Baidu is a big player in China. It beats Google and holds the top spot among search engines there. Most people in China use Baidu to look for things on the web, doing billions of searches every month.

Even though Google is known all around the world, Baidu focuses only on China. This focus helped make it worth $45.77 billion by August 2023! For any business wanting to do well online in China, they need to watch their keywords on Baidu closely.

It’s key for keeping track of how they’re doing and getting better results on this huge platform.

Key Takeaways

• Baidu is the top search engine in China, so tracking keywords on Baidu is essential for businesses targeting the Chinese market.
• Understanding Baidu’s search algorithm, which emphasizes local relevance and mobile optimization, is crucial for effective keyword tracking on Baidu.
• Steps for effective keyword research on Baidu include finding the root keyword, analyzing cultural nuances and user behavior, identifying stem keywords, and leveraging tools like Baidu’s autocomplete and related search features.
• Tools like Semrush and Ahrefs can be used to track keywords on Baidu effectively. Additionally, utilizing the Baidu Index tool provides valuable insights into trending keywords and their popularity.

Why Keyword Tracking on Baidu is Essential for Businesses Targeting China

Keyword tracking on Baidu is a must for firms eyeing China. It’s simple math. In China, more people use Baidu than any other search engine. That means your clients are using it too! To grab their attention, you have to know what they’re looking for online and that’s where keyword tracking comes in handy.

You’ll find out the exact words Chinese customers are typing into Baidu when they look for products like yours. This can help you fine-tune your firm’s online presence so more eyes land on your site.

Don’t overlook keyword tracking on Baidu if the China market is on your radar!

Let’s Take a Look at Baidu’s Search Algorithm

How Baidu’s Search Algorithm Differs from Google

Baidu and Google’s ways of finding things are not the same. Baidu looks a lot at how important your social media profile is. I also see that it cares more about what the search fits with.

On the other hand, Google tracks backlinks and uses its own rules to find results. To do well on Baidu, you need to make sure your words match well and have good backlinks too. Both platforms like useful content but they use different features for finding it.

Knowing this helps you pick the right words to track on Baidu.

Local Relevance and Mobile Optimization

Local relevance and mobile optimization matter a lot for Baidu. Baidu takes local appeal into account when it ranks sites. So, your web content must fit with what people in China are looking for.

Mobile-friendly design is also a key rank tracker on Baidu. Most people in China use phones to search the web, not computers. Your site has to work well on small screens to catch their interest.

Ultimate Guide for Baidu Keyword Research Process

Find the Root Keyword

One of the initial steps in Baidu keyword research is finding the root keyword. This involves brainstorming and generating ideas to identify the primary keywords that are relevant to your business or industry.

By focusing on these core keywords, you can lay a strong foundation for your Baidu SEO strategy. It’s important to remember that Baidu’s search algorithm differs from other search engines, so considering cultural and linguistic nuances is crucial during this process.

Once you have identified the root keyword, you can then move on to exploring stem keywords and further optimizing your content for better visibility on Baidu.

Importance of Cultural and Linguistic Nuances

Understanding the cultural and linguistic nuances is crucial when conducting keyword research on Baidu. Chinese language and search behavior have their own unique characteristics that must be considered during the research process.

Cultural diversity, language differences, and Chinese digital culture all play a significant role in Baidu SEO. By incorporating these factors into keyword research, businesses can better understand the search intent of Chinese users and optimize their content accordingly.

Adapting to the cultural and linguistic context of Baidu will ultimately lead to more effective keyword targeting and improved visibility in the Chinese market.

Identify Stem Keywords

Stem keywords, secondary related keywords, serve as the foundation for further analysis and can help you understand user intent better. These stem keywords are derived from the root keyword and are associated with it. By analyzing these stem keywords, you can gain valuable insights into what your target audience is searching for on Baidu.

This understanding will enable you to optimize your content and website to align with the needs of your target market effectively. So, make sure to spend time brainstorming and identifying relevant stem keywords that will enhance your Baidu SEO strategy.

Using Baidu’s Autocomplete and Related Search Features

When conducting a keyword research tool on Baidu, it’s important to leverage the power of Baidu’s autocomplete and related search features. These tools can provide valuable insights into popular and trending keywords that are relevant to your target audience.

By analyzing the keyword suggestions that appear as users type in their search queries, you can gain a better understanding of Baidu users’ preferences and search behavior. This allows you to optimize your SEO strategy for improved visibility, organic traffic, and conversions on Baidu.

So make sure to take advantage of these features to uncover valuable keywords that will enhance your digital marketing efforts on Baidu.

Analyze and Finalize Keywords

Once you have a list of potential keywords, it’s time to analyze them further. Understanding search intent and user behavior in China is key. You should also pay attention to long-tail keywords, as they can drive targeted traffic and increase conversion rates.

After analyzing the keywords, it’s time to finalize your selection. Consider using Baidu analytics tools like Baidu Keyword Planner, Google Keyword Planner, Baidu Trends, or even Baidu Index for deeper insights into search volumes and trends.

Understanding Search Intent and User Behavior in China

In order to effectively target the Chinese market, it is crucial to have a strong understanding of how Chinese users search and what their intentions are when searching online.

By analyzing user behavior and search intent, businesses can optimize their content to meet the specific preferences and habits of the Chinese audience. This includes creating unique and engaging content that resonates with Chinese users, as well as optimizing website readability and ensuring it aligns with the preferences of the Chinese market.

Without this understanding, businesses may struggle to reach their target audience effectively and achieve desired results in terms of SEO success factors and conversions on platforms like Baidu.

Long-tail Keywords on Baidu

Long tail keywords play a crucial role in improving a website’s ranking and increasing traffic on Baidu. Unlike popular keywords, long-tail keywords are more effective for Baidu SEO and organic traffic generation.

This is because popular keywords on Baidu often have multiple ads occupying the top spots, making it difficult to stand out. By focusing on long-tail keywords, businesses can target specific niches and attract more relevant users to their websites.

