Many international brands already invest in Baidu SEO. They get traffic. Some rankings. But growth slows fast. That’s because Baidu plays by its own rules, and basic optimization only takes you so far in China’s competitive search environment.

We’ve helped international brands move from basic visibility to real scale on Baidu. Our team works daily with Chinese hosting, ICP compliance, content platforms, backlinks, and Baidu’s own ecosystem. We don’t guess. We test, adapt, and execute on the ground in China.

In this guide, we break down advanced Baidu SEO optimization strategies that scale. You’ll learn what actually moves rankings, how to capture more SERP space, and how we structure SEO to drive long-term traffic and leads in China.

Focus on Baidu, only on Baidu

Baidu is currently the no.1 search engine in China with nearly 80% market share.
Why you should focus on this Search Engine only?

• Because all the others have copied the Baidu search algorithm 
• You are good on Baidu, you are good on other search engines…

Considering that Chinese consumers conduct intensive searches online (either on search engines, social media, or e-commerce platforms) to learn about products or services, being visible on Baidu is very critical to capture targeted traffic to your website and ultimately generating sales.

In this article, we suggest 12 techniques to rank you on top of Baidu SERP and triple the traffic to your website.

Read our Baidu SEO Guide

1. To Get Baidu Organic Results, Do and Redo SEO audits

Auditing your website means you closely examine your overall site performance to discover why you’re not getting enough search traffic, any bugs that need fixing as well as optimize the content you already have.

#1 Check with Web Hosting (speed matter)

• Domain Name: Baidu prefers domains that use .cn
• Hosting: Baidu wants your site to be hosted in China. However, you can also host your website in Hongkong or Singapore to ensure the loading speed.
• Physical Address: Baidu favors sites that have a physical presence in China. This doesn’t mean you need to set up an office in China. Just make sure that you have local Chinese contact details on your site.
• Censorship: The Chinese government enforces a strict censorship regime for all online activities in China. So anything that violates the censorship regime will see a site either refused listing or de-indexed from Baidu’s database.
• ICP License: all websites should apply for an Internet Content Publishing (ICP) license. Without an ICP license, ranking high on a Baidu SERP is difficult, if not impossible.

#2 Optimise more Pages- Titles and Meta Data

• Make sure title tags and metadata are unique, descriptive, and is keyword-optimized in Simplified Chinese.
• The title tag character limit is 80
• Meta descriptions and meta keywords do factor into ranking for Baidu
• Meta description character limit is 200, and meta keywords are 100
• Alt tags and heading tags also have increased prominence in Baidu’s ranking algorithm – be sure to optimize in Chinese accordingly.

#3 Is each page optimized for SEO keywords that you want to rank for?

1 page 2 keywords maximum

1. Is the page good for the visitor?
2. Is the page proper for the conversion?

#4 Is each page and blog post structured properly?

• Is organized with headings and subheadings
• Uses 2-3 sentences per paragraph
• Bold or italicize important points
• Has a call to action

43% of people skim blog posts instead of reading the whole thing. Make it easy for people to read!

#5 Keep URL structure short and if possible,

• Rework on url
• using Pinyin (Romanised version of Chinese characters)

#6 Are you using links in your content?

This includes both internal links (to your own content) and external links (to other websites).

#7 Find and delete zombie pages

Basic SEO Audit Report in Baidu Tongji

2. Learn what your users want

Understand your user, and you will win the SEO battle 

You need to focus on what your target customers want. When you understand what they want, you can develop content that draws them in.

And how do you get feedback from your ideal customer if you’re just starting out and don’t have any real customers to ask

There are several ways to find out:

• Zhihu

Zhihu is a “serious” community where people ask and answer questions based on their own experience and insight.

Review the questions your targeted audience is asking for inspiration. If one person asks it on Zhihu, chances are there are hundreds of thousands of other people wondering the exact same thing.

You can also extract ideas from experts for your post. Zhihu is a great place to learn new things since professionals and experts come here to share their insights and knowledge.

• The Dropdown Keyword Suggestions and Related Search

A drop down menu of predicted search queries is provided as you type your keyword

in the search box.

Also, check the list of keywords provided at the bottom of a search results page, usually right above the page selector:

• Baidu Keyword Planner

Baidu Keyword Planner is a free keyword research tool integrated with the Baidu paid advertising platform. By inputting a core keyword or URL, the tool can generate a list of keywords automatically.

• Baidu Index

Baidu Index is a free tool to identify the search trends behind a term, product, brand, or industry.

By entering search terms in the query box, you can see multiple tabs, including historical & forecasting search trends, users’ interests & needs, public sentiment, regional interests, and audience & industry traits.

• Baidu Analytics for Organic Keywords Data

Baidu Analytics provides real-time and historical data about the performance of a company’s website including PPC metrics, website data, SEO suggestions, audience behaviors, etc.

You can see what posts or articles get the most views, the average time spent per page, or what terms they used to search for your site for keyword ideas.

• Baidu Feng Yun Bang 百度搜索风云榜

Baidu Feng Yun Bang is also a fantastic place to go discover what the Chinese internet is talking about.

• Leveraging Weibo for Content Insights

Below is a little exploration of some ways to make use of Weibo to get an understanding of the key content topics you’re after.

3. Create SEO optimized landing pages

A well-designed landing page can improve your conversion rate and bouncing rate thus increasing your website authority and ensuring you keep ranking on the search engine and get more and more Baidu, organic visitors.

Imagine if your customer makes a query on Baidu like “how to generate leads for B2B in China”, they would more likely to fill in the contact form to receive your white book if they land on an informative and professionally designed page that answers directly their question rather than on your homepage.

Sure, the homepage is important, but a landing page is where you can initiate a strong relationship.

The key elements of a good landing page are:

• No navigation (you want users to stay on the page!)
• Useful, informative content
• A call to action (to sign up for your product, or service, download a lead magnet, or another type of action)
• Insert links to relevant articles

Start now by creating high-quality landing pages for the most popular topics in your industry.

4. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly

Just as the growth in mobile search has impacted Google SEO, mobile search in China is growing at an even faster rate.

According to CNNIC (Chinese), in 2015 there were a total of 620 million mobile web users in China, which is 90% of all web users in China!

Among these users, 127 million access the web exclusively on mobile devices, which is 18.5% of all web users.

Making your site look good on mobile is no longer a luxury, it’s a standard.

Secondly, Baidu’s mobile search algorithm “Ice Bucket 2.0” was its answer to mobile sites with poor user experience caused by annoyances such as splash pages asking users to download their app, popup ads that stretch over the main content, or requiring users to log in before accessing content.

If your site has these problems, fix them as soon as possible.

The question is How do you know if your site is mobile-friendly?

Baidu Webmaster Tools offer a mobile-friendliness test that you can use on not only verified site, which can be accessed here (Chinese).

5. Think of videos as the new content king

Chinese consumers will spend nearly two hours a day watching videos online in 2020, according to Zenith’s Online Video Forecasts report.

China is leading the world in video consumption with the average person spending 105 minutes a day online, closely followed by Russia (102 minutes) and the UK (101 minutes).

Videos are a wonderful way to boost engagement, increase your website traffic as well as increase backlinks.

• Make short brand videos and product demos.
• Create educational videos on how to use your products or services.
• Run Livestream webinars or interviews.
• Add relevant metadata (shorter titles, rich descriptions) and transcripts for videos for Baidu to fully understand their intent(s).
• Upload videos to different popular platforms: Tencent video, Kuaishou, iQIYI, YouKu…

6. Write long and detailed blogs

Content length isn’t everything. A shorter blog post that’s higher quality will still outperform a longer, low-quality post.

However, a key benefit of longer content is that it will naturally contain more relevant keywords and rank for them.

Besides, if you can cover one topic in detail that every part of the post is useful, then you provide a lot of value to your readers, consequently making it more valuable to Baidu and increasing its ranking result on SERP.

Consistently publishing informative content will yield big returns in organic search traffic.

7. Post valuable content on other popular platforms

If your blog is new, it can be difficult to rank well in Baidu search results for high-volume keywords because your Domain Authority and Page Authority are still very low.

However, you can use other popular platforms to gain credibility and traffic. A few examples are Toutiao, Zhihu, Baidu Zhidao, and so on.

These sites give you the opportunity to improve your search rankings, as well as build a following, within a short period of time.

Don’t forget to include a link to your landing page for the topics/ answers you post on these platforms, but in a natural and sensible way.

The links that come from these sites will boost your search rankings. This is also a great way to get more leads.

8. Use advanced SEO internal deep linking

Deep linking is the practice of using anchor text to link to other pages inside your blog. This shows Baidu the depth of your site’s pages and encourages it to index more of them.

Your older blog posts and landing pages that used to provide immense value on relevant topics can pull in a lot of new traffic. You should link to them often to help build the structure of your website.

When your content is properly linked to each other, it helps the Baidu spider see all your content in an organized way, like this:

When you start interlinking pages other than your homepage, you’ll improve the SEO value for those internal pages and improve their search rankings.

9. Send link juice to lower ranked pages

If you have a page that’s currently on page 2 or 3 of Baidu search results, you can help move it up to page 1 by passing on quality link juice to those lower-ranked pages.

Link juice refers to outbound links from high authority sources to your content. Since those links are coming from high authority websites or pages, this gives Baidu an indication that your content must be high quality too.

• Update the post by adding new links, content, and recent data
• Share it across social media again. This will bring in a lot of new traffic
• Link to it in your newer posts. This directs traffic to the older post and results in people sharing it and linking to it themselves.

10. Find and use your competitors’ SEO keywords

Researching your competitors is a smart move.

You can spy on the exact keywords that they’re ranking for and use those same keywords to create better content.

After you have your content ready, contact the sites and blogs that have linked to your competitor’s article and tell them about your article. Chances are if they linked to your competitors’ articles, they’ll link to yours as well, sending additional referral traffic and SEO juice to your page.

11. Gain more spaces on Baidu SERPs with rich snippets

First thing first, you need to understand what an organic SERP on Baidu looks like.

Like the example above, the SERP displays a variety of related (and sometimes paid) results on the right and a mixture of other types of paid results as well as some organic results on the left.

Noticeable here is the extent to which Baidu incorporates its own products into the SERP. In fact, it is estimated that around 30% of Baidu queries are redirected to one of Baidu’s own products. Here for all Baidu products.

Therefore, SEO for Baidu is not only about on-page and off-page but needs a real strategy to optimize for these snippets.

Businesses that understand this will have a huge advantage because they’ll control a very large percentage of the first-page space on Baidu’s SERPs. This not only improves visibility but also gives Chinese people a strong sense of confidence in your brand.

In addition, another great benefit of using Baidu’s own content platforms for SEO purposes is that there’s no wait for your content to get indexed. Post it to Baidu’s content networks and it can be found by web users almost immediately. Indexing content on your own website, on the other hand, is a considerably longer process.

Baidu owns a wide range of products that we couldn’t cover all. Instead, we would like to discuss the 3 most powerful ones that can influence dramatically your chance to appear on top positions on top result pages.

