INSIGHT
Figure 2: Chinese online behaviour
Online Spending Habits
Reasons for Going Online
33.8% Shop Online
45.5% Research Purchases
76.3% - Search Engine
30.5% Pay Online
49.2% Research for Work
78.5% - Online News
29.1% Bank Online
51.3% News/Events
82.5% - Online Music
of an expectation that their messages will
be well received.
The way forward: forex and
financial betting
Traditional online gambling in China
is officially illegal under Chinese law,
meaning affiliate marketers looking to gain
a foothold in the market using the gaming
industry risk incurring the wrath of the
Chinese authorities in the process.
However, financial betting, which
involves gambling on the price movements
of shares and other assets, is legal in China,
as is the forex market. So for affiliates
with aspirations to tap into the largely
untouched China market, the opportunities
are there for the taking when it comes to
both forex and financial betting.
According to iGaming industry veteran
and CEO of Digital Fuel, Toby Oddy,
this makes it a lot easier to reach the
target audience in China, “Plus they love
financial betting too.”
Oddy’s top tip for affiliates looking
to enter this space is to be sure they
understand the financial industry, and
that they recognise Baidu, China’s largest
search engine, is a wholly different beast
to Google. Baidu offers paid search and
display advertising, as well as a content
network.
Affiliates need to be familiar with
the nuances not only of Chinese search
engines such as Baidu, but of social media
sites such as Weibo. Paid search can be a
successful method for obtaining Chinese
Most Popular Activities
traffic for affiliates. Oddy however warns
that while it is relatively easy to advertise
on Baidu and Weibo, they should be aware
that operators are required to be licensed
and regulated in a reputable jurisdiction to
be permitted to tap into Baidu or Weibo’s
services. Weibo is China’s equivalent
to Facebook; boasting an astounding
number of users in excess of those using
Facebook, so the potential to maximize
your social media strategy for conversions
is considerably heightened by using Weibo.
“If your brand needs to build in China,
then the Baidu search network is the right
choice”, Oddy said. Baidu holds 70% of
the market, and its comprehensive tracking
of all aspects of user behaviour allows for
detailed profiling so that advertisers can
target as they wish.
You will of course need to be prepared
to work in the local language, because
everything on Baidu is in simplified
Chinese. It also takes time to open a Baidu
a