Google launches ad service in Chinese
Leading search engine Google is reaching out to China's growing audience for internet adverts.
The company is expanding its AdWords search listings to include Chinese interfaces and new currency payment options.
Advertisers on Google can now buy and manage their AdWords campaigns in traditional Chinese (used in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) and simplified Chinese (used on the mainland and in Singapore).
AdWords allows advertisers to bid for ad placements on pages linked to keyword queries. The adverts appear automatically within Google results.
The Chinese interfaces bring the number of languages AdWords can be bought in to 16, and the number of countries to more than 180, according to James Mi, Google product manager for Asia-Pacific.
The company has also added payment support for Hong Kong and Singapore dollars.
Google believes this will open doors to new customers in fast-growing Asian markets. It will also enable the search engine to attract advertisers eager to reach consumers in these markets.
Google AdWords was initially available only in English and payable online only in US dollars.
'The introduction of Google AdWords in Chinese ... will reach out to new customers as well as represent a substantial marketing opportunity for businesses trying to reach this growing market,' Mr Mi said.
The moves are expected to undermine a thriving AdWords grey market in the mainland, where the language barrier and payment issues have resulted in many purported middlemen profiting from repackaging the service's offerings.
The rapid growth of internet usage in China has drawn a variety of foreign companies eager to capitalise on business opportunities.
China's top portal, Sohu.com, reported a 120 per cent year-on-year rise in advertising revenues to US$9.5 million in the fourth quarter. The company derives advertising revenue partly from sponsored search listings.
