Baidu Bars Some Unlicensed Medical Firms From Paid Listings; They Account for 10-15 Percent of Revenue

Baidu (BIDU) today issued a press release to address allegations in a China Central Television report that yesterday drove down the Chinese Internet search company’s shares $44.80, or 25 percent.

As I noted in several posts yesterday, a CCTV report broadcast on Nov. 15 and 16 asserted that some unlicensed medical companies appeared high in the company’s search results due to their willingness to pay for popular keywords. Baidu’s search engine mixes paid and unpaid search results. The company was also accused of pulling from its search index some organizations that declined to buy keywords.

Read the rest of this post


comments so far. Add yours.

  • http://bluelight.ruwannaplay? Mark Light

    SEO is a joke. If your search engine allows it, your brand is held in low disregard by searchers. Brand reputation is important. Google thinks it’s smart, in actuallity I have doubts as to Google’s true share of “search”, I hate that word. I prefer to call it Internet Users.manipulation of statistics is unethical, and could be criminal. Check your attorneys, on that one, Larry, and Sergei…(should I also include Eric?). :)

Must-Reads from other Web sites

Michael Wolff

The Facebook Fallacy

Ryan Knutson and Liz Day

In Race for Better Cell Service, Men Who Climb Towers Pay With Their Lives

Stephen Shankland

Browser Choice: A Thing of the Past?

Sean Garrett

Advice to the Graduate (Interested in PR)

About Voices

Along with original content and posts from across the Dow Jones network, this section of AllThingsD includes Must-Reads From Other Web Sites — pieces we’ve read, discussions we’ve followed, stuff we like. Six posts from external sites are included here each weekday, but we only run the headlines. We link to the original sites for the rest. These posts are explicitly labeled, so it’s clear that the content comes from other Web sites, and for clarity’s sake, all outside posts run against a pink background.

We also solicit original full-length posts and accept some unsolicited submissions.

Voices is edited by Beth Callaghan.

Latest Video

View all videos »

Search »