• Baike 百科

Baidu Baike, otherwise known as “Baidu Encyclopaedia” is China’s answer to Wikipedia. 

A typical Baidu search query will often display around two Baike results with sub-links to related articles on the very first SERP.

Therefore, you should create and upload brand or product-related articles on Baidu Baike so that when users search for relevant keywords, Baidu Baike can bring them up. 

This is helpful considering the great priority Baidu gives to its own sub-products.

• Zhidao 知道

Baidu Zhidao, or “Baidu Knows”, is a massive Q&A platform that essentially serves as an enhanced Yahoo Answers, allowing users to create and participate in any topic.

Given a high tendency for Chinese users to search using long-tail, query-based phrases, as well as a general overall prominence in the SERP, your appearance on Zhidao, can give you a lot more chances to appear in front of users’ eyes.

How to utilize Zhidao for Baidu SEO:

1. Optimize your brand’s Baidu account so it’s as branded and official-looking as can be, and offer up well-informed, credible answers to users who are asking questions related to your brand or its products. An organically placed link within the text of the answer, as long it’s relevant and informative, will be indexed.
2. Ask for potential customer opinions on certain products or debates within the topics of your industry. It’s a great opportunity to get to know your target demographic and having brand-to-customer discussion and dialogue is key to building your brand in the Chinese market.

• Tieba 贴吧

Baidu Tieba (or “Post Bar”) is a keyword-based discussion forum where users can follow specific “Bars” (吧).

Here you can insert your brand into targeted discussions and participate in relevant threads with your audience.

You also have the opportunity to create your own Bar based on your brand, with the chance to create a hub and redirect users to your forum if they happen to search for your brand in Tieba or Baidu as a whole.

12. Regularly update your old content – Refresh it and reoptimize it… always

If you’ve been blogging for more than 3 months, you’ve got a goldmine of content in your archives to repost.

You’ve undoubtedly written some posts that are still generating organic traffic.

You can improve those posts and leverage their authority for higher search rankings.

Start by making a list of your top-performing content; then update those best-performing posts to keep them fresh and popular.

13. More  Backlinks and more powerful backlinks

To get really high rank on super-competitive keywords, you have to get powerful backlinks and backlinks in quantity…

That is the secret of all SEO campaigns…

ONE OF OUR BAIDU SEO CASE STUDIES

CHEMISTRY-WORLD

Chemistry-World is a large internationally renowned chemical French group. Perfectly mastering its home market and the countries abroad where it operates, Chemistry-World was interested in a country that has very specific chemical needs: China.

For this country, Chemistry-World had specifically launched a new product line and needed to penetrate the market in the best way possible.

Within the first few months of working with us:

• 68% of visitors to the website are involved in the field.

• 42% of visitors want to know more about ChemistryWorld.

• The sales department recorded calls and was contacted by many potential customers.

• 25% of visitors improved the product description sheets on the site with comments.

• The SEM campaign attracted more than 4,560 visitors in just 3 months.

• In 3 months, 1,569,660 people saw Chemistry-World on the Internet thanks to the SEO and SEM campaign.

WE ARE A REALLY ADVANCED CHINESE SEO AGENCY

WHAT ARE OUR LITTLE SECRETS?

1. The strategy is made by Olivier (You don’t know Olivier?)

2. Marcus, aka SEO gourou will manage and follow all SEO projects

3. Our Chinese team (backlinks/Pr/copywriter) will be in charge of the execution

4. Massive backlinks campaign in different stages

FAQ to GMA

What time do you need to rank on the first page? 

The Minimum duration for Baidu SEO is 6 months of services (to get results).

What is your SEO pricing?

Our price varies according to the competition of the keyword, and the quantity/quality of backlinks on the website

Price start for a good campaign from 1000$ to 3000$

we can start at 500$ per month for a small campaign

Can you work on new websites? 

We are not afraid to start on a new website, totally new and fresh for Baidu.

Can you work on super competitive keywords?

Nothing afraid Marcus…

We can also work on super competitive keywords… everything has a price, but we can do almost everything.

Can you guarantee the First pages of Baidu Organic serps? 

We can almost guarantee a list of keywords, 70% after 6-12 months.

Are you a White SEO agency? Do you do black hat SEO?

We are not totally white and not totally black… let’s say we are a grey agency.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A PROFESSIONAL SEO AGENCY ON BAIDU?

If you have a serious project, do not hesitate to contact me if you want to talk about it.

1. You can reach us by email, then by phone/WeChat/skype
2. Check our SEO case studies here
3. Our agency website: marketingtochina.com
4. our consultant can help you to give you a quote, and advising you on the first step of your strategy in China

For international brands, opening a Baidu overseas account is often the first real barrier to entering the Chinese market. The rules are different. The paperwork is strict. And without the right setup, campaigns simply don’t run or don’t convert.

We’ve helped foreign companies across industries open, validate, and manage Baidu overseas accounts. Our team works daily with Baidu’s requirements, Chinese platforms, and local user behavior, turning complex processes into clear, workable strategies.

In this guide, we explain how a Baidu overseas account works, what documents you need, and how to avoid costly mistakes. We’ll show you how we approach Baidu PPC to help international brands launch faster and grow sustainably in China.

How does Baidu PPC advertising work?

Baidu PPC advertising (pay-per-click) is an instant, digitally based form of promotion that uses a Baidu keyword planner to target Baidu ads to the audience. Baidu is the most popular of all search engines in China and therefore it’s naturally compared to Google.

Baidu PPC ads display the most related search ads and banners from your website on the results page whenever a search is made with one of your keywords. While particular audiences can be targeted with specific ads, Baidu campaigns can also be adjusted when and where they appear, to target the most relevant Chinese consumers.

How To Set up your Baidu PPC Account

Set up your Chinese website

To start your advertising campaign, first, you must build a fully localized website for China. Of course, the language of your website has to be Chinese. It is necessary to use your business title which is already used on your business license. 

Adding information about your company, including company history and contact details are also obligatory. Your Chinese website is beneficial not only for Baidu PPC advertising performance but also for your Baidu SEO results.

Gather your documents

Prepare your business license

You will need an official copy of your business license for the application process. You must have it translated by a professional translation center and then have it authenticated. The Baidu search engine wants to confirm that the original copy and the translation match up. Do not skip this step, as it is required. Be sure that your company stamp is on the authenticated copy so that you can have your official Baidu paid advertising account.

Get a screenshot of your business listing

Baidu requires a screenshot of your business listing on the government website for verification as part of the Baidu PPC advertising application process. The screenshot must include the address of the browser and your company stamp. Since the screenshot will not be in Chinese, you will also need to provide a translation with your company stamp.

Company bank record

A sealed and signed record of the recent history of your company account transactions will do the job. Don’t forget to attach the translated copy of it.

Apply for a Baidu ads account

If you have the necessary documents ready, the next step is to apply for your PPC account through Baidu. You can apply to Baidu directly from the website of Baidu or go through with a China-based experienced marketing agent.

It’s often easier to use an agent since they will help guide you and ensure that all required documents are in order. GMA marketing agency specializes in assisting companies set up their Baidu PPC accounts; reach out to us to get started.

Pay your fee and drop your deposit

As soon as your application goes through and your company reaches the criteria Baidu will handle the agreement papers. Your required deposit is around 2500$. Only a small percentage of it will be cut as a fee. The rest goes directly to your account.

Now that your Baidu account is up and running, let’s talk about how you can prepare Baidu PPC effective advertising campaigns.

How to Improve your Baidu PPC marketing

1. Utilize Baidu native tools

If you want to be successful in Baidu China, it is essential to select the right Chinese keywords and make sure that your campaign targets desktop and mobile users.

Baidu Zhishu is an index that not only gives you information about the volume of searches for specific keywords but also provides easy-to-use data analysis tools to help you better understand user behavior.

consider using Baidu Zhidao, a QA platform that is again a native tool from Baidu. it can help direct traffic to your Chinese website or landing pages. This option is relatively cheap, making it a good choice for those on a budget. Baidu Baike, China’s own Wikipedia, can also be a beneficial tool depending on your target audience.

Obtain a business card

By obtaining a business card in the Baidu search, you not only prove credibility to users but also turn your brand into a reputable one. Reputation is vital for success in China. If you decide to invest in this service your business card will be visible as your logo together with links on the Baidu search.

Get verified

If you choose to invest in this service, your business page on the results page will display a v sign next to it. This means that Baidu sees your brand as reliable and credible, two very important factors when trying to establish your company within the Chinese market. Note that Baidu gives priority to verified businesses.

We can help with your Baidu’s success

Advertising in China can have its challenges. Brands looking to effectively utilize Baidu PPC need to understand how the Baidu advertising platform works and how Baidu ads differ from Google Adwords.

With a team of certified professionals, our agent GMA can help you create successful Baidu campaigns that are tailored to Chinese consumers. We understand how important it is to have an effective advertising strategy and we will ensure that your Baidu ads reach the right audience at the right time, just like it works with Google ads.

Our Baidu services include:

The Baidu search engine provides an excellent opportunity for brands to reach Chinese audiences. And to use this opportunity will carefully analyze your campaign and provide you with insights into trends and performance as well as expert advice on how to optimize your campaigns for success.

Leave us a comment or contact us today to start advertising on Baidu, the most popular search engine in China!

Link-building in 2025 isn’t about chasing backlinks – it’s about earning trust.  That’s true everywhere, but in China, it matters even more. Platforms like Baidu, WeChat, and Zhihu don’t just reward visibility; they reward credibility. Five years ago, you could post an article, drop a few backlinks, and maybe rank. Today? Not a chance. 

Search engines and readers now want proof that you actually know your field. That’s where topical authority comes in – your ability to show consistent expertise within a niche. In China’s fast-moving online ecosystem, where trust and reputation mean everything, topical authority isn’t just helpful – it’s essential.

Why Topical Authority Matters More Than Ever

According to Baidu SEO forums and Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines, the message is universal: link-building without authority no longer works. Baidu’s algorithms – much like Google’s – now evaluate the context around links, not just the number of them. The sites that win are those that publish deeply relevant, interconnected content and prove consistent subject-matter depth. You can find more info here on white link-building methods that can help promote your blog, site, or business.

The Algorithm Gets Smarter (and Pickier)

In China, Baidu has started leaning heavily on content quality signals. It values brand consistency, verified author information, and high engagement – especially from trusted sources like Zhihu, WeChat Official Accounts, and Baijiahao.

It’s time to carefully choose your backlinks. You won’t go far with even 100 backlinks unless they come from reputable websites.

A few things to consider:

• One random backlink won’t help you rank.
  
• A steady pattern of relevant, in-depth content will.
  
• Backlinks now confirm your authority – they don’t create it.

Building Topical Authority the Smart Way (for China’s Market)

Let’s talk strategy. How do you establish authority in the world’s most competitive digital market?

1. Choose Your Niche – and Stick With It

You can’t be everything to everyone. In China’s ecosystem, focus wins. If your business deals with digital marketing, try digging deeper and creating a niche for yourself, for example, “WeChat Mini-Program eCommerce strategy.” 

