Qihoo 360 eyes 40 percent search share by 2015

Qihoo 360 is aiming to grab 40 percent share in China's online search market by 2015, growing 10 percentage points each year.

Quoting Qihoo 360 CEO Qi Xiang Dong, a QQ Tech report Wednesday said the company was targeting to grow its search market share to 20 percent by the end of this year, 30 percent in 2014, and 40 percent in 2015. 

Speaking at a media briefing, Qi said Qihoo 360 will focus on two main strategies including not publishing any medical-related ads, and ensuring it does not interfere with search results.

The CEO's comment was a jab at current Chinese search leader, Baidu. In 2010, Baidu was involved in a counterfeit drug advertising scandal. In 2011, the company was accused of manipulating its search result by placing certain Web sites higher on the ranking if the owners paid the search company enough money.

When Qihoo first launched its search engine in August 2012, it jumped to second position to grab about 10 percent of the market.

The company, though, may face an uphill task. In a ZDNet report last month, Zhang Xi, China-based analyst at iResearch, said the Chinese search market had stabilized a few months after Qihoo's entrance with Baidu's market share at around 80 percent. She said the online search market for China will likely remain the same in 2013.