Baidu; China’s netizens get older, Baidu responds with new Senior search engine.

According to a CNNIC report, by the end of 2008, the number of the Chinese netizens had reached 298 million, increased by a margin of 88 million compared to 2007. Studying the stats over these two years, we see an obvious rise in the number (+2.5%) of older Chinese netizens (over 40 years of age) in 2008.

Grandpa is going digital.

Due to China’s family planning policy, a major change in population structure was bound to happen. It’s predicted by iresearch that Chinese netizens over 50 will constitute 20% of the entire online population in China, while a dynamic growth of netizens over 60 is foreseeable. Baidu, with the help of its marketing support team, realized this aging trend is inevitable; its newly launched service strategically captures these aging netizens.

Steady increase in older (40+) users.
According to the statistics below, the number of 40+ netizens soared from 8.99million (2007) to 23.43million (2009); thus becoming a vital part of Baidu’s users. To address this growing segment; Baidu launched a special search service on April 14th, 2009: 123.baidu.com.

Going over the hill; netizen’s age 40+ are growing in number.

Focus on key usability features to address 40+ needs.
123.baidu.com pages feature simplified design to ease the surfing experience for China’s 40+. Services important to 40+ like news, health, traditional Chinese music, plants & birds, are clearly highlighted on each page, allowing easier access than previous layouts.

Most 40+ Chinese cannot type with a keyboard or write pinyin (Mandarin romanization system), a mandatory skill needed to type in Chinese; this is an obvious barrier to using search engines like Google or Baidu. The common practice is to purchase digital writing pads, which can be inaccurate and cumbersome to use on a consistent basis.

To address this, Baidu set up links with 40+ targeted keywords. Since the value of these categories are significant given their context, 40+ users will breath a sigh of relief when they can reach their intended destinations without problems. Baidu has now become a sort of e-newspaper; combining the familiar (print media) with the dramatically new.

40 year old virgin.
Catering to the digital 40+ crowd is something completely new for Baidu. Considering China’s entrance into the modern age was just a short 20 years ago, this new field is virgin territory for the search giant. By moving quickly to service this growing segment, Baidu can keep control of its top spot in the Chinese digital heart.

EDIT: I was notified via twitter from Simon (@illuminantceo) that his blog “A Source of Light” features a post on Baidu’s new search engine from a local’s perspective.

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Tagged as: 40+, Baidu, search engine