The more precise your focus, the faster Baidu and readers will identify your brand as a subject-matter expert. Consistency builds recognition, which then builds backlinks – naturally.

2. Create Pillar Content Worth Sharing

Think of your site as a mini-Wikipedia for your niche. Pillar content – long, structured guides that comprehensively cover one topic – are the backbone of topical authority.

In the Chinese digital space, these can take the form of:

• A detailed Baijiahao guide with case studies and visuals.
  
• A WeChat article series breaking down key strategies or tools.
  
• A downloadable whitepaper hosted on your website with backlinks from Zhihu or Sogou Q&A threads.

When you publish content that becomes the go-to resource in Mandarin, backlinks from other Chinese websites – including forums and news aggregators – start flowing naturally.

3. Relevance Comes First

Forget link farms or mass outreach. Baidu’s AI algorithms are far more advanced now. It’s not about quantity now. Contextual relationships matter the most. Next, think about relevance and high-quality sources.

Therefore, concentrate on this rather than building backlinks in bulk from many sources:

• Reputable online media sources (Sina, Sohu Tech, Xinhua News Agency).
• Major news websites (Global Times, China Daily, and CNTV).
• Q&A platforms (Baidu Zhihu columns and Toutiao accounts).
• Verified influencers on Xiaohongshu or Bilibili who cite your content organically.

Each link from a relevant, topic-aligned platform acts as a trust signal – something that Baidu weighs heavily.

4. Use AI to Identify Content Gaps

Feeling stuck with your content strategy? Use AI tools, such as Kimi, Doubao, Baidu, and Alibaba to delve deeper into Chinese content creation. Google Gemini and ChatGPT can also help define content clusters, bridge the keyword gaps, and find fresh, relevant topics that will give you an upper hand compared to other brands, blogs, or services.

5. Build Trust Through Real Author Profiles

Baidu and WeChat users love transparency. If your articles come from anonymous authors, it’s a red flag. 

To build credibility:

• Add Chinese-language bios with job titles, credentials, and social links (like Weibo or Zhihu).
  
• Encourage thought leadership through bylined posts on platforms like Baijiahao or Toutiao.
  
• Engage directly – reply to comments, answer Zhihu questions, share expertise openly.

Remember, people trust people. Baidu’s algorithm measures engagement, and engagement grows when readers feel a connection to a real, human voice.

6. Internal Links Are Your Secret Weapon

Internal linking is often overlooked in China’s SEO strategies – but it’s one of the strongest ways to build topical authority. Every article on your website should connect to others naturally.

If you write about “WeChat marketing for luxury brands,” link to related topics like “Baidu SEM strategy,” “KOL collaborations,” or “cross-border brand storytelling.”

This structure helps Baidu’s crawlers see the logical relationships between your topics. Over time, it improves your domain depth score – the metric Baidu uses to judge how well you “own” your niche.

7. Track, Adapt, Repeat

Topical authority is never finished – it evolves. Use analytics tools like Baidu Tongji, Ahrefs China, or SimilarWeb Pro to measure what’s working.

Watch for patterns:

• Which pages earn the most backlinks?
  
• Where does user engagement spike?
  
• Which WeChat articles or Zhihu discussions are driving referral traffic?

Conclusion

In 2025, topical authority is the real currency of link-building – especially in China. It’s not about collecting backlinks for vanity metrics. It’s about building trust, expertise, and visibility in the places where Chinese consumers – and algorithms – actually look.

Whether it’s Baidu or WeChat, you need to become the reputable source everyone wants to reference. Create content that teaches, connects, and earns attention.

Because in a digital world obsessed with speed, credibility is the one thing you can’t fake – and it’s the one thing that keeps working long after trends change.

Baidu and It’s complex eco-system

China’s largest search engine is similar to Google and had 1.1 billion mobile users in 2019. In 2021, Baidu becomes the 6th dominant search engine in the world. 78% of China netizens use it and daily logged-in users reach 77%. As showcased in the picture, popular searching topics are shown on the first searching page.

Baidu eco-system:

Baidu offers a wide array of services and subsites on top of its well-known search engine, including mapping and video platforms, we call it the Baidu Ecosystem. It also has 57 other search & communities such as Duer which is an online encyclopedia or Baidu Baike – their version of Wikipedia with over 250 million articles in the Chinese language only. Baijiahao is part of this eco-system

What is Baidu BaiJiahao?

In 2016, Baidu launched Baijiahao a blog-style platform where about 1.9 million publishers post news and share content from bloggers & journalists to create an “ecosystem” for people who want to consume media in new ways.

The launch of Baijiahao was seen as a response to Toutiao and Wechat News). These types of apps and programs are designed around giving creators more control over how their work appears online as well as increasing audience engagement through interactive features such as polls, live video chat rooms etcetera which can also help businesses reach marketing goals by driving traffic back onto your site just because you added these

Baijiahao reached 4.2 million publishers with 42% growth year on year in 2021. Popular dominant media outlets on Baidu are People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and CCTV which can direct user traffic towards newsfeeds or search results.

More than 95% of the referral traffic on Baijiahao comes from Baidu’s search results while most of the rest of the traffic also comes from Baidu’s eco-system-related program. Apps like Weibo and Douban also send some traffic but it is rather low with less than 1%. When using digital channels in China for your marketing, keep in mind that big groups (BAT but also Bitedance) all tend to have their own eco-system, and it’s rare they collaborate with each other, and Baijiahao’s traffic is the perfect example of that.

The topics discussed on Baijiahoa are various from videos games, to news or electronics, etc

Why companies doing business in China should create content on Baidu BaiJiahao?

Content in all types such as texts, videos, and live streams uploaded to Bai Jiahao(website and App) can be automatically collected by Baidu App and Baidu Search which can be beneficial from Baidu’s enormous traffic. Creation uploaded to Bai Jiahao can be socially shared to Weibo, WeChat, and QQ as well.

In terms of the back-end resources, Bai Jiahao enables you to access content management, followers management, paid consulting services, free picture database, etc. Content creators can also apply for entrepreneurship acceleration service which contains industry instruction, branding, and financing, etc. When doing business with Bai Jiahao, Baidu Payment and product placement can help.

Bai Jiahao launches projects to encourage creators to compete and participate with the prize of funds, resources acceleration assistance, etc.

Its operation and marketing center provides informative guides such as B2B operation guides, live streams, popular keywords searching and content creation cases in industries, etc.

BaiJiahao system:

Baidu eco-system includes BaiJiahao App, Baidu Wenku(shared professional and academic documents), Baidu Cloud, Baike(Wikipedia), Post(Tieba-Reddit), etc 12 supportive platforms. These apps are all interconnected and work with each other as we could see on the referral traffics graph earlier. 

Fundamentally, user-focused and localized original content can connect more with China readers and viewers, explaining the success of forums such as Zhihu and news aggregators like Toutiao. Co-creating with artists, KOLs, and celebrities can bring social influence and potential sharings.

Baidu has its own Baidu Analytics for traffic ranking and marketing analytics so you can learn more about your users within the Baidu eco-system but also by linking your website to the system (requires more paperwork than doing so on Google analytics).

How to get an official Account on Baijiahao?

Just like most apps and platforms in China, having an official account (enterprise) on Baijiahao comes with benefits and tools compared to a simple users account. The biggest and most obvious advantage here is that once a company gets a verified account, its content will rank on Baidu’s research results.

Choose your account types between personal account and organization account. then prepare the required documents such as ID, business license, and China phone number(Baidu Account).

There are different types of organization accounts on Baijiahoa:

• Media
• Business
• Government
• Others

It takes between 15 minutes to 3 working days for a business account to be reviewed and approved.

Example of company using Baijiahao:

The brand Ivan Commerce offers courses in the beauty industry is leveraging Omni channels to expand its marketing strategy. The brand claims to have seen a rise of 30% of the transaction rate from paid content on Baijiahao. Ivan Commerce also mentioned that customers loyalty seems stronger when customers come from Baijiahao.

Baijiahao: to conclude

Baijiahao may not be necessary but in the context of an omnichannel strategy and to push organic traffic and improve online reputation, the program certainly is one you would like to take into consideration. Because it belongs to Baidu’s eco-system, it works seamlessly into the app making the process smooth and simple for users but it also tends to rank higher. Just like using Baidu’s forums and Q&A, content on Baijiahao could be the boost you need to finally get the traffic from that competitive keyword you’ve been struggling with.

Need help with your Baidu Strategy in China?

Contact-us, we have been assisting companies to conquer the 1st page of Baidu since 2012. You can learn more about our Baidu SEO & PPC solutions.

Read more about Baidu:

• In our Guide to Baidu SEO, you’ll find ou more about China’s #1 search engines, its users habits and how to to optimize your content & Website to improve your ranking.
• We introduce you to Baidu paid advertising with our Guide to Baidu PPC. Discovers the main types of paid advertising available with Baidu PPC, the cost to expect and some best pratices to run efficient campaigns.

Engineering projects today begin long before the first blueprint is drawn or the initial consultation takes place. Increasingly, they start with a Google search. When architects need mechanical engineering support, when contractors require BIM coordination services, or when developers seek energy compliance expertise, their first instinct is to search online. Yet many MEP and BIM firms remain invisible in these crucial moments, despite possessing the technical skills and project experience their potential clients desperately need.

The competitive landscape for engineering services has shifted dramatically. While technical excellence remains essential, digital visibility has become equally critical for business growth. SEO is not about flashy marketing tactics or aggressive sales pitches. Instead, it ensures that when someone searches for the specific expertise your firm offers, they can actually find you. This article explores why SEO matters for MEP and BIM engineering firms and provides practical strategies to implement it effectively.

Why SEO Matters for MEP & BIM Engineering Firms

SEO delivers visibility precisely when it matters most. When a commercial developer in Chicago searches for MEP engineers with healthcare facility experience, search engines determine which firms appear on the first page. Those rankings directly influence which companies receive consideration and ultimately win projects. Beyond mere visibility, a well-optimized online presence builds trust before any conversation begins. Potential clients evaluate engineering firms based on website quality, published expertise, and demonstrated knowledge.

Many engineering firms hesitate to invest in digital marketing, believing their reputation and referral network suffice. However, partnering with experienced agencies like SeoProfy can bridge the gap between technical expertise and online visibility through tailored strategies that respect the professional nature of engineering services. The reality is that traditional networking alone no longer generates sufficient project opportunities in an increasingly digital marketplace. Competitors who embrace SEO gain significant advantages in winning bids and attracting ideal clients.

Understanding SEO in Simple Terms

Search engine optimization involves making strategic improvements to your website so it appears in relevant search results. The process centers on helping search engines understand what your firm offers and connecting that expertise with people actively searching for those services. While SEO encompasses multiple elements, the core concepts remain straightforward. Four fundamental components form the foundation of effective SEO:

1. Keywords represent the actual phrases potential clients type into search engines when seeking engineering services. 
2. Content includes all the pages, blog articles, case studies, and resources that answer client questions and demonstrate expertise. 
3. Technical SEO ensures your website loads quickly, functions properly on mobile devices, and provides smooth navigation. 
4. Authority develops through backlinks from reputable sources and consistent online activity that signals credibility to search engines.

