Google pulled out of China and moved its operations to Hong Kong in 2010 objecting to the censorship of the Chinese government. Google traditionally place its advertisements next to the search box. Since its departure, the Beijing-based Baidu is the number one search engine in China capturing 78.6 percent market share. Google still the number two search engine in China.
It appears that Google is making a comeback in China. This time it is the mainland’s leader in mobile phone advertising. It can send its ads to anyone who is using a smartphone or a tablet to play games, viewing videos, or use any other apps. Its China presence is known as AdMob which they bought for $750 million in 2010 and generates 7.9 billion requests a month. Mobile ads are far better at attracting customers than desktops. However, Baidu and Tencent Holdings, China’s largest internet company are also expanding into mobile advertising which will compete with Google. AdMob has an advantage due to its coverage of Android devices as well as iPhones and iPads. During the London Olympics, Hylink Advertising bought all advertising spots in AdMob. It appears that the Chinese ad market is heading the mobile way and Google will benefit from it.