These targeted users are more likely to convert into customers, resulting in higher conversion rates. So, when optimizing keywords for Baidu, don’t forget the importance of using long-tail keywords to drive targeted traffic and boost conversions.

Top Tools for Tracking Keywords on Baidu

Semrush and Ahrefs

I have used both Semrush and Ahrefs for tracking keywords on Baidu, and they both have their strengths and limitations. Both tools are great for optimizing ad campaigns, conducting competitive research, and tracking keywords on Baidu.

Semrush has the advantage of offering more reporting capabilities compared to Ahrefs, allowing users to pull more reports for analysis. However, Ahrefs offers similar features as Semrush and can be just as effective in managing keyword tracking on Baidu.

Overall, both tools can help marketers gain valuable insights into keyword performance and make data-driven decisions for their Baidu campaigns.

Baidu Index

I want to talk to you about the Baidu Index and all the great things it can do. The Baidu Index is a tool that allows you to track keywords on Baidu and see how they’re trending. It gives you daily search volume data, so you can know which keywords are popular right now.

Not only that, but it also provides a bubble chart that visually shows keyword relevancy and popularity. This makes it easier for you to understand what keywords are most relevant to your target audience.

Another cool thing about Baidu is that they offer webmaster tools like URL submissions, robot testing, and crawl diagnosis. These tools help you optimize your website for better performance on Baidu’s search engine.

So if you’re a marketing manager looking to track keywords on Baidu, the Baidu Index is definitely a tool worth checking out. It gives you valuable insights into search trends and helps you make informed decisions about your keyword strategy.

Baidu’s Keyword Tool

I find that Baidu’s Keyword Tool is a valuable resource for conducting keyword research on the Baidu search engine. It can help marketing managers like you optimize content and improve search engine rankings. Here are some key points to effectively use this tool:

• The Keyword Tool provides insights into popular keywords used by Baidu users.
• Marketers can analyze search volume and trends to understand keyword popularity.
• This information allows for better content optimization and SEO strategies.
• Real-time data analysis helps identify keyword trends and make informed decisions.

How to Track Keywords on Baidu

Baidu Webmaster Tool for Organic Keywords

I use the Baidu Webmaster Tool to track organic keywords for my website. It helps me see which keywords are driving traffic and impressions. This tool is specifically designed for webmasters and SEOs who want to monitor their site’s presence in Baidu’s organic search results.

By analyzing these keywords, I can optimize my website’s SEO strategies and improve its performance on Baidu. This is important because Baidu is the dominant search engine in China, so ranking higher on it can increase sales and reach more customers in the Chinese market.

Step-by-Step Tutorial for Tracking Keywords on Baidu

I have prepared a step-by-step guide to help you track keywords on Baidu. Here are the essential steps:

1. Conduct thorough keyword research for Baidu SEO.
2. Brainstorm potential stem keywords based on your understanding of the site.
3. Utilize tools like the Baidu Keyword Planner to find semantically associated terms.
4. Analyze and finalize keywords that align with your target audience’s search intent and behavior in China.
5. Take advantage of long-tail keywords. as they can drive targeted traffic and increase conversion rates.
6. Use tools such as Semrush and Ahrefs to track keyword rankings on Baidu.
7. Make use of Baidu Index. a powerful tool for monitoring keyword performance and gaining insights into trending topics.
8. Consider using the Baidu Webmaster Tool for organic keyword tracking. and optimizing your website’s visibility on Baidu.

AccuRanker for Tracking Keywords

I highly recommend utilizing AccuRanker for tracking keywords on Baidu. AccuRanker is known as the world’s fastest and most accurate keyword rank-tracking software, trusted by over 32,000 customers.

With AccuRanker, you can track your keyword rankings on Baidu daily and on demand. By monitoring your keyword positions, you can gain valuable insights into your SEO efforts and make data-driven decisions to improve your search engine rankings.

This tool is perfect for marketing managers who want to encourage organic traffic from search engines like Baidu and analyze the effectiveness of their SEO strategies.

Here’s how AccuRanker stacks up against other similar tools:

It’s not just about getting data, but about obtaining meaningful insights that can guide your keyword strategy effectively. So, if you’re looking to track keywords on Baidu, AccuRanker could be the tool you need.

Monitoring Keyword Performance

To effectively track keyword performance on Baidu, it is important to utilize tools like the Baidu Index and Baidu Live keyword feed. These tools provide valuable insights into how your keywords are performing and allow you to make data-driven decisions.

Another useful tool is the Baidu Keyword Tool, which helps with keyword research for PPC campaigns. By monitoring keyword performance regularly, you can identify trends, analyze user behavior, and adjust your strategies accordingly for better results.

Remember that using Baidu’s tools is crucial for successful online marketing in China!

How to Interpret Data and Adjust Strategies Based on Results

Analyzing data and adjusting strategies based on results is crucial for optimizing your keyword tracking on Baidu. By interpreting the data, you can gain valuable insights into how your keywords are performing and make informed decisions to improve your website’s ranking and traffic.

Look for patterns and trends in the data to identify areas where adjustments may be needed. For example, if certain keywords are generating high traffic but low conversions, you may need to refine your targeting or optimize your landing pages.

On the other hand, if some keywords are underperforming, consider adjusting your strategy by focusing on more relevant or popular keywords. Continuous monitoring and analysis of keyword performance will help you stay ahead of the competition in China’s ever-evolving digital landscape.

Common Challenges Businesses Face When Tracking Keywords on Baidu

Tracking keywords on Baidu can present some challenges for businesses. One common challenge is the language barrier. Baidu caters to a Chinese-speaking audience, which means that keyword tracking requires understanding and using Mandarin or other relevant languages.

Cultural differences also come into play when tracking keywords on Baidu. Understanding the cultural nuances and preferences of the Chinese market is essential for effective keyword tracking.

Additionally, keeping up with the ever-evolving Chinese SEO trends can be challenging, as Baidu’s search algorithm and ranking factors change frequently. However, with strategic planning, continuous learning, and staying updated with the latest trends, these challenges can be overcome to achieve successful keyword tracking on Baidu.

We are Specialists in Baidu SEO in China!

