Google Sites Has Largest Audience in Asia Pacific Region
Google sites have the largest audience in Asia Pacific!
Earlier in July,
comScore released research through a webinar that showed
Google sites have the largest audience in Asia Pacific region.
- Google Sites led as the most-visited property in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam
- Yahoo! Sites attracted the most visitors in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan
- Microsoft Sites led the market in Australia reaching 93 percent of online users
- Local entities topped the list in China and South Korea, with Tencent Inc. and NHN Corporation reaching the largest percentage of Internet users
- In the Philippines, Facebook.com reigned as the most-visited destination reaching 93 percent of online users, the highest penetration of any global market for the social networking site
Of course with a huge percentage of the human population based in the Asia-Pacific region, no wonder that Asia, specifically China, is hot.
Data like this research helps marketers value the importance of geo-specific regions and which web properties are best to leverage for maximum visibility, exposure, and awareness. And right now - Asia is hot.
International Search is the future of SEO and the future of International SEO is Mobile Search. International Search is Mobile Search. International SEO is Mobile SEO.
Labels: asia, asia internet, china, china internet, international SEO, mobile internet, mobile SEO, SEO
China Has 420 Million Internet Users
The Chinese Internet Network Information Center (
CNNIC) released its survey showing that since the end of 2009, in the first half of 2010 alone, China has increased Internet users by 36 million to 420 million.
Of the 420 million Internet users, 277 million accessed the Internet via mobile phones!
To give perspective, the US population is roughly 300 million. Japan's population is roughly 130 million. These figures are total population inclusive of men, women, children.
US Population:
Japan Population:
The numbers here are huge. This kind of market, by pure numbers, are unbelievable and haven't even touched a saturation point yet for China's total population.
Now Google needs Android phones to make a bigger inroad to capitalize on mobile search!
But these figures also reveal an important thing and reality of the future of the Internet and the future of SEO: the future of the Internet is global Internet community and a global Internet is based on mobile Internet.
The Western and industrialized nations are at a saturation point and growth will depend on the developing nations and China.
The SEO professional must be aware of International search and mobile search and track and understand the changes - in order to remain relevant.
International Search is the future of SEO and the future of International SEO is Mobile Search. International Search is Mobile Search. International SEO is Mobile SEO.
Labels: china, china internet, international SEO, mobile internet, mobile SEO, SEO
It's Been a While for AK Works - New Blog Coming Out
It's been a while since AK Works Blog has come out. Big changes here at AK Works. The company was always a consulting company but will be moving into more SEO research with a focus on International SEO and Mobile SEO.
Why is this the case? Because the future of SEO and business is International.
As an active investor, I look for companies with international exposure to invest in. With the financial meltdown for the last 2-3 years, the case for investing in companies with international markets is even stronger.
For SEOs, the majority of work and understanding of SEO has been English-based and US/UK centric. To stay relevant, SEOs must learn business in the 2010s and the business priorities of this new decade.
Inevitably, this leads to International SEO.
While there are still plenty of SEO business in working with the SMBs of the United States, Canada, and even the UK, SEOs as a profession need to be versed in the global business landscape.
The SEO profession can only survive and remain relevant if SEOs fill business needs of all spectrum from the mom-and-pops to the local SMBs to the global Fortune 500 enterprises.
AK Works will spend time researching the global search landscape, the mobile landscape, and present data and analysis. We will also present case studies of existing projects that we do as well as research and results from our existing projects.
This blog will be used as one vehicle for the main website, currently at AK Works. Blog posts will originate there but also be promoted here as well. That site will be redesigned shortly.
Our goal with AK Works and with the blogs is to present data, third-party and primary market research, and critical analysis on International SEO, International markets, China & Asia markets, developments in International Search, Mobile SEO, mCommerce, and also stock investing in SEO-related firms.
Labels: asia, BIDU, china, GOOG, international SEO, mcommerce, mobile SEO, MSFT, stock investing, YHOO
MSFT Bing is NOT the Winner in Google Pulling Out of China
Now that Google is 99.9% certain it will pull out of China, there is speculation that
Microsoft Bing will be the winner and be able to snatch more market share. After all, with Google out of the picture, Microsoft can compete on more even ground against Baidu, Sina, or Sohu, right?
That's conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom also says that Google pulling out of China is a bad business move.