The underlying principle is simple: align your digital presence with what people are already searching for. When your website clearly presents relevant information in ways search engines can easily understand, your visibility improves naturally. This alignment benefits everyone involved. Potential clients find the expertise they need more efficiently, while your firm connects with qualified prospects actively seeking your services.

The Role of Keywords for Engineering Firms

Keywords function as intent signals that reveal what potential clients actually need. When someone searches for a specific phrase, they are communicating their requirements, challenges, or questions. Understanding and targeting the right keywords allows your firm to appear exactly when and where it matters.

Engineering firms should focus on three primary keyword categories:

• Service-based keywords describe specific capabilities like mechanical engineering design, BIM coordination services, or HVAC system optimization. These terms attract people seeking particular technical expertise.
• Location-based keywords combine services with geographic areas such as MEP engineers in Chicago, BIM services in NYC, or structural engineering in San Francisco. Regional targeting proves especially valuable because most projects have location requirements.
• Problem-based keywords address client challenges directly, including phrases like reduce construction change orders, energy compliance services, or clash detection solutions. These searches indicate urgent needs and often convert better than generic service terms.

Long-tail keywords deserve special attention. These longer, more specific phrases, like sustainable MEP design for healthcare facilities, attract smaller search volumes but higher quality leads. Someone searching for such specific terms likely has an immediate project need and clear requirements. They are further along in their decision-making process compared to someone making a generic search.

Integrating keywords naturally throughout your content requires balance. Search engines penalize obvious keyword stuffing, while insufficient keyword usage means missed opportunities. The solution is to write naturally about your services, projects, and expertise while consciously incorporating relevant terms where they fit organically within sentences and headings.

Content as a Trust-Building Tool

SEO rankings alone accomplish little if potential clients leave your website without confidence in your expertise. Content serves dual purposes: improving search visibility while proving your firm’s capabilities to human visitors. When executed well, content marketing becomes one of the most powerful tools for winning engineering projects.

Several content types work particularly well for MEP and BIM firms:

• Educational blog articles that explain common challenges in accessible language, such as how clash detection prevents costly construction delays, why early MEP coordination saves time and money, or how energy modeling supports sustainability goals.
• Detailed case studies showcasing real projects with specific outcomes like percentage reductions in change orders, time saved through BIM coordination, or cost efficiencies achieved through value engineering.
• Technical guides and whitepapers addressing industry compliance requirements, building code updates, or emerging sustainability standards that affect project stakeholders.
• FAQ pages answering common questions like what is BIM, why use MEP prefabrication, or how does energy code compliance work.

Technical SEO & User Experience

Your website creates the first impression for most potential clients, often before any direct communication occurs. Technical SEO ensures that the impression reflects the professionalism and capability your firm brings to projects. Beyond aesthetics, technical factors directly influence how search engines crawl, index, and rank your website.

Page loading speed

Page loading speed significantly impacts both user experience and search rankings. Slow websites frustrate visitors who quickly leave for faster competitors. Search engines recognize this behavior and penalize slow-loading sites in rankings. Optimizing images, minimizing unnecessary code, and using modern hosting infrastructure all contribute to faster performance.

Mobile-friendliness

Mobile-friendliness has transitioned from optional to essential. A substantial portion of engineering service searches now happen on phones and tablets, particularly when people research firms while traveling or at job sites. Websites that fail to display properly on mobile devices lose both visitors and search rankings. Responsive design that automatically adapts to different screen sizes provides optimal experiences across all devices.

Clear site structure

A clear site structure helps both search engines and humans navigate your services effectively. Visitors should find essential information about services, projects, team members, and contact details within a few clicks. Logical organization signals professionalism while making it easier for search engines to understand and index your content properly. Important pages should be accessible from the main navigation rather than buried several levels deep.

Visual elements

Visual elements like project photos, technical diagrams, and BIM visualizations enhance engagement when optimized properly. However, large uncompressed images slow page loading significantly. Properly sizing and compressing images maintains visual quality while preserving performance. Adding descriptive alt text to images serves accessibility needs while providing additional context for search engines.

Leveraging Local SEO

Local SEO is crucial for engineering firms due to the regional nature of MEP and BIM projects, building codes, and site visits.

The Google Business Profile (GBP) is foundational. Ensure the name, address, and phone number (NAP) are accurate and consistent across your GBP, website, and all online directories. Adding project photos to your GBP also helps visibility.

To target multiple markets, create location-focused landing pages. These should contain genuine, locally relevant content for each service area, which helps capture searches like MEP engineering in Dallas. Consistent and accurate local information strengthens your firm’s regional search rankings.

How to Measure SEO Success

Engineering firms need not become SEO experts to understand whether their efforts are working. Several key indicators reveal success clearly.

• Organic traffic – how many visitors arrive from search.
• Keyword rankings – whether the firm is showing up for strategic terms.
• Lead generation – inquiries received through contact forms or calls.

The benefit of SEO is that progress compounds over time. Each article, optimized page, and backlink builds a stronger digital foundation.

Wrapping Up

Just as engineering projects require solid foundations, business growth in the modern marketplace demands a strong online presence. Firms that invest in SEO position themselves to capture opportunities their competitors never see. The technical skills your firm possesses deserve equal digital visibility. By making strategic improvements to your website, creating valuable content, and optimizing for search engines, you ensure that when someone needs exactly what you offer, they can actually find you and benefit from the work you do so well.

While Baidu dominates the Chinese search engines market, Sogou quietly connects brands to millions of WeChat and QQ users. Ignoring it means missing valuable visibility in one of the world’s most dynamic online ecosystems.

At our agency, we’ve helped international brands grow through China’s complex digital channels for over a decade. From Baidu and WeChat to Sogou, we understand how to turn these platforms into real opportunities for global companies.

In this article, we’ll explain what makes Sogou unique, how it works, and how your brand can use it to strengthen your presence in China. We’ll share practical insights drawn from our on-the-ground experience to help you make the most of this underused search engine.

More about the Chinese Search Engine Sogou

Sogou Statistics:

• Monthly Active Users: 506 million
• Market share in mobile search in China: 18.5%
• Market share of PC input software: 98.5%
• Market share of mobile input software: 70.9%

It is estimated that Sogou, which has over 400 million users daily and has quickly developed the necessary tools and partnerships to win the interests of locals and international. It has a great deal of market potential for brand exposure.

Sogou, which means “searching dog” in English, is a Chinese search engine launched in 2004 and belongs to internet company Sohu, Inc. Currently, it is the second-largest search engine in China after Baidu, which is currently the largest.

Sogou Rank index and SERP layout are two key features of its unique algorithm. Furthermore, the company is backed by Tencent, which is the fourth-largest internet company worldwide by revenue and is the default search engine for Tencent’s QQ mobile browser, giving it direct access to millions of active users.

The only search engine in the world that integrates social content from QQ and WeChat into its search results is Sogou; the other search engines don’t offer these contents. Because of its social media tools, Sogou has a unique opportunity to attract locals adept at using social media and provide a plethora of search results. Additionally, Sogou is also used by all QQ browsers.

The Sogou platform leverages their most popular Chinese input software, Sougou Pinyin, to allow brands to add widgets that can show product images and links where users can type in a brand’s name, increasing direct visibility for brands.

Sogou on WeChat Search

Having been the first search engine able to index WeChat content, Sogou had pioneered the WeChat search concept. Using data and technology from WeChat search and the Sogou division, Sogou is capable of operating on a wide range of levels. Moreover, Sogou can also take advantage of WeChat’s data to create a more efficient search engine.

Due to its large user base of over 900 million daily active users, WeChat can collect information about consumers including their shopping history, spending habits, and even account balances. It is possible to learn a great deal about people’s tastes and preferences by looking at the types of content they consume on WeChat and other accounts they follow.

Sogou has the unique opportunity to tailor results to specific users within a geographical area and time frame of their choice by having access to this wealth of data. In terms of innovation and reach, Sogou can somewhat compete with Baidu in its own niche market.

Find out more about Chinese engines: Qihoo360 Search Engine: an alternative to Baidu?

Sogou SEO Best Practices

Although Sogou has its own algorithm, best Baidu practices also apply to Sogou. Here is a reminder of those SEO strategies for China:

• When optimizing for Sogou SEO, keep in mind that the algorithm places a high value on the authority of a website and its original content as set forth by its own “SogouRank” index. Therefore, any action that builds authority for your site, such as caching, using tags correctly, compressions, building high-quality links, providing excellent content, and improving the user experience.

• Furthermore, Sogou, which is a Chinese search engine, prefers websites that have content written in simplified Chinese. In these cases, you may be able to boost your Sogou ranking by creating a Chinese-language website. The trust of Chinese users will also increase if the domain includes a local suffix such as .com, .cn, or .cn.

• In addition, a high number of backlinks is very important for the optimization of Sogou. There is a clear tendency for more links to be found on Baidu than on Google. The quality of backlinks to your site should always be at the top of the list, but currently, Sogou doesn’t seem to care much about this.

• Finally, the Sogou title tag plays an important role when it comes to on-site SEO. This part of the SEO algorithm is a major factor for Sogou. Sogou doesn’t seem to place much importance on meta descriptions at this point (at least not yet).

In summary, ranking high on Sogou is easier as this search engine doesn’t put as much emphasis on advertising and affiliate pages as other search engines (aka Baidu) and it also indexes articles published via WeChat & Zhihu. In bonus: The effort you put into your Baidu SEO effort will pay off on Sogou as well so take advantage of this sweet collab Sogou has going on rather than on how to rank a keyword on the search engine.

Paid Advertising on Sogou

Just like Baidu Sogou offers its own paid ads service which similar features and ads formats:

• Search ads: are displayed on top of SERP results and linked to keyword bidding
• Brand zone: zone dedicated to a brand at the top of search results
• Sogou Pinyin – PC & Mobile input banner ads: ads linked to Sogou keyboard. When users type Keywords related to a brand they get a banner by the brand.

Other Sogou Products

• The Sogou Pinyin input editor is popular for typing Chinese characters and words. There are over 300 million users and the penetration rate is over 80%.
• Featuring dual-core techniques similar to Chrome and Microsoft Edge, the Sogou Browser is fast and easy to use.
• Chinese and English voice translations are available from Sogou Voice Recognition Technology. Right now, Sogou is China’s biggest search engine for voice searches.

GPS-enabled smartwatches that Sogou sold more than a million of in China.

Chinese Search Engine Landscape

You are no doubt familiar with the fact that Baidu dominates the Chinese SEO market with a market share of +80%. Sogou currently holds just above 5% of the market for the second largest search engine when combining desktop and mobile but fairs slightly better when it comes to mobile search.

A quick reminder as to why your brand needs a good SEO strategy in China: A huge percentage of Chinese consumers rely on search engines to help them make buying decisions. In fact, a recent study found that 78% of Chinese consumers use search engines when making purchase decisions online.

That means if your business doesn’t have a good SEO strategy in China, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of the potential consumer base. And not only that, but you’re also likely losing out on sales to competitors who do have strong SEO strategies in China. So if you want to stay ahead of the competition and reach the massive Chinese consumer market, it’s essential to have an SEO strategy that makes sense. If you are confused about this, check out our China SEO solutions.