Mastering Baidu keyword tracking is vital for businesses targeting China. Its unique algorithm and local focus demand understanding and proper tools for improved rankings and targeted traffic.

Keyword tracking is pivotal due to Baidu’s market dominance. Its text understanding boosts relevance. Utilizing Baidu’s planner enhances advertising strategies, ensuring visibility and success.

Continuous learning and adaptation are key in China’s evolving digital landscape. Stay informed to outpace competitors, seize opportunities, and foster innovation.

Remain flexible, agile, and resilient to excel in Chinese digital marketing’s dynamic realm.

Should you require assistance, our agency is readily available. As Baidu experts, we offer a range of services to bolster your Baidu SEO and SEM endeavors. Feel free to reach out anytime for personalized guidance and support. Your success in the intricate world of Baidu is our priority.

In this blog post, we’ll share our tips to help boost your China SEO strategy. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to ranking higher in Chinese search engines and gaining a competitive advantage over your competitors. Let’s get started!

Why SEO in China is so important for your business?

China SEO marketing is a cost-effective tool for branding and brand awareness. It can help your brand to have a good place on results pages on search engines. The higher you rank, the more clicks and traffic your site will have. This works especially well in China because Chinese consumers are very suspicious of brands that they don’t know. Distrust between customers and brands has been created due to lots of scandals that happened in the market.

If you want to enter the Chinese market and sell your products, you have to gain your target’s confidence and boost your brand awareness. Businesses that implement a complete SEO strategy in China gain an advantage over competitors. SEO in China is a long-term strategy that will consistently bring results over time, unlike paid advertising or KOL campaigns for instance.

Chinese search engine market overview

People in China are very connected to the Internet. Before purchasing certain products, they tend to search for as much information on the Internet as possible, so it’s very important to rank well so that they will visit your website.

Much like the alternatives to mainstream social media platforms, China has pioneered the production of search engines that provide an alternative to Google and Bing, as China’s Great Firewall has blocked most of the Western social networks and search engines.

China’s Most Popular Search Engines: Baidu, Sogou, and Shenma

In China’s search engine world, Google is at the bottom of the chain. Instead, local search engines take most of the cake. The Baidu search engine leads the dance, with market share oscillating around 70%. Other search engines such as Sogou and Shenma occupy a much smaller part of the Chinese market but have other benefits.

Expert Tips for SEO in China

Baidu SEO: China’s Number 1 Search Engine & SEM Channel

There are many search engines in China, but Baidu is the most popular search engine among them all, and the place internet users go first when looking for information. Thus, when it comes to search engine marketing in China, a chunk of companies’ efforts should focus on Baidu SEO.

Baidu, just like Google, has its own ecosystem and offers many platforms and tools to marketers:

• Baidu Keyword planner
• Baidu Webmaster tools
• Baidu PPC/Baidu Ads with the Baidu Phoenix Nest manager
• Baidu Baike, Zhidao, Baijiahao and son on

However, keep in mind that if you use Google’s optimization method to optimize your Baidu ranking, your website won’t do great on Baidu’s SERP.

Baidu SEO has its uniqueness. Differences such as complex language issues, cultural differences, user behavior, legal factors, censorship, and technical considerations should be well taken into consideration.

Creation of your Chinese website for Baidu SEO: a useful tool for your business in China

Baidu also has the world’s largest index of Chinese web pages, which is entirely Chinese. The user interface is only available in Simplified Chinese. Baidu gives priority to Chinese websites. Non-Chinese websites will struggle to even be indexed on Baidu

Therefore, developing your website is the first step in your Chinese SEO strategy. Not only because it can serve as a portal for your Baidu SEO, but your website can also help with brand credibility.

Baidu’s crawling and indexing of non-Chinese websites are also not very stable — it may crawl slower, less frequently, and not crawl so deeply, or even not crawl at all. It is thus very difficult for a non-Chinese website to get a ranking on queries in Mandarin.

As for why it does this, Baidu certainly has its reasons, and the biggest reason is user experience. Most of Baidu’s users are residents of mainland China. Of course, they are most interested in local content in Chinese characters.

Technical details about your website to optimize your brand on Baidu SEO

Your website should not only be in Mandarin if you aim at the Chinese mainland, but also it needs to be hosted in China or nearby such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. for a better user experience. If you host your website too far from China, it will take much more time to access it.

Mobile-Friendly Website: most internet users in China are on mobile. You can not afford a website not optimized for mobile.

In recent years, Google has made substantial progress in crawling JavaScript and AJAX content, but Baidu has not so much. Generally speaking, if you want to get a better ranking on Baidu, it is best to avoid using these elements in the main content area of ​​your website.

Website domain name matters very much for Baidu’s algorithm, the Chinese search engine will probably rank websites with .cn  higher on the SERP (search engine results page). It is advised in this case to favor a .cn domain name.

Legal factors about your website for Baidu SEO

An ICP License is an Internet Content Provider License. It’s a license issued by the Chinese government that allows companies to provide internet content in China. Getting an ICP license is required for any website that wants to be hosted in China with a .cn domain.

Why is it better for your Baidu SEO effort to have an ICP License?

Having an ICP license simply demonstrates that your company is a legitimate business within China and is authorized to operate a website. This helps to instill trust in users, which can lead to increased traffic and improve SEO results on Baidu.

Having an ICP License also means you can host your website in China (which Baidu prioritizes) and improve site speed.

What do you need to get an ICP License?

• To get an ICP License, a website foreign companies need a “physical address” in China,  which means it is required to have Chinese contact details.
• You must make sure that your website is in compliance with Chinese internet restrictions
• Chinese business license

To Succeed With Chinese SEO, You Need a Keywords & Content Strategy

Search engine optimization always comes hand in hand with a content strategy, Google or Baidu, or anywhere.

To have a good website ranking on China’s search engines, you must have an important amount of content. New publications and updated information have a key role in referencing.