After all, Google would be pulling out of a country that has 1.3 billion people with
600 million of them in urban areas (presumably connected to the Internet). China's urbanized population alone is DOUBLE the entire population of the United States. Plus, China is estimated to be about 20% of the world's population. Conventional wisdom says this is a market that Google should learn to appease.
But conventional wisdom has more than once been proven wrong. Google is making a bet on Mobile
Google, if and when it pulls out of China, will essentially be breaking up with a cantankerous woman. A woman who is fine, but just way too full of drama.
Google's "lover on the side" or "cut buddy" is Mobile. And that's where Google is placing its bet on. Google itself has made plenty of strides into Mobile including the AdMob purchase and Nexus One.
If and when Google perfects mobile search and mobile ads, Google will not only command desktop search, it will command mobile search. And in Asia, Europe, and emerging economies, access to Internet through mobile devices is far more prevalent than in the US.
While Bing chases after Google's desktop search crumbs, Google is setting up the table and dining hall for mobile search.
Over the course of the next few days and weeks, I will be exploring Google and China and Mobile. I will be putting out a collection of articles on Google and China with more details, analysis, and references.
These will be followed by analysis and details on International SEO, Mobile SEO, and the future of the Internet & SEO.
Labels: Bing, china, GOOG, Google, international SEO, mobile SEO, MSFT
NO to the Auto Industry Bailout
I am not alone in saying NO the auto industry bailout. Many Americans feel the same way. The reasons may vary but most people I know don't want this bailout - including my Democrat friends.
We all feel the same way - why should our tax dollars be put into bailing out antiquated, inefficient, irresponsible companies?
Democrat and Republican voters might have differing views on the UAW and their role in the inefficiencies and irresponsibility of the Big 3, but we agree that the auto makers need reform and that those reforms should NOT be financed by our tax dollars.
I think most American voters are not comfortable with paying more taxes to fund a bailout of big companies when all of us are hurting and need our own individual bailout.
I personally hate Ford, GM, and Chrysler. I hate the companies because they make crappy cars. Their trucks suck; nothing more than giant gas-guzzling, top-heavy, road-hogging pieces of crap. Those things can't keep value, are loaded with extra crap, and are highly over-priced with average starting prices at $25,000. I drive an import. I have been a Honda man - and have lately found great value in Hyundai's Sonata - features, reliability, and great price. There's nothing in Ford, GM, or Chrysler's inventory even remotely close to that quality or value. Plus, there's no sedan that any of those Big 3 offers that is at all comparable to the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, or Hyundai Sonata.
I also hate the UAW and union workers. On top of, clearly, overpaid executives that continue to fumble the ball managing the Big 3, union auto workers are classic examples of overpaid, underworked labor. These guys make more money than I do, have more benefits than my job offrs, and I have a friggin college education! A college education is supposed to offer MORE economic opportunities, right? What gives? But I am not mad about them making more money - that's part of this society to be able to succeed spectacularly or fail miserably. What I don't like is the idea that the auto maker executives AND union workers want tax-payer money to continue to fund their cushy overpaid, underworked, lazy butts. Why should the government take the food out of my mouth to help their worthless butts keep their jobs?
I can say this with clarity because my job is non-union. So why should I support any union jobs with my tax dollars? It's a rhetorical question because I don't support it.
I can also say all this with clarity because Honda and Toyota manufacture their cars here in the US and they use non-union labor. They bring manufacturing plants to places OUTSIDE of Detriot and Michigan to places like Tennessee. These companies do very well. They employ workers, they sell their cars because the cars are well-built and have great value. The companies are efficient in manufacturing, keeping costs down, and they produce wise cars. Oh, and they also don't cheapen themselves by selling fleet vehicles.
Now if Honda and Toyota can do this, so can US automakers. US automakers can have fairer, non-union labor. They can make fuel-efficient, small cars. They can push the envelope of automotive engineering. Better manufacturing, better engineering - all of this is possible and it's been done already! The Big 3 - both management and union - are just way too lazy to evolve.
That's why I say NO to the bailout. Screw these guys. Let the fall, let them rot. They refuse to change for the better - and yet want tax payer money to help them to keep their ways? NO! Money is a great incentive - and they should be forced to change under duress.
