Chinese search engines
Search in China is led by domestic platforms. The right “next step” is usually making sure your website is visible in China, then improving rankings on the engines that are accessible to Chinese networks.
This was helped many years ago, when Google and Chinese authorities could not find a way to work on the Internet in China. Today, Google search engines, applications, and files are largely inaccessible in China; therefore, Google is mainly accessed via VPNs.
Overview
Led by Baidu, Chinese search engines have dominated domestic search for over 20 years.
Historically, Google and Chinese authorities could not find a long-term operating model. Today, Google search, applications, and many Google-hosted files are largely inaccessible on mainland networks, so Google is often accessed via VPNs.
Major search engines
Baidu
Market share: 54.64%Baidu was the Google replacement in China. It filled the gap left by “Google blocked” in China. The issue with Baidu is that it's unclear which ad placements are included in the results and which listing best matches your search. This is different from Google, where ads are marked.
Bing
Market share: 24.50%Bing is accessible in China and has grown strongly in B2B usage since 2024. Microsoft’s long-term presence in China helps it operate within local rules (some content may be removed).
360 Search
Market share: 11.73%Qihoo 360 started in PC security (similar in concept to Norton). When installed, 360 products can promote 360 Search—similar to how browsers were historically bundled with operating systems.
Sogou
Market share: 2.01%Sogou is part of Tencent’s ecosystem and links to products like QQ and WeChat. Despite this, Sogou’s search share has declined as users increasingly search inside apps.
Google dominates globally, but in China it is typically accessed via VPNs and has a small share on domestic networks.
Shenma
Market share: 0.75%Shenma (Alibaba family) aims to bridge search and e-commerce by linking searches to platforms such as Tmall and JD.
Market share tables
Total search engine traffic
Mobile search engine traffic
Tablet search engine traffic
Desktop search engine traffic
Search engine market share charts
Mobile traffic
Tablet traffic
Desktop traffic
Chinese search engine webmaster tools
Chinese search engines provide webmaster platforms similar to Google Search Console. In Chinese (pinyin), a webmaster is commonly referred to as Zhanzhang (站长).
- Baidu: ziyuan.baidu.com
- Sogou: zhanzhang.sogou.com
- 360 Search: zhanzhang.so.com
- Shenma: zhanzhang.sm.cn
What is an internet search?
“Search” is no longer limited to traditional search engines. Users often search inside apps, depending on what they are looking for.
- Music: users search inside music apps
- Shoes: users search inside retail and marketplace apps
- Industrial products: users search inside B2B platforms
International, Amazon is often described as the most-used consumer search engine. In China, platforms like Shenma attempt to bridge search and e-commerce. WeChat also includes built-in search—linking your content to WeChat can increase discoverability.
Quick checklist
Use these as a quick scan before deeper work.
- Make sure your website content can be seen in China.
- Search engine priorities domain name using Chinese NS/DNS.
- Check whether your internet content can be found in a Chinese search engine.
- Check whether your products can be seen in Chinese e-malls.
- List your website in the Chinese webmaster platforms (Zhanzhang).
- Open a WeChat account and link your internet content.
WeChat bridges the gap between social media and search engines. Creating a WeChat account for your business is recommended.