Baidu (BIDU +11.37%) has been battling the summertime arrival of Qihoo 360 (QIHU +0.00%), but there's another company that has it worse in China.
Google (GOOG +2.53%) -- once the biggest threat to Baidu's market dominance in search -- has slipped all the way to a distant fourth in the world's most populous nation.
Asian analytics provider CNZZ is out with fresh data that was published by The Next Web this week. According to the October numbers, Google has been passed by both Qihoo 360 and Sohu.com's (SOHU +1.42%) Sogou.
| Company |
Page Views |
Unique Visitors |
|---|---|---|
|
Baidu.com |
73.0% |
73.5% |
|
Qihoo 360 |
9.6% |
9.8% |
|
Sogou |
7.8% |
7.5% |
|
|
4.7% |
4.6% |
Source: CNZZ.
It probably isn't a surprise to see Google fading. Despite all of the hubbub about Qihoo 360's impact on Baidu, it was really Google that it booted as its default mobile browser's search engine when it went with an in-house solution back in August.
We know that Sogou is doing well. Sohu.com reported earlier this week that search revenue has more than doubled over the past year. This was during the same quarter where Baidu's revenue climbed by a softer-than-expected 50%.
Google doesn't break down its performance by country, though it's not as if investors have been holding out for much since early 2010 when it decided to all but bow out of the Chinese market on principle.
However, Google investors still need to pay attention to what's happening around the world. Global Web tracker Hitwise reported earlier this week that Google's share of the search market in the U.K. dipped below 90% for the first time in five years.
Sure, Qihoo 360's overnight success in China can be more damaging to Baidu than Google. Baidu has more to lose. However, Google's role as a global powerhouse needs to be monitored, of course. Google is a global juggernaut.
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