To create an editorial calendar keywords research is key and you can do that the same way you do with Google:

• Competitor’s observation
• Baidu Keyword planner
• Baidu SEO keyword ranking tools to access your site ranks in comparison to other sites

Relevant content creation is crucial to increase your organic traffic. When optimizing your content for Baidu, you’ll have to follow basic rules such as optimizing images (size and title tags), writing a compelling meta description, and so on.

When optimizing your content, target not only the top SERP results but also the snippets. Similarly, Google Baidu displays rich snippets. One of the most common is Baidu Baike.

A smart content strategy also means planned inbound links to further strengthen your relevant keywords in search results.

According to our experience, Baidu’s tolerance for duplicate content is much lower than Google’s. If a website is penalized by Baidu for duplicate content, it may take longer to rebuild the lost ranking.

However, duplicated content is still a big problem for Baidu, because content crawling is still a very common strategy with China SEO.

China SEO/Online Media & Censorship

The golden rule is to pay attention to sensitive subjects and avoid them. If it ever happens, you may receive a shadowban, or you can even be blacklisted and censored by the Chinese government (the same applies to social media marketing).

We are familiar with the situation and can help you with reviewing your website content, and establish an editorial calendar in line with Baidu’s guidelines!

Quality Backlinks: 70% of your China SEO Effort

Backlinks are very popular with Chinese search engines. Adding links to some websites allows a random website to be nicely placed on search engines.

Your webmaster can also use Chinese social media to share links. A nicely written and furnished article can be quoted by other websites or famous people, which will improve the natural referencing of the website.

Baidu believes that the value of backlinks from Chinese websites far exceeds that of foreign websites. When establishing a link for a website, you should take backlinks from a Chinese-based website (host in China, using simplified Chinese anchor text).

Baidu is still far behind Google in testing the quality of links. Google is already very good at spotting spam links, but Baidu is still vulnerable to the old-style spam link strategy. Because these black hat strategies are still effective, they are often used in Chinese SEO strategies.

Referencing Tags are Key for SEO

If Google no longer uses the keyword tag (Meta keywords tag) as a ranking factor, but only as a description of each result on the search results page that is not the case with Baidu. Baidu still uses keyword tags as a ranking factor, and there are some examples that support Meta descriptions that will also affect rankings.

These tags can be easily manipulated and designed to target some keywords, so it is puzzling that Baidu is still using them. Even if the impact of these tags on rankings is not huge, it is still a decisive factor in whether the page can be ranked in the target keywords.

These referencing tags allow websites to integrate the first choices of search engines

• The Title Tag

A great article must have a catchy title. You also need a good first sentence to detail the article’s content.

• The Description Tag

For SEO purposes, every page of the website must have a description of its content.

• The Keyword Tag

You must include keywords linked to the page’s activity and content. Then, the referencing will be much more efficient. Indeed, robots compare the keywords to the title of the page and to its description to establish some links between them.

Our China SEO Services

We are an SEO Agency specializing in digital marketing in China located in Shanghai, China. With more than 10 years of experience, we have already helped 700+ amazing clients develop their Baidu SEO.

We are the Reference for SEO agencies in China!

Need a smart SEO strategy for your China project? Contact us, ask for a quote, our case studies, and a free consultation with one of our SEO experts!

As a marketing agency, we also help you with:

• Understanding your Chinese customers with comprehensive market research
• Reaching out to your target audience through online marketing
• eCommerce strategy and social media operations

Considered the “Chinese Google”, Baidu is the most popular Chinese search engine and stands as the 5th most consulted website in the world. As of 2023, it represents around 70% of the Chinese market share. In comparison, only 4% of internet research is done with Google in China. In this article, we will deep dive into Baidu SEO best practices.

What you should know before starting SEO in China

As the Chinese economy is gaining in strength and size, businesses around the globe are making a beeline toward China, targeting Chinese customers. Millennials are more than ever ultra-connected and almost all of them are tech-savvy, doing shopping online and seeking better quality products. This explains why many companies have created online stores and eCommerce websites to lure Chinese millennials.

Having a website is critical in the digital era as it often will be your consumer’s first stop. Keep in mind, that although a website is absolutely necessary, most of the purchasing won’t be done through this channel.

Why is a website necessary then? you are gonna ask. The reason is online reputation. If you don’t have a website, you can’t do SEO. If you can’t do SEO, you will be barely visible on the Chinese internet. If you are not visible, in the customer’s eyes, it probably means you are not reliable. If you are in B2B, most of the lead generation will be done through your website as well.

A Short Introduction to Baidu

Baidu, the fifth-largest search engine in the world, dominates the Chinese market with a penetration rate of nearly 70%. With Google accounting for only 4% of searches in China, optimizing your presence on Baidu is crucial for visibility in the world’s most populous country.

Baidu’s success lies in its ability to parse and interpret Chinese text, making it more effective for Chinese users. Baidu boasts the world’s most extensive Chinese web index, catering entirely to Chinese customers through a user interface available only in Simplified Chinese. Non-Chinese sites are rarely indexed or displayed in search results. Trust Baidu to help expand your online presence in China.

Guide to Baidu SEO: “On-site” optimization for Baidu

Although Baidu SEO remains obscure to many, it is definitely a set you don’t want to skip when getting into the Chinese market! Here are tips & must know on SEO regarding China’s top search engine Baidu.

Factors Determining a Website’s Rankings on Baidu

Gaining high rankings on Baidu is the key to exposure in the Chinese digital market. Once you master the proper techniques required to get noticed by their spiders, you’ll see a steady significant rise in ranking. Keep it simple by following the basic rules outlined below and you’ll gain popularity in the Baidu search engine.

To start with Baidu SEO you need a website hosted in China

For loading speed reasons as well as website authority, having your website hosted in China is a definite plus but a neighboring country will work just fine. Avoid every Google plugging that would make your website appears broken in China. This will not only ensure you a better ranking on Baidu but also on other China search engines such as Sogou.

Baidu prefers sites that are hosted on Chinese servers. If it is easy to do, move your site to a Chinese server. However, lots of other factors determine how well your site ranks, and a site hosted outside of China can occupy the top positions for even the most competitive keywords. 

