Baidu Feels The Heat In Search Rivalry

Growing competition among the top three search engines in the mainland's buoyant internet market could prove to become a clash of the titans.

For the moment, Baidu remains the top player, claiming more than 80 per cent of web-page searches on the mainland in September. But it is already feeling the pinch from challengers, struggling in particular to keep mobile users.

Nasdaq-listed Baidu, whose core business is selling advertisements online, posted a year-on-year rise in revenue of 42.3 per cent to 8.9 billion yuan (HK$11.3 billion) in the third quarter of this year.

As the market leader, it commanded 63 per cent of market share in September, according to data from internet data provider CNZZ. Next in line were Qihoo 360 with 19 per cent, and Sogou with 10.4 per cent. Tencent's Soso was ranked fourth with a 4 per cent market share.

Tencent has been trying to popularise Soso among its QQ users in the past years with no remarkable success, she said.

  Sign Up @ www.lagdey.com to share your favourite photos