When plotting a marketing or SEO strategy for China, Baidu is at the forefront of many minds.
Unlike the Western world, in which Google holds a high level of dominance over Bing, Baidu only (ha, only) holds around 70% of the Chinese search market – and users utilize other search engines for their information (and other digital) needs.
Sogou
Sogou is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in internet search products.
The company was founded in Sohu, China in 2004 by Dr. Xu Long and Dr. Wang Xiaochuan. Sogou has since grown to become one of the largest internet companies in China.
Sogou’s core product is its search engine, which is the second largest in China behind Baidu. The company also offers a range of other products and services, including a web browser, input method, and advertising.
Sogou is a major player in China’s internet sector and is often seen as a potential competitor to Baidu. The company is backed by some of China’s largest internet companies, including Sohu, Tencent, and Alibaba.
Sogou has a strong presence in China’s mobile market. The company’s search engine is the default on many Android devices in China.
Sogou also offers a mobile browser and input method. Sogou is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: SOGO)
Haosou
Haosou is a Chinese search engine that was launched in 2010. It is operated by Beijing-based company Kingsoft Corporation.
Haosou has a market share of around 2.6% in China. Haosou was originally known as So So, but rebranded itself as Haosou in 2013.
The word “Haosou” is a combination of the Chinese characters for “good” and “search”. Haosou offers a number of features that are similar to other search engines, such as web, image, and video search.
It also has a number of unique features, such as a “Q&A” section where users can ask questions and get answers from other users, and a “Trending” section that shows the most popular topics being searched for on the engine.
Haosou has been growing in popularity in recent years, and is now the fifth most popular search engine in China.
Shenma
Shenma is a Chinese search engine that is operated by Qihoo 360. It was launched in August 2013. The word “shenma” means “神马” in Chinese, which translates to “what?” or “anything”.
Shenma is the second largest search engine in China, with a market share of 16.5% as of July 2015. Reportedly it is the fifth most popular website in China.
Shenma offers a variety of search services, including web, image, video, and news search. It also has a mobile app that offers a location-based search service.
Shenma has partnerships with major Chinese websites and platforms, such as Baidu, Sogou, and WeChat.
These partnerships allow Shenma to offer search results from these websites and platforms on its own search platform. Shenma has a number of innovative features that set it apart from other search engines.
These features include:
- Search by image: Users can search for images by uploading an image or by entering a keyword.
- Intelligent search: Shenma uses artificial intelligence to provide users with more relevant search results.
- Personalized search: Shenma offers a personalized search experience by taking into account the user’s search history and location.
- Visual search: Shenma offers a visual search experience that allows users to search for images by color and pattern.
- Voice search: Shenma offers a voice search experience that allows users to search for information by speaking into their mobile devices.
With its innovative features and partnerships with major Chinese websites and platforms, Shenma is well-positioned to become a global search engine.
Youdao
Youdao is a popular online dictionary in China that was developed by NetEase. It is one of the most popular online dictionaries in China with over 500 million users. Youdao offers both a website and mobile app.
The website offers a search bar where users can input English or Chinese words to search for their meanings.
The app offers a camera function where users can take pictures of Chinese characters to receive results.
Youdao has become popular due to its user-friendly interface and accurate results.
In addition, the website offers a variety of other features such as a translation function, example sentences, and a word of the day.