Having a Chinese extension domain name – either .cn or .com.cn – is helpful too, though the ultimate importance of this on your site’s SEO potential is debatable.

With China Search Engines: Use Simplified Mandarin

Baidu’s biggest attribute and main selling feature are that they only index simplified Chinese characters. This is why it is important for you to have a website available in simplified Chinese. In fact, Baidu prefers 100% Chinese-written websites and has difficulty distinguishing several languages. So, if we want to appear as a priority and increase its visibility, we recommend a Chinese homepage.

To rank on Baidu think Qualitative and Quantitative Contents

In order to rank on Baidu, it is essential that you produce original qualitative content on a regular basis. This will improve your website authority and trust rank. Local search engines will automatically give importance to websites with many pages.

Google or Bing love updates but Baidu even more. Chinese Internet users prefer recent content and then search engines adapt their algorithms to fit the demands. 

For Baidu SEO, the URL is not what matters the most

This is not chauvinism but simply Baidu is a search engine for Chinese websites in priority. For Baidu keywords in the URL are not that important. Moreover, Chinese specialists in SEO often create URLs in English even for Chinese articles. Often they choose to use the five first consonants for a company website URL. 

The Importance of Content for Your Baidu SEO Efforts

One of the most fundamental points Baidu bases itself on is Metadata. In fact, a coherent title, with relevant keywords, allows an optimal positioning on the tag, even if the content is inconsistent.

Another important thing for Baidu: Metadata (<meta description> and <meta keyword>) that helps to put Metadata on an HTML page for the tools that can use it ( browsers, search engines, or indexation tools. So, we operate on the choice of these metadata according to the most researched keywords on Baidu and its competitors.

HTML coding

Do not use ISO-8885-1. The two coding platforms to use are UTF-8 and GB2312. Of the two, UTF-8 would be considered stronger since it caters to any language in the world.

Working with your on-page SEO

Unlike Google, China search engines and Baidu place significant importance on metadata. This includes:

• Meta descriptions
• Meta keywords
• Title tags
• H1 and H2 tags
• Alt tags

All of this information is highly important to Baidu’s spiders, so having it – and ensuring that it is translated into simple Chinese and well-written – will greatly help your rankings on the site. Also, when it comes to your keywords and site text, remember the following:

• Keyword density: Keep it around 6 to 10% for a strong showing.
• Anchor words on internal links: These would be clickable text linking one of your pages to another one of your pages. It helps a little and has a slight effect on your rankings.
• Easy navigation: Ensure that your site is easy to navigate with a clear hierarchy.
• No Flash or JavaScript: Baidu’s spiders do not recognize Flash or JavaScript yet, so stick to straightforward HTML.
• Minimize Frame and iFrame: There is strong evidence to suggest that Baidu’s spiders may disregard iFrame content.
• Keep content at the top: Since Baidu’s spiders often experience poor connectivity, they are notorious for only crawling the first 100k to 120 kilobytes of your content. So, it is a good idea to keep the most important information at the top of each page.
• Refresh constantly: like other search engines, Baidu likes frequently refreshed content. So, make sure to keep your content refreshed on a regular basis.

The majority of SEO effort on your site should be made in this area. Select keywords, choose pages to optimize for those keywords, and then follow the advice above to do the actual optimization.

Search Engine Optimization in China: the homepage of your website is essential

Your homepage should be in Chinese. A welcome page will have more weight than an appendix. This system is aimed at giving priority to Chinese websites.

The website’s homepage and its content are really important for Baidu. Linking the landing pages you wish to rank there will certainly give them a boost. We recommend putting a lot of links in the header and footer like on all Chinese websites.

Use Baidu Webmaster Tools

Maximize your website’s visibility on Baidu with the user-friendly Baidu Webmaster Tools platform. Similar to Google’s optimization tools like Google Search Console, Baidu’s toolset allows you to track your site’s rankings and performance while also providing vital data for improving your online presence.

Boost your mobile Baidu SEO strategy and access various performance metrics in Mainland China to ensure your website climbs higher in the Baidu SERP. Don’t miss out on this invaluable tool for optimizing your online presence.

Remember about mobile optimization

Chinese consumers prioritize mobile access above any other nation, making mobile optimization critical for success in China. Baidu, the primary search engine, places substantial importance on mobile-friendly sites when evaluating search results.

Notably, Baidu compiles mobile searches through a separate application, m.baidu.com, while Google merges mobile and desktop search on the same URL. Baidu also transcodes non-mobile-optimized websites for faster loading times, but this can cause user experience and interface issues that may drive visitors away from your site.

To mitigate these concerns, start with mobile optimization during website development to provide higher-quality user experiences and keep visitors engaged on your site.

Submitting your website to Baidu

Submitting your site to Baidu is an important thing to do if your site doesn’t appear in Baidu’s search engine. Without submitting your site, the Baidu spiders won’t be able to find your website, which will not be indexed. You can submit your site to Baidu’s open-source platform.

Like Google, submitting a sitemap to Baidu helps them to find all of the pages on your site. Their platform for sitemap submission is http://sitemap.baidu.com.

Tracking Baidu’s keyword performance

To see which keywords are performing well on Baidu check:

• The Baidu Index
• Baidu Live keyword feed

If you have Baidu’s Phoenix Nest PPC, you can use their new Keyword research tool. Since it is so new there are still a few kinks to work out in its sophistication, but one of its highlights is that it allows you to build keywords that are geo-targeted.

Obvious but… Respect China’s Internet Regulations

Baidu follows the rules of the Chinese government when it comes to censorship. It will therefore give extra points to “safe” websites, that do not create scandals. A penalty will be placed on pages that are contrary to the censorship laws.

Do not criticize the Chinese government or claim that Taiwan is independent, to avoid being penalized. It is also good for your Baidu SEO to moderate comments. Every day on Youku or Renren moderators have to pay attention to hundreds of comments and delete what is a potential threat.

