Search Systems in Russia: 2018 Trends and Forecast

Search systems let their users learn about current events, new goods, and much-in-demand services. Russians, as well as people from other countries, actively use information and other capabilities of the World Wide Web. As for the .ru national domain extension, Yandex, Google, Mail.ru, Rambler, and Bing are major search systems, by means of which Russian people looks for various information.

What do search services that are currently in-demand in Russia propose? What is their rating, development trends, and capabilities in 2018? What tools can be used to enter the Russian market through search advertising of goods and services offered by representative of foreign business? Read the article by RMAA Group and you will learn answers to all these questions.

Russian Search System Rating

The leading search systems of Russia as per decrease in their popularity as of the beginning of 2018 are as follows:

• Google, which started its operation in 1997. This is the most popular Internet information search tools in Russia among those that were created abroad;
• Yandex, which is 4 years older than Google. Yandex is a product of the Russian origin. Since 2001, it has been successfully leading the pack of search systems, which capacities the Russians use;
• Mail.ru, which has become available since 1998. As of 2017, it took the 5th place in Russia. Within the last year, its rating has significantly increased; however, its popularity notably fails to keep pace with Google and Yandex;
• Rambler, which has been in operation since 1996. Although this search system was top-ranked in the Russian Federation some 15 years ago, in the beginning of 2018 its status of a high-demanded Internet information search tool has dropped dramatically;
• Bing, which was elaborated by Microsoft in 1998. Before 2009, it had a chance to change several names and addresses. Sad but true, in spite of its high popularity in the world, Bing is still less popular in Russia than the foregoing search engines.

It is worth noting that Google and Yandex constantly lose first rating positions to each other. Yandex was leading as late as summer 2017, but by the end of that year Google took the first place again. Anyway, the gap in their percentage remains small: Yandex – 46.16%, Google – 49.13%. The analysis of this rate during last two years gives reason to assume that in 2018 there will still be their constant fight for the first position in the rating of search systems that residents of the RU space use.

2018 Development Trends through 2017 Achievements

Using the example of Google and Yandex, as well as contributing factors that are able to affect their development, we can easily suppose what we should wait from search systems in 2018. There is not much talk about Mail.ru, Rambler, and Bing—they are significantly behind Google and Yandex. Their popularity rates are only 2.73%, 0.74%, and 0.26 respectively.

In 2017, leading search engines in Russia tremendously widened search advertising capacities, which gave advertisers an option of experiments. For instance, a Report button appeared in Yandex.Direct ads, a number of ad spots in special placement changed, a new format of ads with two possible titels and a bigger text became available etc. In its turn, Google Adwords impressed us with its new interface, expansion of positions for Youtube ads, made it possible to see a primary source of conversions etc.

Undoubtedly, in 2018 Google and Yandex will continue modernizing and developing their capacities, determining thereby advancement ways for other search systems. This forecast is quite reasonable because in 2017 there was an urge to change mechanics, principles of search advertising in Google and Yandex since users already developed immunity towards advertising perception.

During the last year, a number of potential buyers and service consumers in Russia who use mobile devices for search of information has moderately increased. But, as it is known, search advertising on screens of such devices is shown a bit differently rather than on PC. Google and Yandex have already started considering this factor—they launched several new tools that let advertisers promote their goods and services better, catering to the audience that uses mobile devices.

Besides, as the 2017 analysis of behavioral factors shows, it became important for Internet users to get the maximum complete information on the goods and services that they are interested in. That is why Google and Yandex focus not only on bigger texts and increase of their quality in search advertising ads, but also on import of active contacts, in particular, telephone numbers, references, a click on which gives most information etc. It is quite logical to assume that in 2018 Russian search systems will go on developing, catering to information needs of the World Wide Web users.

2018 General Forecast

The research shows that in 2018 it will be the search advertising market that will be growing in Russia. Expenses for advertising campaigns by means of search engines will remarkably grow, too. Digital will become the main media, defeating even TV with 37.6% and 35.9% respectively. Digital will also outrun traditional printed mass media. Video content will still be a popular marketing tool.

Analysts believe that the future lies in the Yandex system because it, being created and developed by local specialists, is mostly oriented at peculiarities of digital marketing in Russia, which, by the way, has its own specificity if we talk about the very Russian media advertising market. Odds are, there will be no brand new tools that would be clear to foreign advertisers—instead, already known ones, but less applicable before will be utilized.

If to talk about the general forecast for development of search systems in Russia, in 2018 there will be:

• active implementation of cross-cutting analytics, integration with telephony and other tools to analyze user options;
• mastering of more complex conversion attribution models;
• use of automation systems that allow management of search advertising;
• growth of search advertising complexity and peculiarities;
• increase in popularity of visual advertising.

As you have learned from our article, digital marketing in Russia by means of search systems will be developing, but in a specific way. In order to use search engine advertising opportunities, one needs to know everything and then some more about peculiarities of successful advertisements that can have an effect on actions of Russian audience. RMAA Group experts know how to use modern advertising tools of search systems that are popular in the Russian Federation. With their help, every figure from foreign business has a real opportunity to enter a challenging, but large and profitable Russian market.

Follow us in social media