Wang Xiaoquan: Sogou Mobile Interconnection Broken Bureau

Ulrich

In the nine-storey Sohu office, the interview of Sogou CEO Wang Xiaoquan look somewhat thoughtful. "To survive in a smarter way, be a company that is always hungry." "He said so. August 2010, Sogou from Sohu split out, on their own. Then 6 consecutive fiscal quarters, sogou revenue to maintain the compound growth rate of 27.5%, as China's internet run fastest one of the companies. Still, however, Wang Xiaoquan only scored a score for Sogou: "Basic pass." ”

At the age of 27, Wang Xiaoquan became Sohu's youngest vice-president, but in the eyes of the 34-year-old he is still a low-key moderate, the face of doubt to keep a smile, Sogou style is so, rare offensive market movements, the habit of quietly occupy the market. At the beginning of November, Google vice President Stu Feldman led 30 people to Sogou headquarters to communicate, a year ago, after the split Sogou to 10.45% of the traffic share beyond Google China. "I'm a big fan of Google. Wang Xiaoquan welcomed each other with such an opening.

In the two years of independence, Sogou has been expanding rapidly, with a two-year increase in staff size of 3 times times, and a 15 times-fold increase in the scale of income over two years. Sogou's performance is as follows: Sogou Input method occupies 83.6% of the domestic user desktop; Sogou dual-core high-speed browser is the second largest browser in the country, Sogou navigation month user coverage of 19.1%, after 360 and Hao123, ranked third. 2012 the 3rd quarter of China's search engine operators market share, Sogou ranked third; Sogou in the third quarter of 2012, the results showed that Q3 achieved revenue of 37 million U.S. dollars, up 102%, the chain growth of 23%, expected fourth quarter revenue will exceed 40 million U.S. dollars.

However, Wang Xiaoquan still full of sense of crisis, Sogou input method is the first large client, but currently can not carry too many commercial possibilities; In the search field, Baidu also occupies a monopolistic market share. Although the Sogou has a team of more than 1300 people, the number of users is 370 million, but the company is still a fierce internet in the Battle of the start-up companies.

Move the damn bureau.

In fact, Sogou has been a challenger to the image of the market has been relatively mature, from the input method, browser to search, and each time to try to challenge the incomparable formidable opponents, but each time only in two years to break into the market's top three. Wang Xiaoquan said that Sogou has its own strategic model "three rockets", that is, input method + browser + search. But now, this is not the whole of Wang Xiaoquan's plan. For the current hot mobile internet market, he says his determination to the future: "Although we are late for mobile internet entrants, but this is a must fight." "Innovation is forced out, we must find a new way to seek" breakthrough. He said that from the beginning of this year, Wang Xiaoquan tried to translate the dog's advantage on the PC to the mobile end, but it was clearly not an easy task. Recently, Sogou intensified the product layout for mobile internet,

Released such as number Pass, Sogou Mobile browser, Sogou bus, such as a variety of mobile products.

He uses "3+2" to explain his plan for a mobile strategic map. "3" refers to the traditional advantages on the PC side to continue to the mobile Internet, and carried out a Sogou-style breakthrough. For example, Sogou mobile browser "Web Care" feature, from "browsing" focused on "reading", which is based on real-time access to Web page update technology, the content of the site to subscribe to the way users to browse. "2" refers to the Sogou for mobile phones and PCs of different, providing differentiated innovation. Sogou number can use the cloud of the super address this, to help users identify unfamiliar calls; Sogou bus for the bus to change the user's "find the station", "See the Line", "Check and transfer" demand, follow-up will be launched "Sogou self-driving."

He said, "3+2" is a lot of internal experience after the brain storm after a preliminary mobile strategy layout scheme, only the Sogou's advantage resources to bet on several key nodes, and constantly subdivide product function, can achieve "high pressure breakdown" effect.

In fact, this is an elaborate layout. First, Wang Xiaoquan will move the input method as a competition for the mobile market, because the input method is the advantage of Sogou products, the easiest breakthrough, it is reported that as of September 2012, its monthly active users have reached 70 million, it is estimated that before the Spring Festival will reach 100 million. Recently, let Wang Xiaoquan relish another product is just on line "Sogou voice assistant", this is a similar to Apple Siri products, providing voice control, Internet news, pictures, practical life consulting and other voice search and tool query function.