Offsite strategy for Baidu

To increase traffic to your website, it is important to actively promote it across the internet in relevant locations. The same is true for your Chinese website. Some of the ways to help out your Baidu rankings through off-site SEO are:

• News Posts: Baidu will rank you for your news posts. To fully utilize this, you must submit your news posts to Baidu News Protocol. This will help more visitors flock to your site.
• Promote your brand: this includes posting relevant content, videos, and images on as many Chinese websites as possible.
• Chinese anchors: with any of the off-site marketing you do, it is important to use simple Chinese characters as anchor text back to your site. The best scenario would be to use all Chinese characters for your entire post, as that will attract the spiders even more.
• Baidu Social Bookmarking Tools: there’s some evidence that submitting pages of your site to Baidu Bookmarks help to get pages indexed quicker.

Baidu SEO, Links Acquisition:

• Baidu will put websites that have many backlinks on top of their recommendations
• Baidu will also like certified and official links: newspapers, government websites
• The URL doesn’t have much importance and most of the websites don’t have an optimized URL.
• According to our tests, the “like” button does not affect a website’s rank

Inbound links (links to your site)

The number of other sites linking to your site is an important ranking factor for Baidu, much like Google. However, there are some differences. Here are some key areas to keep in mind:

• The quality of links is not so important. Gaining quality links (measured by how reputable and authoritative a site is) doesn’t seem to play a big role in your ranking on Baidu. So, it is not necessary to spend time befriending high-quality Chinese websites in the hope that they will link to you to build your search ranking. This might be useful when it comes to relationship and visitor building, but it won’t affect your SEO too much (at the moment, anyway).
• Quantity matters. At the time of writing, a link from a reputable site seems to carry as much weight as a link from a less reputable site.
• Chinese links matter. Gaining links from other well-ranking, reputable, and relevant Chinese sites is more important than getting links from English sites.

Outbound links

As far as linking from your site to other sites, Baidu considers the number of quality outbound links you have on your site as a factor. The weighting of this factor is however hard to quantify. Our advice would be to link to other sites where ever it is going to be useful to the reader.

Baidu Paid to Advertise

Baidu has a PPC, or Pay-Per-Click, platform much like Google’s 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.

Does it mean Baidu SEO is useless?

We would not say that. 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.

Need a Baidu SEO Agency?

Baidu SEO is not like Google SEO and it requires a set of skills and experience to know how to succeed and rank on the first page in search results.

We are a China-based agency with more than 10 years of experience and we offer a through approach to your Baidu SEO efforts. Here are some of our main services we offer on Baidu:

Contact us to know how we can assist you to rank your Website on Chinese Search Engines such as Baidu & learn more about our SEO services. Let’s start today!

Get ready for an exciting journey through China’s online ecosystem. Discover how you can take advantage of this expanding market.

The Top 5 Search Engines in China

Baidu

Baidu is often referred to as China’s Google. It dominates the Chinese search engine market with a significant 76.05% share.

For marketing managers targeting the Chinese audience, Baidu is a crucial platform. It’s the second-largest search engine globally and prioritizes its properties like:

• Baike (an online encyclopedia)
• Tieba (a social networking platform)
• Zhidao (a Q&A website).

Baidu delivers results for Chinese-language websites.

To gain visibility on Baidu’s SERPs, marketers should optimize their content for organic reach or use paid ads. Local SEO strategies can also help businesses stand out in specific regions in China. Keyword research is crucial, taking into account used phrases and user intent.

By doing so, they can reach customers who are using China’s leading search engine.

Sogou

Sogou is China’s second most popular search engine, with a 26% of the China search engine market share as of January 2020.

Tencent plans to acquire Sogou to strengthen its digital presence and compete with other tech giants such as Baidu and Alibaba.

This acquisition will also provide Tencent with access to Sogou’s technology and resources to develop new products and services. Sogou’s language input is essential for efficient input of Chinese characters and common misspelling detection, making it easier for businesses to reach their target audiences.

To use Sogou in digital marketing, businesses must understand the Chinese language, keywords, and regulations for online advertising on local platforms to create effective SEO campaigns.

Shenma

Shenma currently holds a market share of 1.74% in China’s search engine industry. Alibaba and UC Web established this as a joint venture.

Shenma’s unique features are its mobile search focus and integration with Alibaba. This allows consumers to look for products or services through their mobile devices. If you target mobile audiences, consider incorporating Shenma into your SEO strategy.

Haosou (aka 360)

Haosou, or Qihoo 360 Search, has integrated search and security features. It has “s.com” feature that lets users search for products and services online. Haosou has improved its social media sharing features. This is allowing to create social media campaigns on popular platforms like WeChat.

To succeed in Haosou, businesses must:

1. analyze SERPs
2. understand which keywords and content can help them rank and attract traffic.

Optimizing product listings on Haosou’s s.com platform is crucial. By leveraging Haosou’s capabilities, businesses can boost their sales through e-commerce.

Youdao

Youdao is attracting over 700 million internet users since its launch in 2007 by tech giant NetEase. And it stands with their translation tool. It allows Mandarin language speakers to translate their searches into other languages.

Using Youdao as part of your SEO strategy would help those with multilingual content. Youdao relies on the incorporation of relevant keywords for effective SEO.

Unique Features And Benefits Of Each Search Engine

Each of the 5 popular search engines in China has unique features and benefits, that we’ll check out right now.

Baidu’s AI-powered Search Results And Advertising Options

Baidu invested in AI technology for better search results. It’s accurate, relevant, and personalized. Baidu plans to launch a ChatGPT-style bot that uses natural language processing. The bot will interact with users conversationally, like a human.

Baidu’s AI technology powers its advertising options. PPC campaigns are popular for boosting online visibility in China. The platform analyzes user data and behavior for relevant ads. This benefits advertisers and consumers. Advertisers can maximize their ROI, while consumers see relevant ads. Businesses targeting or operating in China should consider using Baidu.

This AI-driven technology ensures that Baidu is the most used search engine in China. It has 558 million active users.

Sogou’s Language Input Technology And Personalized Search Results

Sogou’s language input technology is a game-changer in mobile search in China. Sogou Pinyin enables Chinese users to type Chinese characters on their smartphones. This software analyzes and categorizes the most used words and phrases in Chinese. This way users can input text faster.

