A Deep Dive into Regional Preferences and Trends

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is home to a diverse range of countries, each with unique cultural and technological landscapes. When it comes to search engines, understanding the preferences of users in each country is critical for businesses aiming to optimise their online presence and engage effectively with local consumers. The dominance of different search engines varies across the APAC region, driven by factors such as language, local market conditions, and regulatory environments. This blog talks about the most popular search engines across key APAC countries, highlighting statistics and key trends that businesses should consider when planning their digital marketing strategies.

1. China: Baidu

In China, Baidu remains the undisputed leader of the search engine market. Baidu holds a commanding share of the market, with reports indicating that it controls nearly 70-80% of search engine traffic in the country. The significant popularity of Baidu is largely due to the absence of Google, which is restricted in China due to the country’s strict regulatory environment. Baidu’s dominance is further supported by its range of services, including Baidu Baike (the Chinese equivalent of Wikipedia), Baidu Tieba (a popular online forum), and its robust local search capabilities, which cater to the Chinese market.

• Baidu’s market share in China is estimated to be around 70-80%. Google has a negligible presence, given that its services are blocked in China.
• Baidu’s revenue: In Q4 of 2020, Baidu generated over $4 billion in revenue, primarily from its search advertising services, highlighting its strong market position.

For businesses targeting the Chinese market, optimising for Baidu is essential. Brands must consider Baidu’s algorithms, which differ from Google’s, and focus on creating content that resonates with Chinese users.

2. Japan: Google and Yahoo! JAPAN

Japan has a unique search engine landscape where two platforms dominate the market: Google and Yahoo! JAPAN. Google is the clear leader in Japan, holding a market share of around 78%. The search engine has a strong presence on mobile devices, reflecting the mobile-first nature of internet usage in Japan. However, Yahoo! JAPAN, despite being powered by Google, maintains a significant share of the market, holding about 9.76%. Yahoo! JAPAN is deeply integrated into the Japanese internet ecosystem, offering services such as Yahoo! Auctions and Yahoo! Shopping, which have garnered a loyal user base.

• Google’s market share in Japan is approximately 78%.
• Yahoo! JAPAN’s market share is around 9.76%, and it is particularly popular for shopping and online services.
• Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, holds about 10.72% of the market, primarily on desktop.

Businesses targeting the Japanese market must focus on Google’s SEO practices but should not overlook Yahoo! JAPAN. Yahoo! JAPAN has a unique user base and offers localised services that can be beneficial for e-commerce brands.

3. South Korea: Naver

South Korea presents a unique case where Naver, a domestic search engine, dominates the market, with over 70% of the search engine market share. Naver is often referred to as the “Google of Korea,” but it differs significantly from Google in its approach to search. Naver offers a more integrated experience with its search results blending organic listings with news, blogs, and shopping results. It also includes unique features such as Naver Knowledge in (a Q&A platform) and Naver Shopping.

• Naver’s market share in South Korea is estimated at over 70%.
• Google’s market share in South Korea is much smaller, typically around 15-20%.
• Daum, another local search engine, has around 10% of the market share.

For companies targeting South Korea, optimising for Naver is critical. Naver’s focus on content-rich, integrated results means that businesses must consider diverse digital formats such as blogs, shopping lists, and video content to enhance their visibility on the platform.

4. India: Google

In India, Google is the dominant search engine, with an overwhelming market share of over 90%. India’s internet user base is one of the fastest-growing in the world, and Google’s widespread use in the country is driven by the availability of a variety of services, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, and YouTube. Google’s dominance is particularly notable in urban areas, where smartphones are increasingly accessible, and mobile internet usage is widespread.

• Google’s market share in India is over 90%, a testament to its dominance in the region.
• Bing and other search engines have a much smaller market share, typically around 2-5%.

Brands targeting the Indian market should focus on Google’s SEO guidelines, ensuring that their websites and content are mobile-optimised, fast-loading, and user-friendly to capture the growing mobile-first audience in India.

5. Australia: Google

Similar to India, Australia’s search engine market is dominated by Google. Google holds a market share of around 95% in Australia, making it the go-to search engine for most Australians. This dominance is further supported by the fact that many Australians use Google services such as Google Maps, Gmail, and YouTube on a daily basis.

• Google’s market share in Australia is around 95%.
• Bing has a small presence with around 3-4% of the market share.

For businesses operating in Australia, Google should be the primary focus for search engine optimisation. Ensuring that content is tailored to Australian users and local SEO strategies are applied will help increase visibility in search results.

6. Southeast Asia: Google

In Southeast Asia, Google dominates most markets, including countries like Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. However, local search engines and regional platforms still have their place, especially in markets with high localised content. Despite this, Google remains the primary search engine across most of Southeast Asia.

• Google’s market share in Southeast Asia is estimated at 80-90%.
• Local platforms such as Baidu and Yandex are gaining traction in some countries, but their overall market share remains relatively small.

For businesses aiming to target Southeast Asia, Google is the key search engine. However, tailoring content for specific countries in the region is essential to cater to the diverse languages and preferences of the local population.

Conclusion

Understanding the search engine landscape across APAC is crucial for businesses aiming to succeed in this diverse region. From Baidu in China to Google’s dominance in Australia and India, each market has unique search behaviours and preferences. As a result, businesses must tailor their digital marketing strategies to optimise for the most popular search engines in each country.

At Charlesworth, we can help you navigate the complexities of APAC’s search engine landscape. By developing targeted strategies that optimise for platforms like Baidu, Naver, Google, and Yahoo! JAPAN, we ensure that your digital marketing efforts resonate with local audiences and drive measurable results across the region.