Management needs to trim the fat. The surviving managers need to be driven like slaves to install refined and efficient manufacturing - and better business models. Engineers need to be slave-driven to push automotive engineering for more reliable and fuel-efficient cars. And Labor needs to "de-unionize". The union needs to be broken. When manufacturing is so streamlined with automation, there's no reason auto workers should be so highly overpaid. Labor is labor - if you are paid to press a button, you should be paid a wage befitting pressing a button.
Jerry Yang Stepping Down from Yahoo - Finally?
Breaking news now - Jerry Yang is stepping down from Yahoo. He will step down from Yahoo as CEO as soon as a suitable replacement is found for the position. He'll remain with Yahoo and resume his former position of "Chief Yahoo" (rolls eyes - throwback to the crazy names from the pre-Dotcom Bubble Burst days).
YHOO closed 10.63 on November 17, 2008.
Report 1Report 2Report 3Labels: Jerry Yang, Yahoo, YHOO
Tuchman's Law - Is The Economy Really That Bad?
Economic news is depressing these days. Ford and GM are dying - with shares trading at below $4 a share. Banks have failed. Even entire countries like Iceland is facing bankruptcy. Oil, which was hit by speculative trading that drove futures to nearly $150 a barrel have fallen - below $60 a barrel as of closing November 11, 2008. US consumers are not shopping affecting retail, particularly this holiday shopping season.
Home foreclosures continue, driving down home sales both new and existing. Cars are not selling, gas consumption in the US and worldwide (including China) have waned. And now - increasing rounds of layoffs as corporations attempt to trim the fat.
Yet even with all of these economic bad news, for most of us, is it really that bad? Or are we still functioning but with more sacrifice?
No doubt a lot of people are feeling the pain and have curtailed a lot of "luxuries" (whatever that may be - for me, it's going to the movies).
But, the fact that the bad economic news is not juxtaposed with the latest robberies, mugging, or murder-suicide over finances and is, instead, matched with more economic bad news, it makes me wonder if most people have found a way to cope.
Perhaps the American and human spirit is more resilient and is capable of coping with economic hardships. Perhaps, Tuchman's Law is in effect?
Tuchman's Law was coined by American author and historian, Barbara Tuchman who wrote "
The Guns of August
", a history about the buildup and first month of World War I. The book, by the way, was referenced by President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis and
he encouraged his Cabinet to read it to help deal with the crisis (a really well done movie,
Thirteen Days
, is about the Cuban Missile Crisis).
Tuchman's Law, however, states that the presence of negative news would have you believe that the world is ending and that it seems at every moment, something bad is going to happen when the reality is that bad news is actually OUT of the ordinary.
The fact of being reported multiplies the apparent extent of any deplorable development by five- to tenfold. Disaster is rarely as pervasive as it seems from recorded accounts. The fact of being on the record makes it appear continuous and ubiquitous whereas it is more likely to have been sporadic both in time and place. Besides, persistence of the normal is usually greater than the effect of the disturbance, as we know from our own times. After absorbing the news of today, one expects to face a world consisting entirely of strikes, crimes, power failures, broken water mains, stalled trains, school shutdowns, muggers, drug addicts, neo-Nazis, and rapists. The fact is that one can come home in the evening, on a lucky day, without having encountered more than one or two of these phenomena.(reference)
I suspect that for most of us, the presence of the economic bad news has strained us, but has not broken us, caused us to be homicidal or suicidal (much). Perhaps my faith in God is also my strength because I know who's in control, regardless of a Democrat or Republican in charge.
But with most Americans having faith in a God - be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim or other - I suspect that most Americans are coping and making appropriate sacrifices, strengthened by their faith.
So while the news seems bad, most of us are still handling our business. We go to work. Or look for a job - anything to pay the bills. We curtail our spending to essentials as much as possible (life still does take place, after all, so some measure of luxury can still be afforded).
To me, even with all the economic bad news and even though things are bad, things are not quite so bad. Tuchman's Law does indeed apply.
From the AP news, "Critics say new mortgage aid effort for Fannie, Freddie loans doesn't go far enough."
The Federal (tax-payer) mortgage aid plan announced November 11 is geared towards Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. The plan, in simple terms, would allow Fannie and Freddie borrowers get reduced rates and longer loan terms to reduce payments and make it more affordable.
