By Anshu Shrivastava

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

Omniture (News - Alert), Inc., a provider of online business optimization software, has announced the completion of the integration of Omniture SearchCenter with Chinese language Internet search provider Baidu.com (News - Alert).

 

Omniture SearchCenter forecasts and optimizes Search Engine Marketing (SEM) results, automating keyword bidding and combining multiple search engines in one interface. Omniture officials said that automated bid strategies and alerts help users evaluate and respond to changing bid conditions.

 

The integration will help marketers to “better” manage their ad spend with Baidu.com and increase the “yield” from their search marketing budgets, according to Omniture.

 

Haoyu Shen, vice president of business operations at Baidu.com, believes that by integrating Baidu.com's search metrics with Omniture, online marketers can “better” measure campaigns and increase conversion by making the search experience “more” relevant.

 

“With Omniture SearchCenter and Baidu.com, advertisers can now increase the results of their online campaigns while reaching Baidu.com customers more effectively,” he added.

 

Haoyu also noted that while the Chinese Internet audience has continued to grow, so has the interest in targeting this large economy through paid and natural search marketing.

 

According to a recent report published by research firm IDC (News - Alert), China's Internet user population is expected to grow to 378.9 million by 2011. In 2006, China's online advertising reached $637.4 million (USD) in 2006, which is expected see continuous growth to reach $4.328 billion in 2011.

 

Beijing, China-based Baidu.com through its subsidiaries provides Chinese language Internet search services primarily in the People's Republic of China. The company offers a Chinese language search platform, which consists of Web sites and online application software, and Baidu Union, a network of third-party Web sites and software applications.

 

In China, Baidu.com's share of Web search traffic was 73.6 percent in Q3 2007, while its market share for China's search engine marketing spend was 60.8 percent, according to iResearch.

 

Josh James, CEO and co-founder of Omniture, said that successful search management strategies are “paramount” for enterprises and interactive agencies that do global online marketing. He also said that SearchCenter gives businesses increased advantages by managing search marketing campaigns to the vast Chinese Internet audience that predominantly uses Baidu.com for search.

 

Last month, Omniture announced that it has implemented Omniture SiteCatalyst for Yahoo! Japan to increase lead generation and sales, across Yahoo! Shopping sites.