Sogou can tailor search results to specific users within a selected geographical area and time frame. This provides more relevant and useful information to the user.

More and more Chinese internet users migrate from desktops toward smartphones or tablets. This is why Sogou Pinyin becomes even more important. Time sensitivity is crucial in adapting to online consumer behavior changes. Using natural language processing could increase user engagement on this platform.

Shenma’s Mobile Search Focus And Integration With Alibaba

Shenma is a mobile-only search engine owned by Alibaba. Shenma focuses on mobile technology, and they claim to be the “experts in mobile search.” They combine a robust search engine with an app store and e-commerce site. This makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for.

Shenma’s integration with Alibaba helps businesses reach their target audience. The platform indexes consumer products, enabling searching of local and international consumer products. If you have an ecommerce business, you can market your products through Shenma’s integrated platform.

Incorporating keywords and having a mobile-first strategy can increase visibility. Knowing this is essential for planning a digital marketing strategy on this popular Chinese search engine.

Haosou’s Integrated Search And Security And Social Sharing Capabilities

Haosou (also known as 360) is one of the top Chinese search engines that businesses should take note of. It has an integrated search function. Users can access different types of content from a single platform (web pages, images, videos, and news articles).

It provides businesses with an opportunity to showcase their content across many formats.

Haosou also boasts strong security features and social sharing capabilities. Cybersecurity concerns are on the rise in China. Many users are particularly concerned about protecting their personal information online. Haosou provides extra layers of encryption for user data.

It also has social sharing features. Enable users to spread interesting or useful content across various social media channels. This way brands can boost engagement with target audiences.

Youdao’s Focus On Educational Resources And Language Learning

Youdao is a valuable resource for education and language learning in China with over 700 million users. Its standout feature is the Translation tool, which translates whole websites with correct phrases rather than a word-for-word translation. Youdao offers study plans based on user behavior analysis and allows individuals to set achievable personal goals while tracking their progress.

Businesses targeting the Chinese market need to understand how users interact with Youdao, and optimize their content in cultural nuances with relevant keywords to attract organic visitors. Continuous education programs or services have the potential to succeed in this market.

Key Considerations For SEO And Marketing On Chinese Search Engines

To optimize and market on Chinese search engines, it’s essential to understand the search behavior of the Chinese market. Businesses need to incorporate relevant keywords and phrases in Mandarin.

They need to adapt to Chinese regulations and censorship policies. Besides these, they have to use social media and advertising platforms.

Understanding the Chinese Market And Search Behavior

Understanding the Chinese market and search behavior is a crucial aspect of SEO and marketing on Chinese popular search engines.

It’s essential to do market research to get valuable insights into consumer behavior:

• What products or services they are searching for
• their preferred online platforms and channels
• language barriers
• cultural differences…

Understanding these factors will help businesses develop effective digital marketing strategies.

Keyword research is also critical in catering to the Chinese market effectively:

1. Businesses should identify relevant keywords and phrases used by their target audience when searching for their product or service.
2. They need to incorporate these Chinese keywords in the website’s content. Metadata tags can improve visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Incorporating Chinese Keywords And Phrases

To improve SEO and marketing in China, businesses must incorporate Chinese keywords and phrases that reflect users’ online behaviors in the domestic market. Using simplified characters and avoiding translation errors through online tools is essential.

Hiring someone familiar with the language can ensure accurate translations of webpage content, maximizing visibility across search engines and reaching millions of Chinese users.

Adapting To Chinese Regulations And Censorship

Businesses must consider China’s strict internet regulations and censorship policies when promoting their products or services. Website content must follow certain guidelines, such as avoiding sensitive political topics or images, illegal activities like gambling or pornography, and adhering to local laws governing data privacy and security.

Partnering with a reputable digital marketing agency based in China can help tailor online strategies to fit within the framework while connecting with target audiences through powerful SEO tactics on local search engines.

Utilizing Social Media And Advertising Platforms

Utilizing social media and advertising platforms is crucial. WeChat plays a significant role in Chinese people’s lives. Businesses use WeChat:

• to advertise
• to connect with customers and
• and to sell products through their accounts.

There are some other popular social media platforms for advertising in China. Some of them are Sina Weibo, Douyin (Tiktok), Little Red Book, Kuaishou, QQ, and Douban.

Search engine PPC ads or Advertising display network placement are other options available. The AI-powered Baidu can provide personalized advertising options that are more effective than traditional SEO-based strategies.

It’s important to understand the features of each Chinese search engine and social media platform. There are plenty of opportunities if one understands consumer behavior.

Additionally, it is crucial to be mindful of cultural sensitivities. This is the key not just for brand recognition but extending market reach beyond usual boundaries.

Opportunities And Challenges For Businesses Targeting The Chinese Market Through These Search Engines

Businesses must adapt to local regulations and cultural differences to succeed. They can still be successful if they understand user behavior and use effective SEO strategies.

Best Practices For Search Engine Optimization And Advertising

To maximize opportunities for growth and engagement in the Chinese market, businesses need to understand search behavior, incorporate Chinese keywords and phrases, and adapt content to regulations and censorship.

They must create content for multiple platforms and optimize their marketing strategy based on the target audience’s preferences. Cultural understanding and adaptation are also essential to avoid potential pitfalls or misunderstandings. These tactics can help navigate the competitive landscape of Chinese search engines.

Targeting Specific Audiences

To succeed in the Chinese market, businesses must tailor their approach to each search engine. Baidu is ideal for businesses targeting specific Chinese consumers. Sogou offers personalized search results, and understanding its language input technology can improve visibility.

Cultural understanding is crucial for creating relevant and relatable content. Campaigns featuring Chinese New Year can capture the attention of Chinese consumers.

Importance Of Cultural Understanding And Adaptation

Businesses targeting international markets, especially China, must adapt their marketing strategies to cultural differences. Localization is critical, tailoring messaging and branding to fit the local culture and language.

Companies should be culturally sensitive since certain topics are taboo in China. Also, understanding consumer behavior on Chinese search engines is crucial.