The Difference Between Baidu and Sogou

Baidu was launched in 2000, and today Baidu is the most popular search engine in China. The company offers dozens of products, including image search, book search, maps, mobile search, and much more.

Furthermore, the search engine results pages (SERPs) are heavily biased toward their products and platforms. By enhancing its SERPs, Baidu enhances the user experience and is directly impacted by a domain credibility system that displays the degree of trust Baidu has for a domain.

With the release of Sogou Pinyin, a popular Chinese input software in China, Sogou gained popularity in the Chinese market. This application allows users to type Chinese characters with their keyboard’s Roman characters. Users can type a brand name into the customized widgets on Sogou so brands can display images and hyperlinks with product information.

Brands can take advantage of this feature to achieve direct visibility, giving Sogou a competitive advantage over Baidu in terms of innovation and its stake in Chinese search in the future. Furthermore, WeChat Search content is exclusively provided by it with strong support from Tencent. In addition to partnering with Zhihu (a popular question-and-answer site) and Bing to add more content search results, Sogou has also partnered with WeChat for a compelling experience.

How Sogou could be the next big thing?

In an attempt to build the next-generation search engine, Sogou recently announced that it would focus on artificial intelligence and natural language processing. Their goal is to be a pioneer in artificial intelligence. As a result of the large number of companies investing in artificial intelligence, such as Google, Bing, and Baidu, Sogou could be highly disadvantaged because of its small size.

Sogou, however, is the only search engine that has access to WeChat’s public messages, which are an enormous source of information that will prove invaluable for natural language processing. It also plans to utilize natural language search, which is encouraged by digital assistance and the popularity of voice search, rather than rely on traditional keyword-based searches to answer questions.

Our Conclusion on the Sogou Search Engine:

The real strength of Sogou is not its position of Baidu challengers but in how it differs from Baidu and how it can bring something different to both its users and marketer. The main difference between Baidu and Sogou is Sogou partnership with Tencent and Zhihu. The idea is absolutely not for brands to abandon Baidu to the profit of Sogou, but to use Sogou as an additional channel that will go poke places Baidu can’t such as the incredible mass of content being published on WeChat.

Interested in adding Sogou to your China SEO Marketing effort?

Contact us and let’s discuss your project and how our SEO solutions can help you grow your visibility on the Chinese Internet and reach out to more consumers

While Baidu dominates the market, Qihoo 360 has built strong trust among Chinese consumers thanks to its focus on security, e-commerce, and gaming. For international brands, this platform offers a valuable opportunity to expand visibility and capture new audiences beyond Baidu.

At Gentlemen Marketing Agency, we’ve helped hundreds of foreign brands grow in China by combining SEO expertise, advertising strategy, and local insights. Our team understands how Qihoo 360 works—and how to make it work for you.

In this article, we’ll explain how Qihoo 360 SEO can help your brand gain visibility, attract quality leads, and achieve a higher ROI in China’s fast-moving digital landscape.

Chinese Search Engines in 2025

Baidu is and will undoubtedly remain for a long time the market leader of Chinese search engines with today over 70% share but the second in the ranking, Qihoo 360 in fact, certainly deserves attention, both for results and for the applied strategy. In China, everything is fast and Qihoo 360 has been able to quickly gain the trust of many Chinese users.

Qihoo 360 a growing search engine in China

Until August 2012, Qihoo 360 was known only for its antivirus software offerings, a very hot sector in China.

The company Qihoo launched its very own search engine with the domain so.com. ‘S’ represents safe, and ‘o’ represent open. It immediately became the second most popular search engine in China, and progressively grew its user base and taking market share from Baidu. It changed the name to ‘Haosou’ in 2015, meaning ‘easy to search’ and reversed to the name of ‘360 Search’ in the following year

Today it is Baidu’s main competitor, overtaking Sogou in just two years, reaching 10% of the share. Recall that Google has only 4% and only accessible from Hong Kong.

Why is Qihoo 360 gaining in popularity with Chinese netizens?

1.Security

The first is the focus on security, promoting itself as “the safest search engine” using its reputation as a leader in anti-virus software. And safety is a highly valued value.

2. Collaboration with Alibaba

To generate traffic, then, one of the activities with the most returns was that related to e-commerce, with the launch of a joint site with the giant Alibaba.

The common site is a search engine for online shopping, a very appreciated activity beyond the wall, supporting users in comparing prices. The success of the site has led Qihoo to earn significant income from its web traffic by redirecting its users to the e-commerce sites of its partner Alibaba: Taobao and Tmall.

3. Gaming Segment Developpement

Another important activity of Qihoo to erode market share was to decisively enter the online gaming sector, a very popular activity among Chinese users, with a strategic agreement with the popular social network Sina Weibo.

Strategic agreements with Alibaba and Sina Weibo, a focus on security, e-commerce, and online games: that’s how it developed traffic and become the second most used search engine in China in just two years.

360 Search has over 50% penetration rate in the PC search engine in China according to CNNIC.com.

Most of the China companies choose 360 PC Antivirus software for their company’s internet security. Once the antivirus software is installed, the 360 Browsers will also be installed. The default search engine of 360 browsers is 360 Search.

The Benefit of launching Paid Ads Campaigns on 360 Search

• Simple Account opening process – for normal industries, you can create the account within 3-5 working days. It only takes 2 weeks from zero to ads online.
• It has a cheaper CPC (cost per click) compared with Baidu. CPC is the unit cost incurred by the advertiser for each click generated by a paid advertisement. It is obtained by dividing the cost of the advertising action by the number of clicks generated by the campaign.
• Better ROI (return on investment) – The advertising cost is reasonable.
• Free Big Data report – Market Share of your brand and competitors, Demographic Data, Search Volume Index

Do you want to know more about Chinese search engines and Chinese digital marketing? Contact us

Gentlemen Marketing Agency is a digital marketing agency that is expert in helping foreign companies to establish or strengthen their position in China. We can help your brand increase sales in China, thanks to our services like:

• Advertising
• Baidu SEO&SEM
• Social Media
• PR
• KOL & Influencers
• E-commerce and cross-border e-commerce
• Distribution

Contact-us to discuss it further!

In China’s competitive online landscape, trust is everything. Consumers and partners want proof that your brand is real, reliable, and recognized. That’s where Baidu Baike — China’s version of Wikipedia — plays a powerful role in shaping how people perceive your company.

At GMA, we’ve helped hundreds of international brands establish their presence in China. With over a decade of experience in Baidu marketing, we know exactly how to leverage Baike to strengthen visibility and build trust.

In this article, we’ll explain what Baidu Baike is, why it matters for your reputation, and how we can help you create a verified page that drives authority, credibility, and business growth in China.

What is Baidu Baike?

Baidu Baike is a Chinese alternative to the well-known Wikipedia. It is part of the Baidu ecosystem – the most popular Chinese search engine with an audience of 85% of the total Internet users in China and is recording more than 300 million monthly visits as of 2021. Baike is one of the many sub-site of the Baidu eco-system.

The main difference between Wikipedia and Baidu Baike is not its technical peculiarity, but the fact that it is extremely important and useful for your reputation in China and their view of you, and your business.

What’s the biggest benefit Baike can give you?

If you strive to enter the Chinese market and get as many people interested in you and your product, be it a service or goods, Baike will give you a top rank on Baidu, that is to say:

• You are on top of Baidu;
• People search by keywords that relate to you and they find you instantly;
• People searching get an impression you are credible.

What do Chinese people think when they see you are on Baike?

• China is a big country with huge capacity in any industry or any field of expertise – “Competition” is China’s second name.
• China is country full of scams – “Stay cautious” is China’s business logo.
• Baike is a tool to verify your business image and state you are official, legal – “A Certificate of Trust” is Baidu’s nature.

That is to say, when the Chinese search for anything related to you on Baidu (remember it’s more than 1 billion people or 85% of China’s population), and they see you on top with an informative Baike page, they get you shortlisted.

How does it look like and what does it bring?

Take a look at the Getchee’s Baike page – one of our clients. It provides all the necessary information about this Now popular GIS technology company. It also gives a link to their website – a chance to be contacted directly.

Baike’s page made them appear on top in Baidu (as it is an automatic result with Baike being part of the Baidu system) and contributed to them getting 5-10 leads per single day! It should be noted that it is extremely hard for Taiwanese companies to enter the inner Chinese market because of the tensions between us. However, Getchee got over this partly owing to Baike.

So, it is a perfect example of how effective Baike is for new businesses in China.

Why is Baidu Baike necessary for your company in China?

An additional source of trust

Any reputable brand has a page on Baidu Baike. Setting it up requires official Baidu verification. Therefore, Chinese people find the information in Baike trustworthy.

About Baidu’s subsites, Read as well: Baidu’s Content Creation Platform: Baijiahao

A Baidu Baike Page Contribute to your Online Visibility

As long as Baidu itself is a search engine, it is the wherewithal of any business’s commercial activity. That is to say, just like Google, Baidu offers a few opportunities to leverage from being on top of the search results.

Baidu Baike is one of the tools that allows you to get a high rank on Baidu provided that the keywords on your page correspond to the search request.

With that being said, it is clear that having a page in Baike allows you to develop a high organic search ranking.

What it gives is that people searching for a similar product or service will see you on top.

A Baidu Baike page can be loaded with references and links related to your business. This facilitates redirection and makes your other accounts all over the Chinese web easily accessible.

An ample source of information

Baidu Baike is the most informative platform on the Chinese web. It contains around 15 million pages with information ranging from recipes to brand details.

What are the advantages of Baidu Baike for business entering China market?

1. Low cost.
2. Good.
3. Fast.

What should you do to make use of Baidu Baike:

1. Set up an account
2. Place all the relevant information there.
3. Wait for a while…
4. Enjoy getting exhausted with leads/buyers from China.

All in all, what a Baidu Baike page gives you is:

• full, amplified brand image;
• visibility on the Chinese web;
• trust of the searchers;
• more exposure to your promotional accounts or e-stores.

How to get a page on Baidu Baike?

Just contact us – we will guide you through the process.

We are GMA:

• we have 10 years of experience of marketing foreign businesses in China;
• we have hundreds of successful stories to showcase;
• we have foreign experts to understand you and design strategies;
• we have local Chinese experts to perform tasks and deliver a result to you.

Don’t hesitate to contact us for more details.

At GMA, we’ve spent years helping international brands navigate Chinese SEO across platforms like Baidu, Bing, and Sogou. We know what works—and what doesn’t.

In this guide, you’ll learn why Bing matters in China, how it differs from Baidu, and what practical steps you can take to boost your visibility and ROI on this underused platform.

TLDR;

• Microsoft Bing captures over 30% of China’s search market, making it the second-largest search engine after Baidu.
• Bing targets educated professionals, international businesses, and tech-savvy users in major Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
• Chinese censorship laws require Bing to filter content and comply with government regulations, affecting search results and rankings.
• Bing offers less competition than Baidu, creating opportunities for faster rankings and better ROI for marketing campaigns.
• Mobile optimization and proper Chinese localization are essential for Bing SEO success in China’s smartphone-dominated market.

