Bing Likely To Lose China Battle To Google And Baidu

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) wants to make it clear that it expects its Bing search engine to enjoy the same success in China that the software company believes it will have in the US market.

Redmond told Reuters that “Microsoft is committed to the China market and the search market in China is the most important strategic market for Microsoft.” The goal is ambitious and unrealistic.

China search engine Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is the market share leader in the world’s most populous nation and has been since it was founded. Figures vary, but Baidu probably has 60% of the search share in its home market. Google (NASDAQ:MSFT) may have as much as a 30% market share and Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) has attempted to be a force in China for over half a decade. It relationship with Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba, where the portal company has a major investment, gives it come advantages to attract the Chinese online population.

Bing, however, has very little to offer the Chinese market. It does not have the brand that Google does or the loyalty that a local product like Baidu can command.

China may be Bing’s Waterloo. The country now has more internet users than the US, with about 350 million. That number is rising rapidly while online use in America is static. The Chinese market is as essential to search companies as it is auto firms, fast food chains, and big retailers.

Bing only has one strong competitor in the US–Google. In China, it is up against two and that is at least one too many.

Douglas A. McIntyre