According to reports, China’s decision not to fully block Google.com.hk fosters hope that Google will still be able to maintain a presence in China.
However, analysts say that Chinese advertisers will be wary of engaging with Google in the future because its position is blatantly precarious.
Although Google on Monday said it looked to continue R&D work in China and also to maintain a sales presence in the market, the feasibility of conducting robust business may be slim.
“I think from an advertising standpoint, it is very unlikely that advertisers will continue to pour money into advertising on Google China, even though users can still see the ads in the new Simplified Chinese version on Google.com.hk,” said Antony Yiu, managing director of iPropsect Hong Kong and regional search director of iProspect North Asia.
“The uncertainty of whether and for how much longer internet users can access the Google.com.hk server in China will deter advertisers from putting more money in Google China via its new google.com.hk site.”
In 2009, Google reportedly made more than US$300 million in China due to advertising sales, and while the company may have difficulty achieving that profitability again soon, Rosemary Lising, head of search at GroupM Search Asia-Pacific, said:
“From our communications with Google, it indicated that it still has a sales and a research and development team in China. So as long as it has a service, and search programmes for our clients continue to perform they’ll still get client dollars.”
“Revenue potential in the future is dependent on the performance of client campaigns. We’ll be looking for a mix in media based on achieving results. Google have indicated that everything has been redirected to business as usual, but even for Google, it's wait and see because the google.com.hk site can be blocked at any time,” she added
Further to its advertising opportunities, Google has yet to announce the fate of its products such as its Android mobile service, Google Music Search, Goolge Maps and Google Translate.
To navigate users though the process, Google created a dashboard that enables audiences to see what services are accessible in China.