Overview of Bing’s Market Share in China

Microsoft Bing has carved out an impressive spot in China’s search market. The platform captures over 30% of Chinese internet users. This solid market share makes Bing the second-largest search engine in the country.

Baidu still dominates the landscape, but Bing has found its footing. The search results scene in China looks quite different from Western markets, where Google usually takes the lead.

Bing faces real challenges in China’s internet world. The search engine must navigate strict censorship rules and follow national security laws. These hurdles don’t stop Microsoft’s Bing from expanding its reach.

The company builds strategic partnerships and creates features that work for local users. The platform handles millions of daily searches while staying within the Great Firewall’s boundaries that control internet access nationwide.

Understanding Bing’s position in China means recognizing something important. Search engines there work under different rules than their global cousins. The regulatory landscape shapes how these platforms operate and serve their users.

Just as Baidu, Bing, and Sogou tools helps you understand and optimize your visibility within China’s search ecosystem, you can use well-known global SEO platforms like Ahrefs, SEMrush, SimilarWeb, Search Atlas, and alternative SEO tools to Search Atlas to track and improve your performance in Google search results. These tools provide insights into keyword trends, backlinks, traffic patterns, and competitor strategies, giving you a deeper understanding of how your site performs worldwide. And for Baidu specifically, additional platforms such as Baidu Analytics and Baidu Index help marketers monitor search trends and audience behavior in Mainland China. Using both Google-oriented and Bing-oriented toolsets together ensures you capture accurate data across regions, optimize your content for each search engine’s unique algorithm, and strengthen your international SEO strategy.

Key Differences Between Bing and Baidu

I need to understand how Bing and Baidu operate differently in the Chinese market, especially since these search engines serve distinct user bases and follow separate rules. Microsoft’s Bing faces unique challenges compared to Baidu search, from censorship rules in China to different search algorithms that affect how content appears in SERPs.

Target Audience and Market Size

Bing search engine targets a distinct segment of Chinese internet users compared to Baidu’s massive reach. Microsoft’s Bing captures professional users, international businesses, and tech-savvy individuals who value global search capabilities.

These users often work for multinational companies, engage in cross-border commerce, or seek uncensored search results for research purposes. The platform attracts approximately 30% of the Chinese search market, representing millions of active users who prefer Microsoft’s integrated ecosystem over local alternatives.

Market size data shows Bing’s Chinese user base continues growing steadily, particularly among educated professionals in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. These search engine users typically have higher disposable incomes and make purchasing decisions for their organizations.

Tech giants recognize this demographic’s value, as these users influence corporate software purchases, cloud services adoption, and digital transformation initiatives. The audience size may seem smaller than Baidu’s dominance, but the quality and purchasing power of Bing users in China create significant opportunities for targeted marketing campaigns and search engine optimization strategies.

Ranking Factors for Organic Search

Microsoft’s Bing uses different search algorithms compared to other search engines in China. Content quality ranks as the top factor, with fresh and relevant information receiving higher positions in search results.

Meta tags and meta description optimization play crucial roles, as Bing’s machine learning systems analyze these elements to understand page content. Artificial intelligence helps the platform evaluate user engagement signals, including click-through rates and time spent on pages.

Technical factors matter significantly for organic rankings on the platform. Mobile optimization affects search positions, since Chinese internet users primarily access the web through smartphones.

Page loading speed influences rankings, while proper website structure helps search algorithms crawl content effectively. Translation software integration allows the platform to better understand multilingual content, giving properly localized pages an advantage over generic translations.

Search engines reward websites that provide genuine value to users, not those trying to game the system.

Understanding these ranking elements helps create effective strategies for the next crucial aspect: target audience considerations.

Censorship Laws and Regulations

While ranking factors matter for organic search success, censorship laws and regulations create another layer of complexity for search engines in China. The Chinese government enforces strict internet controls through the Cybersecurity Law, which requires all search platforms to filter content that conflicts with state policies.

Bing search engine must comply with these censorship requirements, just like other platforms operating within Chinese borders. This means certain topics, websites, and information sources get blocked or filtered from search results.

Content filtering affects how search algorithms work in the Chinese market, making SEO strategies different from Western approaches. Chinese internet users see filtered results based on government guidelines, which impacts what content appears in search rankings.

Marketing managers need to understand that censorship in China shapes the entire search experience, from what content gets indexed to how users interact with search results.

Advantages of Using Bing for SEO in China

I find that Microsoft’s Bing offers unique benefits for marketing managers targeting Chinese internet users, and these advantages can transform your search engine strategy in ways you might not expect.

Enhanced Search Experiences

Microsoft’s Bing delivers superior search results for Chinese internet users compared to local alternatives. The search engine provides cleaner interfaces, faster loading times, and more accurate results for international queries.

Bing’s search algorithms process information differently than Baidu, often returning more diverse content sources and better image search capabilities. Marketing managers notice that Bing users spend more time engaging with search results, leading to higher conversion rates for businesses targeting this audience.

Bing search engine offers advanced features that many Chinese search engines lack. The platform integrates seamlessly with Microsoft products, creating smoother user experiences across devices.

Users access Bing Maps, translation tools, and visual search features that enhance their overall search journey. These enhanced capabilities attract educated professionals and international business users who value quality over quantity in their search results.

The platform’s focus on user experience creates opportunities for brands to connect with premium audiences in China’s competitive digital landscape.

Less Competition

I’ve found that Bing search engine offers a clear advantage through reduced competition compared to other search engines in china. While most businesses focus their efforts on Baidu market share dominance, fewer companies invest resources in Bing optimization strategies.

This creates opportunities for smart marketing managers to capture valuable traffic with less effort.

Chinese internet users searching on microsoft bing encounter fewer sponsored results competing for attention. Search algorithms on Bing face less manipulation from aggressive SEO tactics that flood Baidu results.

Companies can achieve higher rankings faster when targeting Bing’s user base in China’s competitive digital landscape.

Moving forward, let’s explore specific strategies for mobile optimization on Bing.

Integration with Microsoft Products

Microsoft’s Bing offers seamless connection with Office 365, Teams, and other business software that marketing teams already use daily. This integration creates a unified ecosystem where search data flows directly into Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations sync with search insights, and Outlook calendars connect with campaign schedules.

The search engine pulls information from LinkedIn profiles, making B2B targeting more precise for companies operating in China’s competitive market.

Bing’s connection with Microsoft products eliminates the need for multiple login credentials and separate data exports that slow down campaign analysis. Search performance metrics appear automatically in Power BI dashboards, while SharePoint documents link directly to keyword research and competitor analysis.

This streamlined approach saves hours of manual data transfer and reduces the chance of errors that can derail marketing campaigns targeting chinese internet users through search engines in china.

Tips for Optimizing SEO on Bing in China

I’ve found that optimizing for Bing search engine in China requires a different approach than what works for other search engines in china. Chinese internet users behave differently on microsoft’s bing, and understanding these patterns helps me create better strategies for my campaigns.

Language and Localization

I learned that Chinese internet users expect content in their native language, and machine translation simply won’t cut it for effective Bing SEO. Microsoft’s Bing requires proper Chinese character encoding, simplified Chinese text, and culturally relevant content that resonates with local audiences.

Search algorithms on Bing favor websites that use natural Chinese language patterns, proper grammar, and region-specific terminology that Chinese users actually search for.

Localization goes beyond basic translation and includes adapting content for Chinese cultural preferences, local business practices, and regional search behaviors. Bing search engine performance improves significantly when websites incorporate Chinese-specific meta descriptions, title tags, and URL structures that align with how Chinese users interact with search engines in China.

Content must address local needs, reference familiar brands like Tencent’s services, and use examples that Chinese audiences understand, rather than simply translating Western concepts that may not apply to the Chinese market.

Mobile Optimization

Mobile phones dominate how Chinese internet users access search engines in China. Bing search engine performs better on mobile devices compared to desktop searches in the Chinese market.

From my experience working with clients, mobile-first design directly impacts search rankings on Microsoft’s Bing platform. The search algorithms prioritize websites that load quickly on smartphones and tablets.

Page speed becomes critical for success on mobile searches. Bing evaluates how fast content appears on smaller screens, especially for users browsing through mobile apps. Touch-friendly navigation and readable text sizes help websites rank higher in mobile search results.

Local businesses see better visibility when their sites work smoothly on mobile devices, particularly since most Chinese users search for services while on the go.

Conclusion

I see tremendous potential in Microsoft’s Bing for businesses targeting Chinese internet users. Search engines in China offer unique opportunities, especially with Bing’s growing market presence and less saturated competition compared to Baidu’s dominance.

Smart marketing managers should consider diversifying their search engine strategies to include Bing optimization. This approach can deliver better ROI while reaching audiences that competitors often overlook.

It is also the case in China: SEO alone is not enough to achieve a good ranking on Baidu. You must combine content marketing and link building.

We will dig into these three digital marketing tools to help you define your strategy on the Chinese web.

WHAT MATTERS TO BAIDU REGARDING ITS ALGORITHM?

Just like Google, Baidu’s algorithm has its own specifications and there are a number of elements you can leverage in order to be better ranked on the Chinese search engine.

Regarding domain, it is best if you base your website in China and your second best option is to go for a Hong Kong-based website. It should have short URLs and a simple structure, allowing Internet users to get to the searched information in just a few clicks. There are some programming languages you should avoid if you want Baidu crawlers to scan your website’s pages: instead of Flash or Javascript, use HTML. Titles and metadata are also of importance and you should make sure these are optimized.

Content is obviously closely linked to an SEO strategy and Baidu favors websites with consistent and fresh engaging content. You should therefore provide updated content with useful information. We will now delve deeper into marketing content.

GO FOR CONTENT MARKETING TO APPEAR ON CHINESE SEARCH ENGINE

Quality content is what will make your website more relevant to Baidu which will then rank your web pages better and make them visible by including them on its SERP. You should thus add high-impression keywords to your pages. A good way for you to choose these effective keywords is to get help from the online tools made available by the Chinese search engine: Baidu’s Feng Yun Bang, Index and Keyword Research Tool are effective solutions to understand how to optimize your content.

You should however avoid drowning your web pages in keywords or you might be penalized by Baidu. Limiting the density in keywords to about 1% is a good way to ensure appropriate quality content.

You should therefore provide updated content with useful information. For example, businesses in competitive niches can benefit from specialized approaches like auto parts SEO, which shows how industry-focused optimization helps improve both visibility and relevance.

LINK BUILDING WILL HELP YOUR WEBSITE RANK ON BAIDU

Internal and external linking will help you in many ways.

First of all, internal links guide Internet users to the right information: a simple way to make navigation through your web pages easier and to improve user experience. Internal linking also boosts your ranking since it shows Baidu that your website has consistent content within its pages and that it is well-structured.

External linking, on the other hand, corresponds to the broadcasting of content to a larger audience. Indeed, that way you redirect Internet users to additional information you think will interest them. It is a sign you want to reach a qualified and targeted audience. In order to optimize this strategy, make sure the links you point to are of quality, authority websites.

