The integration contest in the search era

Intermediary transaction SEO diagnosis Taobao guest Cloud host technology Hall

"Search engines are at least three years hot!" "Beijing 3721 Technology Co., Ltd. General Manager Xiangdong on the other end of the phone to tell reporters, any change in the content of the business is related to the profit model of the enterprise: After 1999 years of network over-investment, industry investors in the disappointment of the withdrawal of capital also began to become unusually calm, although the internet is bathed in spring, But investors have come to realize that there must be a real profit model to survive in this unreal world of the Internet.

The fact is that when the relationship between netizens and the Internet is promoted from passive browsing to selective search for business opportunities, the "search engine" has become a profitable engine--an engine that has not started in the age of Internet popularization, but has been used by some websites to raise its profile, But as its profit model emerges, people who have been panning for the internet have been eager to move the network hotspot from "portal" to "search".

Differential survival

For no other reason, all this is a desire for profit.

An investigation by Eric Iresearch, a marketing consultancy, shows internet users search the most content is software downloads, learning materials, work materials and entertainment, life information and news-but these businesses are free, can build up popularity but not for the enterprise profits, but it is ranked at the end of the "business" One, although the user accounted for only 22.7%, but attracted businesses-especially small and medium-sized enterprises to dig "silver." In fact, Yahoo's acquisition of 3721, in addition to its world's most advanced double-byte search technology, is because 3721 of the real name of the network tied to a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The internet this time did not let the enterprise disappointed. HC NET Engine Products General Manager Bu Hongyu told reporters, HC began to operate the search since May 2003, the end of this turnover reached 30 million yuan, 2004, the company's total turnover plan reached 600 million, which is expected to search 100 million. Bu Hongyu said he has now completed the quarterly task ahead of schedule, estimating that it will not be a problem to reach the target year. And Sohu is China's search industry to send a representative, according to a staff of the company, the current Sohu Quarterly business volume is about 15 million yuan, the company to the staff of the task is to increase the target of 20% per quarter.

Clearly, making money by sorting business information in search results has become a consistent goal for many Internet companies engaged in search, a goal that has gone beyond their liking for the search business itself. And this model is very easy to copy? It makes it possible for many enterprises to enter the search field-from the success of Baidu to other companies to follow, the process has only experienced less than six months.

Overall, integration and segmentation will always be accompanied by the growth of Internet search business, the early majority of companies are choosing their own specialization in the direction, this subdivision is concentrated in the mass search, industry search and purposeful shopping several major profit points.

Yahoo, Baidu and other companies are mass search, industry search (such as car search) and shopping one can not be less, its customers cover the industry is mainly manufacturing, such as machinery, chemical, computer, while in Beijing is the service industry, such as translation and other customers; Industry search is the representative of HC and other joint launch of China Search Alliance In shopping, 8848 obviously want to start first as strong, Sina seems to do the same, Soaso and TOM007 also put all the energy into the business, TOM007 playing "Commodity Engine" banner, the main push shopping and auction two channels- This is also the harbinger of the next Internet boom: The era of E-commerce will be after the search era. Although some of these search engines are still not scale, but their development ideas are very clear.

Bi Sheng, Baidu market director, who has enough confidence in technology accumulation, believes that Baidu is the biggest market share in the future Chinese search market, because Baidu's features and technology have benefited tens of millions of of Chinese netizens.

"Search engine is not anyone can do!" "Bi Sheng to look at the information on the computer side said," competitive ranking must bring practical benefits to the enterprise. "When it comes to search alliances, Bi Sheng said," Baidu has a large number of partners a few years ago, and the figure is still growing. In front of reporters, he dialed a phone to a Baidu in charge of the alliance with the website staff, the staff said on the phone: As of April 1, with the Baidu Alliance website close to 6,000.

Bi Sheng told our correspondent, in the domestic many people by impression that Google is the most users of the search engine, but in fact, Baidu is the Chinese search market share the largest engine. In response to the current emergence of a number of professional search, Bi Sheng said Baidu can use search techniques to eliminate the advantages of professional websites.

As opposed to Baidu, the 1400 websites of China's search alliance do not seem to match yet. But in the HC Network engine products general Manager Bu Hongyu, the whole market can not be a one-look. He told reporters: "I believe there must be coexistence, and the industry is very small." "In Bu Hongyu view, Baidu, Google as the representative of the search is a mass search, and HC is engaged in the industry's website in the professional search--------------------------------------

In response, Guo Yan, analyst at the world Information and Communication Products Research Department, also believes that mass search has not been able to provide professional results in the face of professional search because it has not been accumulating for a long time. And some industry-targeted search is familiar with almost all the media in this field, but also know the meaning of professional nouns, not easy to misinterpret-this gives professional search to bring a broad living space.

