U.S.-based Google and China-based Baidu (note: this site is in Chinese) are the two dominant search engines in the world. According to comScore, Google’s market share of U.S. searches is 67 percent. According to Tech in Asia, Baidu’s market share of China searches is 82 percent. Google is also quite popular outside of the United States, while Baidu’s strength is in China.
So, how do Google and Baidu compare?
Elisa Harca, reporting for Clickz, notes that:
“As with most digital activity in China, the way Chinese citizens search for content online differs significantly from the way people source information in the West. The younger demographic and their ever-increasing enthusiasm for mobile technology, particularly in areas where it may be difficult to access laptops and PCs, has democratized search for tier two and three cities. And thanks to users’ hunger for information, particularly about branded goods and aspirational lifestyles, their online habits tend toward browsing all the search results on offer, rather than pinpointing specific sites via keyword searches.”
“Because of this, there’s clearly a difference in search engine “personality,” summed up neatly here: Baidu asks: ‘What can I help you to do?’ Google asks: ‘What can I do for you?'”
The Clickz chart below summarizes the some of the key differences between Google and Baidu. Click it to read more.