Also – and this is even more effective regarding ranking on Baidu – you should also aim at being redirected from these websites. Being included in a high ranked site shows Baidu that your website provides trustworthy content, leading to a better ranking for your own website.

SET A PRECISE AND COHERENT STRATEGY

The first step of any marketing strategy is to know where you’re going. It works the same way when establishing your digital marketing strategy: you need to know what you are aiming at.

You must define and get insight on your target. If your objective is to reach several types of customer profiles, a differentiated strategy should be settled for each of them, just like you would in traditional marketing.

You should also know beforehand what your concrete objective is and establish how you are going to measure it. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as content sharing, call-to-action conversion rates, and links to content, or engagement are an efficient means to assess the results of your digital marketing actions.

You must understand that the different digital marketing strategy tools should not be seen as independent actions: they are used to reach common goals. A clear image of what you want to achieve and how to want to achieve it will simplify the whole process.

Further readings:

1. Use social media to make business in China
2. SEO in China For Ecommerce

While Google dominates globally, it captures just 4% of China’s search market. Compared to Baidu’s commanding 70% share.

For global brands, this makes Baidu Ads the most direct way to reach Chinese consumers. But navigating Baidu’s PPC system isn’t simple. Strict regulations, language requirements, and platform differences can overwhelm marketers new to China.

I’m the founder of GMA. Within my agency, I’ve managed Baidu advertising campaigns for international companies across industries, guiding them through setup, compliance, and performance optimization.

In this article, you’ll learn how Baidu PPC works, what sets it apart from Google, and the strategies that can help your brand succeed in China’s unique digital landscape.

Quick Summary

• Baidu’s Market Dominance: Baidu is the leading search engine in China, holding about 70% of the search engine market share, making it a critical platform for reaching Chinese customers.
• Advertising Requirements: To advertise on Baidu, businesses need a business registration certificate and either a Chinese or overseas business license.
• PPC Advertising Focus: Baidu primarily uses PPC (Pay-per-click) advertising, which is trusted more in China compared to the West.
• Ad Features and Limitations: Baidu PPC ads allow for two lines of ad copywriting, but often only one line is displayed. There are specific limitations for certain product categories like health and pharmaceuticals.
• Campaign Management: Baidu PPC campaigns require close monitoring due to fluctuating keyword bidding prices.
• Account Setup for Baidu PPC: Setting up a Baidu PPC account involves submitting various documents to verify the company’s legitimacy and meeting strict prerequisites.
• Initial Payment and Fees: Baidu requires an initial payment to set up an account, with additional fees depending on the region.
• Content Regulations: Certain words and symbols are prohibited in Baidu ads, and political content must be avoided.
• Differences from Google Ads: Baidu ads are less distinguishable from natural search results compared to Google, and more characters are allowed in Baidu PPC ads.
• Combining PPC with SEO: For optimal results, it’s recommended to start with PPC for initial traffic and then shift to an SEO-led approach.
• Special Offers in Ads: Aggressive special offers are common and effective in Baidu PPC ads in China.
• Mandarin Chinese Ad Copywriting: Ads must be tailored and adapted for the Chinese market, not just translated.
• Landing Page Optimization: Creating local landing pages for specific product types and categories is crucial for effective targeting.
• Negative Keywords Limitation: Baidu allows only 100 negative keywords, much less than Google Adwords.
• Baidu’s Editor Tool: An essential tool for managing Baidu PPC campaigns, available in both Mandarin and English.
• PPC Monitoring and Reporting: Tracking channels and analyzing data is vital for campaign success.
• Click Fraud Management: Daily monitoring of click-spend is important to tackle click fraud.
• Baidu Phoenix Nest Platform: Similar to Google Ad Words, it ranks websites higher based on spending level.
• Baidu Tuigang: A PPC advertising platform similar to Google Adwords, primarily in Mandarin Chinese.
• Types of Paid Ads: Baidu offers various types of paid ads including ProTheme, Pay for Placement (P4P), Baidu TV, Information Feed Ads, and Brand Zone.
• Long-term Strategy: While Baidu PPC is useful for initial traffic, a long-term SEO strategy is more beneficial for organic, quality traffic.

Baidu: The Leading Search Engine in China

With more than 1.05 billion internet users as of 2023, the Chinese population is increasingly relying on the web to look for information when it comes to a brand’s reputation, reviews, pictures, videos, etc. As the most popular Chinese search engine, Baidu stands as the 5th most consulted website in the world.

It represents around 70% of the search engine market share. In comparison, only 4% of internet research was done with Google in China. Baidu is one of the most popular search engine in the world.

Given these figures, it is no surprise Baidu is a wonderful search engine that brands should take advantage of when entering China market.

Advertising in China: Baidu PPC Ads

In the past decade, the internet advertising market has been expanding at a double-digit growth rate. However, when it comes to advertising in China, you have to focus not only on the most popular platforms in terms of users but also (and most importantly) on each platform’s infrastructure to see if your advertising campaign fits their services. Thus, if you want to use Baidu, you have to understand exactly how it works.

The Main Benefits of Paid Advertising on Baidu

Given the incremental growth of mobile users, Baidu will certainly continue to invest heavily in its mobile ecosystem in order to bring a better user experience. This provides a lucrative opportunity for marketers to reach a wider and more engaged audience base.

To put it simply, Baidu is a step you can’t skip in Mainland China. 70% of all first-stage research is conducted based on the Baidu search engine. However, to have effective advertising campaigns on Baidu, you need to use Mandarin Chinese keywords, we can help you with this task.

Baidu Paid Advertising: Pay-per-click

Unlike Google, Baidu’s DSP/Media Banner ads are not particularly used as the majority of all advertising is PPC (Pay-per-click). In fact, PPC search results are also perceived differently in China with more trust in paid search compared to the West. One reason for this is the predominance of PPC throughout the development of Baidu’s platform with Chinese digital players monetizing their websites. 

Key features of Baidu PPC

• 2 Lines of Ad Copywriting (although often only one will typically show, depending on ad placement).
• Top 5 search results on Baidu
• Brand Zone
• Paid ads / natural search results are harder to distinguish
• Ad keyword bidding prices can fluctuate so the campaign needs to be closely monitored

There are some limitations when it comes to Baidu ads, notably for health & pharmaceutical products where you’ll have to speak with a specialist first.

The effectiveness of PPC depends on the sector, often either high-value investments or relatively low-scale purchases will thrive on Baidu PPC (e.g. Real Estate & FMCG). Cosmetics are also typically associated with Baidu PPC.

How to Set Up a Baidu PPC Account?

In order to apply for Baidu’s PPC advertising, you will need to submit a bunch of documents for Baidu to check the potential and seriousness of your company, as well as respect some strict prerequisites.

Baidu Paid Ads: Prerequisites

• Have an account on Baidu’s Paid Search Platform
• Have a license and own SAP CPI tenant to build a connection
• Mandarin Chinese website
• Your registered company name must be the same as on your website
• Business Registration Proof
• Company bank details
• A copy of your company/seal on your documents

Baidu Advertising: Fees and Regulations

It is important to take into account that Baidu requires an initial payment to set up a Baidu account, which you will then be able to use for your advertising campaigns. Moreover, you’ll have to pay some fees depending on your region to start using your ads account.

In terms of regulations, China is extremely strict when it comes to health products, gambling, finance, etc. Thus, regulations for companies in these industries will be even stricter.

Moreover, take note that some words such as ‘Number 1, Best, Top class, Trustworthy, Guarantee’, etc. are prohibited on Baidu, and you won’t be able to use symbols on your ad copy unless you prove that they are yours. Avoid all political content that could lead to scandals, and pay attention to the content you post.

Main Differences Between Baidu and Google Paid Ads

Whilst there are of course some similarities, it is important to understand the differences between these two different search engines if you want to optimize your advertising strategies and visibility on Baidu.

Less Clear Which Links are ‘Ads’ vs Natural Results

In contrast to Google’s very clear ad section, Baidu opts for a subtler reference below the ad text itself in order to distinguish the paid links at the top of the page from the organic search results.

This can be beneficial to firms engaging in PPC as the natural results seem to merge with the paid results.

Baidu PPC with SEO: Optimisation in the Organic Results

It is important to highlight that Chinese users are using the internet all day long, therefore ranking organically on the search engine typically drives qualitative traffic to your website. If you want to take advantage of Baidu in the best way possible, you can combine two approaches: start with PPC to drive initial traffic, then gradually shift to a more SEO-led approach.

More Characters are Allowed on Baidu PPC Ads than on Google Ads

Compared to Google Adwords, you’ll be able to write more characters on Baidu when it comes to your ads meta-title. The specifications are 50 characters for the title and 80 characters for each line of ad text (in total two lines). You have more space to describe your products, services, or special offer in detail, so you can take advantage of it.

Using the First Line of Ad Text on Baidu PPC

In contrast to Adwords, advertisers can choose to only write on the first line of a Baidu ad and leave the second line empty. However, it is very important to take into account that, even if you decide to write on both lines of your Baidu ad, they won’t be both necessarily displayed, as it depends on where they will be displayed.

Baidu will typically not display both lines of ad text unless an ad achieves the highest level of relevancy. The top positions will feature both lines but the lowest four positions probably will not. That’s why it is highly recommended to write the first line of your ad in a way that it can stand alone (in terms of grammar and meaning) so that you won’t be in trouble even if the second line is not displayed.

Selection of Character Keywords

Generally speaking, campaigns will feature 20-30 keyword sets, based on different groups of themes. Thus, it is important to optimize these keywords’ campaigns thanks to a landing page/site audit that you’ll need to do regularly. Pricing can be an issue depending on the sector of activity, but there are ways to cut down costs, and we can explain how if you contact us.

Take note that A/B testing can be carried out to compare generalized terms with specific terms and see how it turns. For example, specific keywords tend to drive more qualitative traffic and will be less expensive. Lower traffic levels will also allow you to cut down costs on your PPC budget if you are operating on a smaller scale.

For large-budget campaigns, bidding for & optimizing on the most searched / popular keyword terms will drive the highest level of traffic. But be careful to ensure that your budget is spread over a pre-defined campaign period. Plan everything beforehand in order to organize the budget you’ll need.

‘Special Offers’ are Very Effective in China

In China more than anywhere else in the world, consumers like to make special deals and many of them will tend to buy a product if they know that they can buy it for a cheaper price. That’s why relatively aggressive special offers are pretty common on Baidu.

To do so, you have to emphasize how the special offer will be beneficial to consumers. Write an ad copy for your special offer and be as convincing as possible, give the reduction price, and explain clearly when the special offer will end.

People will typically pay more attention to an offer in PPC links rather than the brand, and this explains why SEO and ranking in the organic results are the best way the build your brand’s awareness. If you want to take advantage of Baidu, you can combine the two techniques according to your budget.

Mandarin Chinese Language Ad Copywriting

It goes without saying that this is incredibly important. Appropriate communication with the target audience improves your CTR, yielding higher ROI. Content cannot simply be translated but needs to be adapted and tailored for the Chinese market accordingly.

