffering a thrinking .

Are all those resellers Mr Right for google Adwords? Are they using ROI-oriented strategies to serve their client? What kind of marketing strategies they are using? Did they competed with each other? What’s the percentage of advertisers complaints?

The most important question is, how Google China will evaluate it performance for the past 12 months with strong figures at revenue.

Yes the most powerful answer is always the numbers. That can be exciting, or embarrassing.

19 players, who will out and who will be the 20th?

Who Care!!

Internet Content Provider (ICP) license become more and more important in China.

Those global players need to reconsider their ICP issue, or start to apply for an independent one now.

Google China rented an ICP license before, Yahoo China still share an ICP license with 3721. MSN China benifited from its JVs license.

A new rule from the government came out recently, everyone needs an independent ICP license.

Google had already started it application precess.

Yahoo is the first global search engine player came to china. Some may regard Google as the second one into China.

That’s wrong. Mr. Jeeves came earlier than Google China. I met Mr. Jeeves this April at Hangzhou, the headquarter of Alibaba.

Yes, although the branding was only ASK then, but Mr. Jeeves still stood right there smiled to me.

According to the information from Mr. Jeeves Hangzhou office, they came to China at the early 2005. More than 200 employees have beening working there for nearly two years. We are expecting ASK and its service in chinese.

But when can we have ASK.com in chinese, or ASK.cn? I check the website ask.com, cant find the chinese; I check ask.cn, it seems the domain belongs to a chinese company.

When, why and what? Maybe I should ASK Mr. Jeeves again, if he still there.

Google anounced its 10th official reseller in China, fj53.com. As the name indicated, fj53 will mostly serve the Fujian province.

Google china is gradualy narrowing down resellers’ serving area. From the very beginning, its first two resellers could play as a national reseller to cover all over china. Later, new resellers are onle be official in specific area. Now the 10th is more specific than before, will mostly serving a specific province.

One more reseller, and there will be 11, enough to be a football team.

China search engine market is another World Cup, or China Cup, the google China team’s performance depends on the reseller recruitment and training strategies. Sure the coach is very important too.

But it seems the coach’s voice now are not very strong. Hardly can we find any single news about him recently.

The search engine china cup is ready. How about the google china team? Be dream Brazil team, or champion Italian team?

Who is the Number One at Chinese Search Engines market?
The answer is Baidu.

Where is Google China?
Google is the third, right after Yahoo.

Why Yahoo search is the Second?
They still relied on the real name (3721) business. The search performance for them is not as strong as the position indicates.

According to the report of Analysys International, at 1 quater of 2006, Baidu’s market share was 43.9%, Yahoo China was 21.10%, Google China 13.20%. The total market scale for chinese search engine is 303 million RMB, 175 million RMB of which is from CPC, 9 million RMB from  search AD ( fixed ranking ), 120 million RMB from real name search.

Although the real name search still has a big share, their performance is shrinking. Chinese real name search is not a long-term products. The advertisers are losing their interests at Real Name search. According to the two main real name search player, Yahoo China’s 3721 and Zhongsou, their revenue growth is negative now.

Google should speed up its localization. I can see many chinese googlers have international company working experience. They are more global than local.

Take Yahoo China for example, before the Alibaba deal with Yahoo. Leaded by Mr Chou, Yahoo China is very local and aggressive.

Google should find a person like Mr Chou, the former Yahoo China CEO, founder of 3721.

There was a rumor about Dr Li Kaifu, who is global vice president of Google and president for China.

For the recent “blocked” issue, the one who speak to the press and public was Johnny Chou, Greater China President of Sales and Business Development, Google.

Dr Li Kaifu didnt say a word or show his face to the press and public this time. Before, he was the one who represented Google China and acted as sorts of idol.

Several medias quoted some google China insiders words. They were doubling Dr Li’s role in here now. Media reported that Dr Li Kaifu will resign soon.

Today, one reporter called google china’s PR. The answer was ” Impossible”.

Yes, rumor is just rumor. But Adidas says ” Impossible is Nothing “. There is also a chinese saying, no wind no tide. Google really need to improve it PR in China. To deal with all the “blocked” issue and come back to real business. If there is not “blocked” issue, rumors will just go with the wind.

Yes, Li will stay, but for sure, that want be forever.