BEIJING - The size of China's search engine market hit 5.53 billion yuan ($877.8 million) in the first quarter of 2012, according to new statistics.

The figure represents a 70.4 percent year-on-year increase, but a 4.7 percent decline compared to the last quarter of 2011, showed the figures from Analysys International, a Beijing-based tech and internet information provider.

Dong Xu, an analyst with the firm, attributed the quarter-on-quarter decline to the traditional seasonality of Internet use.

Thanks to its good overall performance, however, the keyword section has attracted steady advertising budgets, Dong said.

Keyword advertising also meets the needs of brand marketing with advertisers, who are gradually recognizing its promotional value. Therefore, China's search engine market will keep a stable development, he added.