Baidu Generated 3X More Global Paid Search Clicks Than Yahoo-Bing in Q1

March 29, 2013

This article is included in these additional categories:

Asia-Pacific | Digital | Mobile Phone | Paid Search

Covario-Global-Search-Engine-Market-Share-in-Q1-Mar2013The battle for the US search market tends to be viewed in the context of how Yahoo-Bing is faring against Google, but on a global basis, Baidu’s influence cannot be ignored. The search engine – which dominates the Chinese market to the tune of roughly 80% share – accounted for one quarter of all global search ad clicks in Q1, according to [download page] a new report from Covario. That compares to 7.2% share for Yahoo-Bing (and a solid 62% for Google). Baidu’s one-quarter share of clicks is particularly impressive considering that it accounted for just 5% of total search spend and 10% of impressions. Advertisers are increasing their investments in Baidu, with spending growing by 152% year-over-year and 21% quarter-over-quarter. By comparison, spending on Google was up by 33% year-over-year, while investments in paid search on Yahoo-Bing grew by 23%. Overall, global keyword pricing trended up in Q1, increasing by 7% quarter-over-quarter and 23% year-over-year, reversing a downward trend that had lasted for at least 6 consecutive quarters. That reversal owes itself to mobile cost-per-click (CPC) inflation and Google’s product listing ads (PLAs), according to the researchers. Looking at the major search engines, CPCs on Google increased by 39% year-over-year (and 6% quarter-over-quarter) to an average of $1.44. Yahoo-Bing’s average CPC climbed 5% to $1.04, while Yandex remained flat at $0.38 and Baidu jumped 36% to $0.22.

Other Findings:

  • Overall search ad spending among Covario’s high tech, consumer electronics and retail clients increased by 33% year-over-year in Q1.
  • Clicks (+7%), cost (+33%), and click-through rates (+44%) all grew due to higher traffic and better ad creative.
  • Google commanded 82% of spend, as well as 86% of impressions, while Yahoo-Bing accounted for 7% market share of spend.
  • Mobile advertising increased by 51% quarter-over-quarter and by 124% year-over-year, a trend also noted by IgnitionOne. According to Covario, tablets accounted for 64% of mobile spend.

About the Data: Covario’s quarterly Global Paid Search Spend Analysis is based on the spending patterns of its customers, which consist of high-tech and consumer electronics firms that are global advertisers and leverage paid search advertising in more than 45 countries globally and on many different search engine platforms.

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