Typically you will find mentions of special offers & a brief explanation of services. There are multiple ways to present your brand and services depending on the industry sector and offers.

Chinese Landing Pages for Specific Search Terms

It is vital to drive traffic to the most relevant options, creating local landing pages for specific product types and categories is a must. Moreover, you should prioritize static pages as the speed of the loading page will be taken into account on Baidu and your rank can also depend on that.

Less Negative Words than Google Adwords

It can be bad news for advertisers that are used to listing negative keywords on Adwords: Baidu only allows a total of 100 negative keywords, much less compared to Google Adwords.

The recommendation for advertisers is to take the hundred shortest negatives on the campaign level, which can cover as many essential negative terms and combinations as possible, and further add negatives on the ad group level.

Download Baidu’s Editor Tool

If you want to master and take advantage of Baidu, you should download Baidu’s Editor Tool directly on your desktop. On top of that, it you’re not fluent in Mandarin Chinese, it has an English version.

The functions available on it are quite similar to Adwords Editor. However, if your account is located outside of China, be prepared that the uploading, downloading, and performance data retrieval could take much longer than with Adwords Editor.

PPC Monitoring & Reporting

Tracking channels is of the utmost importance for a successful campaign. You need to be able to analyze which keywords drive the most traffic, convert to the most sales, stay on-site the longest, and re-enter multiple times. This data will allow you to tailor the best strategy for your campaign, and help you find the most effective search terms and ‘ad positioning/location’ in the search bar.

Tackling Click Fraud in China

Focusing on click-spend on a daily basis is the most effective way to tackle click fraud (false clicks from competitors) by limiting the budget available. Additionally, monitoring your daily average click-through rates is important to identify potential click fraud. Thankfully, Baidu has been taking care of this in recent years, by establishing a team that is responsible for reporting, analyzing, and protecting clients when click fraud situations.

One important reason to use local specialists is that they can monitor this to ensure you are getting genuine clicks and higher conversion rates. If you want to know more about this topic, you can contact us and our specialists will explain to you in detail all you have to know about Baidu.

Baidu Phoenix Nest

Baidu has a PPC, or Pay-Per-Click, platform much like Google Ad Words, named Baidu Phoenix Nest.

The main difference between Phoenix and Ad Words is that Baidu’s platform ranks websites higher depending on their spending level, whereas with Ad Words the relevancy of the content of your site compared to the search phrase increases your CPC (Cost-Per-Click), and betters your position in the PPC rankings. (more about Paid advertising in China here).

Baidu Advertising Platform: Baidu Tuigang (百度推广)

Baidu Tuigang is a PPC (pay-per-click) advertising platform similar to Google Adwords and Adsense. By using this platform, you’ll be able to display your ads on the search results pages of Baidu and on websites that are within Baidu’s ecosystem.

Even though the admin interface is primarily in Mandarin Chinese, there’s also an English version that has been developed. However, take into account that this service can only be used by companies who have a registered address for their business within China and some other parts of East Asia. Baidu Paid Ads appear alongside the organic listings.

Types of Paid Ads on Baidu (Apart from PPC)

ProTheme

This service is available to Baidu Union members that are then allowed to display promotional links on specific web pages, as well as music players, apps, desktop apps, etc. Because the ads are more targeted to relevant searches than using Baidu Tuigang, there are highly appreciated when targeting a specific audience.

Pay for placement (P4P)

By using this service, you will be able to reach customers following relevant searches. According to the relevant keywords, your website links and information will be displayed on Baidu. Thanks to P4P, you can for example buy priority placement of your business’ site within search results (contrary to Google).

Baidu TV

Baidu’s advertising service is mainly designed for video advertisements and is available for Baidu Union members’ websites. Advertisers can choose which sites and where they want to display their video ads.

Information Feed Ads

Launched in 2016, this type of feed flow ad is mixed with organic content and is displayed in content-driven Baidu products, such as Baidu Forum, Baidu News, and more.

Brand Zone

The Brand Zone is a space dedicated to a specific brand in order to showcase and introduce this company or brand. It often includes links to the company’s website, news related to the brand, specific products, as well as promotional information, and special offers.

This type of ad normally ranks at the top position on the SERP and pushes down all the competing ads. For example, when people are looking for Hermès, they can get tons of information about the brand within a few seconds.

However, you’ll have to consider the price of this service (which is around $1,500 a month). To get an exact quote, B2B marketers need to discuss it with professionals on Baidu. Thus, you can contact us to explain concretely your project, so that we can give you advice, prices, and tips, and help you develop your visibility on Baidu.

Should You Use Baidu PPC?

Although Baidu PPC is useful to kick start your project and get traffic at the beginning, in the long term, an SEO strategy is more beneficial. Indeed, organic traffic is more qualitative than paid traffic and less susceptible to not getting any views the day your competitors decide to bid more than you on your keywords. Organic results may not be displayed in front of paid ads, but they still generate a nonnegligible amount of quality traffic.

That’s why you should consider all the possibilities according to your needs, expectations, and budget. If you want more information about Baidu PPC, we have plenty of case studies, so you can contact us and we’ll send them to you.

Need a Baidu PPC Advertising Agency?

We are a digital agency specializing in the Chinese market and based in Shanghai, China. We are a dedicated team of international marketers specializing in the Chinese market: social media, web, digital tools, and also Baidu of course in terms of SEO & PPC.

For more information please contact our specialists to talk about your project.

1. Our Baidu SEO & PPC Services
2. Our case studies

Baidu is different than Google, as stated in this article. On top of that, the Chinese market is evolving at a fast pace and is constantly changing. Thus, if you want to seize all the opportunities, it is more convenient and cost-efficient to work with a specialized agency such as GMA.

If you’d like more information about Baidu or the Chinese market in general, you can contact us directly and we will reply to you within 24 hours.

Baidu is China’s leading search engine and a powerful platform for brands targeting the Chinese market. But if you’re outside China, the registration process can be confusing—especially without a local phone number.

At GMA, we’ve helped hundreds of international marketers and companies navigate Baidu’s ecosystem and avoid the many pitfalls foreign brands are unaware of.

In this guide, you’ll learn step-by-step how to create a Baidu account from anywhere in the world—no Chinese phone number required.

Key Takeaways

• Baidu is a popular search engine in China, and registering for an account can help you market goods or services to people in China.
• There are three methods to register a Baidu account outside of China: with a Chinese phone number, with an international phone number, or through a Baidu PPC account.
• To create a Baidu account without a Chinese phone number, you can download the QQ App and QQ Mail App and follow the steps to change your settings on Baidu.

What is Baidu and Why Register for an Account?

Baidu is like Google in China. It’s a big search engine. People use it every day to find things on the web, just like they do with Google. But Baidu has more than that. It also has maps, music, videos, and many other tools.

Why should you open an account? If you market goods or services to people in China, this is very important. You can reach millions of people by using Baidu ads! Plus, having an account gives you even more tools to use on the website.

The whole process is easy for those who live in China as they can sign up using their Chinese mobile number on Baidu.com itself.

For folks staying outside of China creating a Baidu account gets tricky but not impossible! There are multiple ways such as visiting the overseas registration page or through Baidu AI Cloud Home Page where one needs to fill out some information about themselves – pretty much what we do while signing up anywhere else, isn’t it? Beware though they will ask for your country code so make sure you have that handy!

So go ahead and create an account today and take full advantage of all the cool features that come along with it!

Methods to Register a Baidu Account Outside China

There are three methods to register a Baidu account outside China – with a Chinese phone number, with an international phone number, or through a Baidu PPC account.

With a Chinese Phone Number

Using a Chinese phone number makes it easy to sign up for a Baidu account outside of China. This method is simple and quick. You type in your Chinese phone number, get a code, and enter this code on the site.

Mobilesms.io can help you if you don’t have a SIM card from China. They give you real SIM Chinese numbers that work well for Baidu account registration.

But there might be problems too. The site may block foreign phone numbers sometimes. So, even with an actual Chinese number, you may still face roadblocks during the sign-up process.

Also, keep in mind that other ways exist to join Baidu without using a nonChinese phone number.

With an International Phone Number

You can use your own phone number to set up a Baidu account. I did it this way when I needed an account for my work. It’s easy, but you must do it right or it won’t work. At first, select “Overseas” on the Baidu sign-up page.

Then type in your country and phone number without the country code. You will get a security code sent to your phone which you need to enter into the form on the site – make sure you have your phone with you!

Now you can make a Baidu account even if you’re not in China! Some people like using sites like Mobilesms.io to get a Chinese SIM number, but really, using an international number does the trick just as well.

Through a Baidu PPC Account

To register a Baidu account outside of China through a Baidu PPC (Pay-Per-Click) account, there are certain requirements and steps to follow. Firstly, it’s important to note that Baidu PPC advertising is an effective way to reach your target audience in China.

However, you will need a business registration certificate and either a Chinese business license or an overseas license for the registration process. Keep in mind that this type of account registration is restricted to those outside of China.

Following the necessary guidelines and procedures can help you effectively advertise your business in China using Baidu PPC.

Steps to Create a Baidu Account without a Chinese Phone Number

To create a Baidu account without a Chinese phone number, you can follow these steps and start accessing Baidu’s services from outside China. Intrigued? Keep reading to find out how!

Download the QQ App

To create a Baidu account without a Chinese phone number, one important step is to download the QQ App. The QQ App will assist you in registering for your Baidu account. By downloading this app, you can gain access to a virtual Chinese phone number that will allow you to bypass the phone verification process that is usually required for registration.

This is crucial if you are trying to register from outside of China, as it provides an alternative method for creating your account internationally. So, make sure to download the QQ App and follow the steps outlined in our guide to complete your Baidu account registration successfully.

Download the QQ Mail App

To create a Baidu account without a Chinese phone number, you can download the QQ Mail App. This app allows you to register for a Baidu account using an alternative method. Simply install the QQ Mail application on your device and follow the steps provided to access Baidu without needing a Chinese phone number.

By downloading and installing the QQ Mail App, you can easily create a Baidu account and enjoy all its features without any hassle.

Changing Baidu Settings

To create a Baidu account without a Chinese phone number, you will need to change some settings. After downloading the QQ App and QQ Mail App as mentioned earlier, open the Baidu app and click on “Settings” at the bottom right corner of the screen.

Then, select “General Settings” and tap on “Account Security.” Next, choose “Mobile Number” and select your country code. Enter your international phone number without any spaces or dashes.

Finally, click on “Next” to receive the verification code via text message. Enter the code in the designated field and you’re all set!

We Can Help You Register Your Baidu Account!

To register a Baidu account outside China, there are several methods available. You can create an account using a Chinese phone number, an international phone number, or through a Baidu PPC account.

If you don’t have a Chinese phone number, you can download the QQ App and QQ Mail App to change your Baidu settings. With these steps, you’ll be able to access Baidu services from outside of China and enjoy all that it has to offer!

If you don’t know where to start or would like to start using Baidu as an advertising and marketing tool for your brand, contact us! We have more than 10 years of experience and will be glad to have you on board with us!