Google’s Ban in China Has Allowed Up and Coming Asian Search Engine Baidu to Capitalise and Take A Larger Share of the Search Advertising Market

Google has been dominating the search industry, possessing the largest share of the total search ad market at 54.7 percent in 2014. However being banned in mainland China has allowed Chinese search engine Baidu to capitalise, allowing their share of the ad revenue to increase from 6.4 percent in 2013 to potentially 8.8 percent in 2015 (as reported by eMarketer)

Illegal Flower Tribute at Google Headquarters in China

As the number of internet users in China continues to grow, Baidu’s unbridled access to this market will prove to be increasingly profitable. As reported by eMarketer, China is set to make up 32.8 percent of the search spend worldwide in 2015, equal to $14.90 billion.

The Chinese Search Market is Set to Dwarf to the U.S. Market

At the rate the search market in China is growing it will soon be worth more than the U.S. search market. Baidu’s % of the search market has increased by over 30% year on year, with no signs of slowing down, and with Google banned in China, Google will be missing out on an extremely valuable opportunity.

In the United States 86 percent of the population have access to the internet, compared to China where only 46% of the population use the internet. As China continues to develop, a greater percentage of its population will gain access to the internet, allowing the market to grow.

Although Google is expected to generate $44.46 billion in ads revenue this year, as the U.S. market becomes increasingly saturated, Google’s market share is predicted to actually shrink slightly from 54.5 percent to 55.2 percent in 2015.