Google continues to slip in China search, map rankings

It may be a synonym for online search in the rest of the world but in China, Google’s a minor player. Its presence in the lucrative market is only getting smaller too.

Recent numbers from Marbridge Consulting (via The Next Web) show that Google is now the fourth most popular search engine in China behind Baidu, Qihoo 360 and Sogou.

A part of that decline is down to the throttling and frequent outages of Google in China. A much larger part however is down to the emergence of Qihoo. After launching in August, it has jumped to second place, with just under 10% of search market share.

Google’s fall isn’t limited to just search either, its Maps product has slipped drastically down the ranks in China.

According to a new report from tech analysis company Mobisights, Google is now the sixth most popular maps service in China, having slipped from second position in the second quarter of this year.

It lays claim to around nine percent of the market, while Chinese search giant Baidu’s map product holds 19.1%.

That fall happened largely on the back of Apple’s decision to scrap Google’s product in iOS 6. In China, Apple Maps is powered by market leader Autonavi, which lays claim to 25.9% of the market.