China and the Internet
With the Olympics in Beijing beginning this week (on the lucky day of 8/8/08), I thought I’d take this opportunity to take a closer look at China and the country’s internet profile. With over 1 billion in population, it’s an enormous market. The internet is booming in China, and now is definitely an opportunity to create a web presence there. Here are some of the latest numbers:
• In December 2007, there were 210 million internet users, out of a total population of about 1.3 billion. That’s an 800% growth from 2000, when there were only 22 million users.
• 163 million users have broadband connections. That’s 77%. In the US, broadband connections won’t hit 77% until 2012.
• 50 million users access the internet from their phones
• The average monthly cost for internet access (2007) was 83.5 Yuan, or just over $12 US
• The internet market is projected to expand at 30% annually.
• Baidu reported that profits rose this past quarter 87% from the same time last year. The portal Sohu reported a 600% rise in profits.
Taking a closer look at some statistics for users, we can see that:
• 51% were under 25
• 25% are enterprise staff and 37% are students
• 76% access the internet at home
There has been a lot written about the government censorship of the country’s Internet. Firewalls and routers are in place to block IP addresses and reduce people’s ability to partially or fully access certain websites. Many foreign news and content sites, and Chinese sites critical of the government, have been blocked, and there are Internet police who do patrol sites, chat rooms, and message boards, removing “offensive” content. Keywords like “democracy,” “human rights,” and “Taiwan” are blocked. Spam-filtering software (and humans) scans email and blog posts, looking for prohibited words and phrases. Violators are immediately disconnected from the Internet, and can be reported to police.
There’s no way to say for sure, but most likely a company engaging in business and ecommerce traffic would be unaffected by the blocks, being in a separate arena from political and religious discussions. It is added incentive to make sure your company’s Chinese website is specifically industrial oriented, that content is focused, and that keywords are well chosen. Knowing the regulations concerning internet access or use in China will help you establish a presence there that is within the laws (whatever your opinion of them is) but allows you and your customers to engage in business without worry.
However, the presence of government interference hasn’t slowed down China’s Internet growth. The overall penetration rate is still low, with only 17% online, but that number continues to rise. With an audience of over 200 million online already, and a quarter of enterprise and business staff surfing, there are many potential page views for a Chinese-language site. A booming economy also expands access to business and industrial clients. Being able to put yourself in front of a Chinese audience can help expand and grow your business.
If you’re looking to take the next step and create an internet presence in China, here are some good SEO things to keep in mind:
• Have your website professionally translated and into the most appropriate Chinese dialect for your business and the region(s) you target. Mandarin is the standard across the country (and has 880 million native speakers), but in Hong Kong for instance, Cantonese is still more prevalent.
• Do keyword research, so you know what terms your target audience is looking for (and how they search for them). Asking local translators and customers is a good start.
• Be sure to research the search engines and any requirements they may have for inclusion in their index (whether the site must be fully or only partially translated; character limits in titles and metas; prevalence of paid results, etc.).
• Be able to respond to queries and requests for quotes that aren’t sent in English. Don’t lose a potential customer by not being able to handle their request or get back to them in a way that shows you’re interested in working with them.
The Olympics have put a lot of information on China at the top of the news lately, and it’s generating a lot of discussion. The remarkable transformation of China’s internet will certainly be one of those topics. Perhaps this is an opportunity for your website to consider branching out to China and to see what an internet presence there can do for you.