As for why to lay out such an apple-Siri voice helper product, Sogou Search Business Department general manager Juliyun said, "a good experience of the voice assistant tools first need strong language understanding ability, second also need long-term structured data accumulation and indexing technology support, And these two core technologies are just a necessary search vendors. In addition, search vendors in the mobile end, but also want to be in the traditional keyword query mode outside the development of new forms of interaction, and voice is the current technology is more mature, the user acceptance of a higher degree of interaction between the forms. ”

Wang Xiaoquan that the company's biggest advantage is the accumulation of a large number of vertical industry data and user questions and answers, which is the birth of Sogou voice assistant One of the reasons, but also sogou to do the core concept of products: that is, gather the user's wisdom, so that products smarter, more user-friendly service. "We used to use search techniques to gather the wisdom of the nation's users in the PC field, and now it's the same with the mobile Internet, and the Sogou number is the power to gather the masses to help users identify unfamiliar numbers." "This is the core of the business thinking of Sogou," he said. For example, Sogou will Sogou browser and Sogou search for integration, will be sharing the user behavior data analysis, in Sogou Browser presents the user's preferences recommended. The recommended products can be sogou developed by themselves, can also be third-party client applications.

Not making money is the basis of making money

2003, Wang Xiaoquan graduated from the computer department of Tsinghua University, officially joined Sohu, to 6 people's compilation began to do the search, to now has more than 1300 people of the Internet company, Sogou used 8 years time. Wang Xiaoquan friend, Gao Li Angel Fund Vice President Jianjiang appraised him: "Ogawa classmate is I have seen the most resilient people, can withstand injustice, endure torture, withstand the pressure, endured loneliness, into a cave, come to the gossip array, but also indomitable Vietnam War more Yong." "Looking back, we found one thing that was disruptive innovation and success in input methods. "Wang Xiaoquan said. A few years ago, no one would think that the input method such a tool is a good job to make money, but Sogou did, and the tool in the direction of the service to make changes, from the input method into the browser, and then by the browser to import navigation, search, formed its own business model.

In fact, the success of input method is the strategic turning point of Sogou. June 2006, Sogou Input method just launched because not good at marketing, a year after only 2% of the market share, but in 2007 set up a promotional team, the end of the share has reached 20%. "The input method lets us have the brand popularity and the user group, simultaneously also has learned the product research and development The rhythm and the successively weigh more accurate." "Wang Xiaoquan said.

Then, Sogou's basic strategic thinking is becoming more and more mature, that is, large, long "entrance" products, through the user in the "entrance" on the input behavior, to analyze the data will be user segmentation, and then the "import" flow accurate import into each distribution application, and thus with the use of variable-current applications for commercialization.

Wang Xiaoquan said, Sogou has advocated two words: technology-driven, market-oriented. At present, for Sogou, the most important strategic focus is how to attack the mobile Internet battlefield. Wang Xiaoquan's view of the competition here is that "there is a big difference between the mobile and PC markets." In the mobile client, link is dead, mobile phone is based on app application as the core, can directly send the content of the page; On the other hand, the interactive cost is also changing, people's keyboard input cost is increasing, the screen size becomes smaller, need to display content more reasonably on the limited screen, But the advantage of mobile phones is that they can communicate with each other, while users ' personal and personal needs are increasing, and the handset has the unique suitability. ”

But the perpetual challenge for internet companies is to find a business model that can be turned into cash. In this respect, Wang Xiaoquan's thinking is that the future of mobile search will be the voice as a portal, beyond the link form, from input to the output of a one-stop service. "I think it's still too early to talk about the business model of mobile search, because the business model of search is much later than other business models, and only when other applications in mobile internet make money, mobile search can make money." We will continue to invest in the market, but we will not consider the issue of commercialization in the wireless field for the time being. Because it is often proved afterwards that not making money is the basis of making money. ”

This is the Wang Xiaoquan of the Internet in the eyes of the competition law, this often "challenger" self-proclaimed CEO in a film to describe the survival of the Way: "Slumdog Millionaire" the film, I have repeatedly seen several times. The feeling of this film is that it is escape to live in an environment like India, because you will encounter unfairness, will face crime, the temptation of money, and even the threat of power erosion and death, but you have to stick to, even in the cruel competitive environment, you have to continue to live, because only the first to survive , the hope of a final victory. ”