Sounds good, but the critics say Fannie and Freddie only make up about 20% of the distressed or delinquent loans.
Politics aside, I'm willing to concede that the economy is in crisis and extraordinary measures to bring stability is needed.
What I do not like are the journalists' usage of examples to try and build empathy. I don't know if there is enough empathy going around this country (or the world) anymore. People want to blame Bush, the mortgage companies, and the "other" borrowers - the "irresponsible" ones. In my case, I am among those who blame the borrowers as much as the mortgage companies and loan investors.
In this report, the particular "sob" story is San Francisco police officer, Troy Courtney. He is mad because this mortgage aid is too little too late for him. He lost his home in Mill Valley - taking his children, THREE dogs and ONE cat.
Tuesday's announcement comes too late for Troy Courtney, a 44-year-old San Francisco police officer.
He moved out of his home in Mill Valley, Calif., earlier this month -- taking his children, three dogs and one cat with him -- after failing at several attempts to get a loan modification or a short sale. A short sale occurs when the lender agrees to receive less than the loan is worth.
Courtney worked overtime and tapped into his retirement account to try to catch up with two loans on his home. But in the end, he couldn't persuade Countrywide Financial, which managed the loan for Wells Fargo, to modify the loan.
Now - maybe I'm heartless. Maybe I am selfish. Maybe it's because it's the economy or because I just am - but I don't feel sorry for Troy. In fact, he's exactly one of those irresponsible borrowers I blame.
What person, in his right mind, would keep THREE dogs and ONE cat - a full FOUR house pets - plus his children while struggling to pay his house?
First of all, he absolutely bought too much house for him to afford. Second of all, owning and maintaining FOUR house pets is NOT cheap. Dog food for three plus cat food add significant costs to groceries. Not to mention feeding and clothing his children, his monthly costs were probably exorbitant.
Now while Troy couldn't get rid of his children (nor should he), the pets should have been gone. Four pets should not suck a penny from the family budget, not in times like these and not when one is struggling to pay the mortgage.
And while it is possible that even without the pets, Troy would ultimately have lost his house, then at least he can walk away knowing he did all he could to make the sacrifices to make ends meet.
Troy's lack of personal financial responsibility, however, is a perfect example to me of the recklessness these types of borrowers - the ones I blame.
When I come across borrowers like Troy, it pisses me off. His own recklessness along with others like him, along with the mortgage companies, and along with idiot greedy investors, have caused world economic pain and have killed my own investment portfolio.
While people like Troy spent money like no tomorrow, people like me sacrificed "stuff" to sock money away for the long-term. Yet for those of us who played by the rules and tried to do the right thing, we end up losing because of people like Troy.
I want to say people like Troy got what he deserved. But his downfall contributed to my own pains - and I won't condemn myself. So I sit here, angry at Troy while he is angry that he lost his house.
Not much of a choice, in the end.
Learning Chinese for Business - and Perhaps SEO
My last boss told me if he has his choice on what language his children would learn, he would have them learn Chinese. It's the language of the future, he said.
Since I speak Mandarin Chinese already, I wasn't going crazy up and down for it. I mean - shoot, I speak it with my parents. But then again, I have a natural fondness and affinity for language so I like all languages.
But while I speak conversational Mandarin Chinese, I grew up in the States and am a US citizen. My first language at this point is English. I don't have the expansive vocabulary to speak like a native fluent speaker. I also don't read or write Chinese.
And another thing that compounds learning Chinese is the difference between Traditional versus Simplified. As a Taiwanese (R.O.C.), I am a staunch "Traditionalist" that is, traditional Chinese character writing. But with China's (P.R.O.C., Mainland, Communist China) increasing world presence, China's Simplified writing system is gaining more usage. To someone like me, who's used to Traditional Chinese writing, trying to learn written Chinese is not easy because who knows what's Traditional and what is Simplified?
After a lot of searching (yes, SEO skills in use), I found one website that I really like that teaches both Traditional and Simplified:
Chinese-course.com.
The website has flash cards to make it easy to learn. Daily lessons are available and can be emailed to you. You can also subscribe via RSS feed. Getting lessons is very easy.
If you want to learn how to read, write, and speak Mandarin Chinese without paying for Rosetta Stone (and without succumbing to Michael Phelps' pitch), then Chinese-Course.com is a great way to start.
