The conflict between search engine giant Google and the Chinese authorities has been a long time coming. The search engine has long been criticised for its adherence to the Chinese government’s censorship policies, but not many people expected the company to take a real stand. With Google finally putting its foot down on the subject of censorship, not only is the company’s future in China in question, the fate of every Western site approaching China is unclear.

First, do no evil

The stand, or lack of a stand, of Google when it comes to China has long been a bit of a blight on the company’s image. Even fans of Google have had doubts about the company looking the other way when it comes to China and censorship. The general feeling is that a company whose motto is ‘Do No Evil’ should have a few doubts about agreeing to censor results.

The issue came to a head at the start of this year, when Google threatened to pull all operations from China if the Chinese government did not agree to allow uncensored results. The media had a wonderful time with that particular piece of news during January and February, with all interested observers waiting breathlessly for the next move. It was a while in coming, and less than earth-shattering. Without explicit agreement from the Chinese government to its demands, Google neither pulled nor caved, instead moving operations to Hong Kong and uncensoring results from there.

The Chinese government reacted by instructing its media to restrict attention to Google’s move, but its final reaction has yet to emerge.

How this affects the industry

The main effect to be expected from the change is that use of Google in mainland China will diminish. Most internet commentators expect the Chinese government to have a low tolerance for Google’s uncensored results. Even if the government does not ban the site within the country, users may get tired of clicking on a result in the listing only to come across an error message when their government’s computers block it.

In ceasing censorship of results, Google hasn’t really achieved much, other than a near-guaranteed loss of Chinese market share. Some of the more cynical commentators in the SEO industry have observed that perhaps the move comes from a general lack of success in the country, a graceful retreat in the face of failure.

What it has achieved for the online business world in general is a little more uncertainty about operating in China. Google was a friendly face in that problematic country, and it’s likely that Google’s move will mean no more Google China. Even now, with Google.cn being rerouted to Google.hk, things have changed enough for site owners to be a little disturbed.

Google is not the only method of search in mainland China, and the truth is that the change is not going to make big waves for any business with a Chinese branch. All the same, international business is well advised to investigate potential repercussions. You can talk to our experts at SEO Consult Australia about international search.