In fact, a profit model cannot save Chinese Internet companies. "Search can make money, but this is not a design of an industry!" Reliance on a profit model does not make an enterprise live long. Xiangdong The example of a text message: "Although the SMS business is now very lucrative on the portal, it is marginal business." Internet enterprises must have technology innovation-search technology, or around the search technology innovation! "Because of trade secrets, Chen Xiangdong did not disclose details to reporters, and finally only told reporters:" By the end of this year you will see more clearly. ”

Globalization integration

Yang Bo, who is responsible for writing the report, said the integration of the search engine industry included the integration of user groups and the search enterprise. In mergers, the portal is more likely to "eat" the key content search-and, of course, to look at the capital strength of both companies.

and the integration of Internet search business is clearly not the "housework" in China, its influence has spread to the whole world. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, a well-known U.S. investment bank, released its latest search engine research report in July 2003. The report shows that the search engine, the most effective online marketing tool, has changed dramatically over the past 18 months. The popularity of search engines as the most effective product and information finder, and the best way for advertisers to seek and get customers, will be the fastest growing form of online advertising in the next few years. The 2003 Global fee-based Search Service market was about $2 billion trillion, close to 25% of the total online advertising market. In the next 4 years, the search market will grow at a rate of 35% each year, and by 2007, the entire search market will have reached $7 billion trillion (see chart). China's search engine market overall size will reach 840 million this year, 2005 will reach 1.4 billion, 2006 will reach 2.3 billion.

According to U.s.bancorp Piper Jaffray published search Engine market Research Report, 2002 global search engine market total revenue of 1.799 billion U.S. dollars, the top four in turn is Overture, Google, Yahoo, MSN Search, Among them, Google, Yahoo, MSN search revenue rankings and browse volume ranking is proportional (see figure II).

In fact, the capital is not idle: Overture, Inktomi and AltaVista have been bought by Yahoo. This arrangement also involves Asia's--yahoo acquisition of 3721, another goal is its mastery of the world's most advanced double-byte search technology. Chen Xiangdong told reporters that the main application of this technology is not only China, but also covers Japan, South Korea and Vietnam and many other Southeast Asian countries.

This is the industry's most worried about the future-the entry of foreign search engines.

"There are only two Xiangdong--yahoo, Google and MSN in the world that really have core technology," says the company. Among them, MSN is half, because after all, Microsoft has not yet released its search engine strategy. "He told reporters that Google and Yahoo's web database are up to 4 billion pages, the global cumulative page of about 10 billion pages." and the largest mass search engine Web database in China is up to 200 million pages. ”

Now Yahoo has publicly declared a protracted battle in the Chinese search market, Google, which has never officially appeared in China, seems to be stirring--a reporter learned that there was a "unforeseeable event" on the April 17 plan for the first China Search Economic Summit Forum "such as the presence of Google representatives." According to the organizers, the matter has not been finalized. But in any case, Google, who wants to enter the Chinese market, has entered the bridgehead of the Chinese portal, which is Google after Sina's Baidu.

One view is that Microsoft's search engine may be used to enrich its product line, not to compete for the market, but it is also estimated that Microsoft will not controlled in such an important market.

"Anyway, for any industry, Microsoft's entry is a scary thing!" Bu Hongyu to reporters. After all, the search market, since it has put the cost of Yahoo back to compete for a share, nature will be able to make Bill Gates to invest heavily in the application of the latest search technology MSN.

Automate the Future

Insiders believe that the "search era" after the fire should be "electronic commerce era"-this from now a few iron heart to do shopping search engine companies can see the shadow.

Although we cannot say that e-commerce on the internet is not suitable for logistics, but throughout the Chinese internet economy, it seems that the successful portal routes and search routes are enterprises in the "eye economic" environment of the winners to pay information service fees, and to be the representative of the electronic commerce is a thin profit. Therefore, some people think that after the search the Internet's profit point is through the modern payment method of E-commerce transactions. At that time, the two bottlenecks that hinder the electronic commerce--the information of the buyers and sellers has been solved by the search business, and the social environment such as credit mechanism and financial mechanism of our country will be improved significantly.

But this is not the "personality" of the Internet, Guo Yan, analyst at the research Department of Information and Communication products, said that the future of the Internet should be automated customization era, that people surf the Internet, the computer will be based on people's occupation, age, use habits, want content and so on automatically online search, will search good content automatically presented in a specific area And be updated at any time--which means that if this time comes, search will no longer be a profit model for people to focus on, but a retreat to the network after the basic functions.

However, with the great prospect of the search industry is very uncoordinated, the current Chinese search industry has great hidden dangers. In the investigation of the reporter met each other search companies to blame each other in the click Rate and other technical indicators cheat on the interesting phenomenon, and some even can say the other side of the cheating method-a software can be increased click Rate, write a program can be "click" of the IP address fake. The consequence of this will be--the joint destruction of the search market rankings. ”

And from within the search enterprise, the channel is also a soft rib. HC NET Engine Product general Manager Bu Hongyu said, for those who pay according to the number of clicks, some agents in order to allow customers to spend as much as possible, they keep making clicks-"This vicious click is hard to eliminate", but this can not bring real help to enterprises, after a period of time, the enterprise will choose another way to pay. And if there are a few Hui Cong agent at the same time contact with a business, then these agents will be a fierce price war between.