Apparently, Google’s minimalist approach to search does not pertain exclusively to its home page. In China, Google has slimmed down its Google.cn domain name to G.cn.
Surely, this will appeal to lazy users of the search engine, who have not already learned to bookmark the search engine’s Chinese home page or who do not have it set as the default browser home page. The interesting question seems to be whether or not Google will draw new users with this seemingly innocuous move.
It may give the site a slight bump in hits, as Chinese Web surfers might be interested in punching the four keys to see if it really works or not. However, since the actual search engine has not changed, it is doubtful that G.cn will significantly help Google’s standing in the Chinese market, which has thus far been championed by homegrown Baidu.
In the end, this move will be nothing more than a quirky way to grab attention, and a convenience to any who end up utilizing this redirect.
However, Doug Caverly at WebProNews notes that this shortening of Google’s Chinese domain name may prove to be gold when it comes to mobile users, which is currently on the up and up. His point is well made and could prove to highlight G.cn’s importance in the near future.
Source:
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/11/02/
google-to-topple-baidu-with-short-domain-name
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