Baidu dominates with over 70% market share and has a different algorithm than Google. Tailoring the SEO strategy based on the search engine’s ranking factors can improve visibility on the platform.

Potential Opportunities And Limitations Of The Unique Chinese Search Engine Landscape

The Chinese search engine landscape presents both opportunities and limitations for businesses. Over 750 million users access Chinese search engines. Traditional search engines like Baidu and Sogou dominate this market. It can be challenging for new players to break through.

Businesses targeting the Chinese market through search engines must consider the following factors:

• China’s unique consumer behavior
• language requirements for SEO
• strict regulations around online advertising.

It’s important to incorporate relevant keywords in simplified Chinese text. Plus leveraging social media networks popular among Chinese internet users. There are challenges associated with entering the competitive world of Chinese search engines. But companies who invest time in understanding their audience and optimizing their approach – can reap significant rewards from this booming industry.

Businesses have to understand their algorithms as each one has its own way of ranking content. Companies need to know what works best on each platform if they want to maximize their ROI. Almost 80% of China’s internet users rely on search engines to buy products and services online today. In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for businesses. This helps them to remain competitive and reach their target audience.

What happens if a brand is unable to achieve visibility in this space? They risk losing out on potential customers and falling behind their competitors.

Censorship And Government Control

Chinese search engines are subject to censorship and government control. This can impact their operations and the content that appears on their platforms.

Overview Of Internet Censorship In China

Internet censorship in China is a controversial topic. The Chinese government has an extensive system of online monitoring and content filtering. This suppresses freedom of expression and access to information. Businesses operating in China need to be aware of the regulations they must follow.

The Great Firewall of China is one example of how internet censorship works in the country. This prevents accessing websites like Google, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube within mainland China. Instead, users rely on domestic platforms for search engines or social media sites. Baidu and WeChat approve these.

Despite these, there are still ways for businesses to achieve success in China.

How Censorship Affects Chinese Search Engines

In China, censorship is prevalent and businesses must adapt to it. The government controls information on search engines to prevent people from sharing prohibited content. Therefore, businesses must be aware of censorship laws and their limits on content.

Some platforms may track user behavior deemed inappropriate. Creating a brand that resonates with the local audience and complies with regulations can give businesses a strategic advantage. However, they should also be mindful of the regulatory risks and take appropriate measures to mitigate them.

The Great Firewall Of China

Chinese Government enforced The Great Firewall of China. With this, they regulate internet access and control the flow of information.

They call it the Golden Shield Project, and it is a subsystem of the Great Firewall. The Chinese government utilizes technology to:

1. block sites
2. track user activity and
3. censor content deemed inappropriate or dangerous.

They become more aggressive and savvy in using AI-powered censors. They scan images and content to determine whether they should block or allow their accessibility.

China’s Great Firewall is the largest system of censorship in the world. It controls online activities in China. It routes most international internet traffic through government-controlled access points.

How Search Engines Follow Chinese Regulations

Chinese search engines follow strict government regulations related to censorship and information control. They keep a list of censored words, phrases, and content in China. It contains thousands of entries. Search engines have to filter out controversial or sensitive content. Only then can they show it to users.

Google used to work in China but left due to censorship issues. Baidu became China’s top search engine by following the rules. This can be difficult for businesses trying to reach Chinese customers. They may need to adjust their content and strategy.

Websites in China need the approval to include links to or from foreign websites. Not following this can lead to penalties or website closure. So, businesses planning to expand in China should consider these regulations when creating their marketing strategies on Chinese search engines like Baidu and Sogou.

What’s Next?

Knowing the top 5 Chinese search engines is vital for businesses targeting China. Baidu is the market leader, while Sogou and Shenma offer distinct advantages. Understanding their search algorithms, user behavior, and cultural differences is critical for successful SEO and marketing campaigns.

Adapting to Chinese regulations and censorship is challenging but offers opportunities. Businesses should explore Chinese search engines to expand their reach in China. Marketing managers should take the time to understand how these platforms work. Unlocking the full potential of Chinese search engines can benefit businesses.

We can assist businesses in selling their products in China. We offer a variety of services such as SEO optimization, content creation, market research, social media management, and advertising. By working with us, businesses can improve their visibility and promote their brand in the Chinese market. Don’t hesitate to contact us today!

The Chinese digital scenario is complex and often the evolution of dynamics, as always in China, is rapid. As in the case of Qihoo 360.

Chinese Search Engines in 2020

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!

What are SEM and SEO?

SEM is search engine marketing, while SEO stands for search engine optimization. When it comes to entering the Chinese market, both of them serve as tools to improve a brand’s visibility and further move to working on one’s reputation. They can be used solely and they can be used in combination for a better result.

Why do you need SEO and/or SEM?

That is to say, the primary aim of doing SEO and SEM is to make you visible to the Chinese people. It is not an easy task because you have competition here. China is a huge market with barely any gaps in it right now. They can easily find what they are looking for.

So it is not only important to be there on Baidu, but also to be on top. Imagine two different cases.

1. A Chinese person is looking for a product you can sell. He types it in the search bar of Baidu and gets millions of links and checks a few. You might be 10^th, 1000^th, 1000000^th, etc.
2. A Chinese person is looking for a product you can sell. He types it in the search bar of Baidu and gets millions of links and checks a few. And you are among the first five, let’s say.

So what’s the conclusion? Only being on top of the search requests gives you chance to be found and checked by your target audience.

This is what SEO and SEM do.

What is the main difference between SEO and SEM?

The main difference is to what extent the effect they give is long-lasting for you. SEM is more of a short-term tactic to get more attention. Once you finish with SEM, there will be no post-effect. SEO is a long process, but the results it gives might work for a very long time thereafter.

What is SEM?

Search engine marketing is a fast way to generate leads. It requires relatively small effort and leans mostly on your budget. It is an eMedia Buying strategy. 

The mechanism is as follows:

• You set up a company account within Baidu (this is the most challenging part as it might be time-consuming);
• You pay to Baidu and get ads on top of Baidu;
• People can see your ads on top, click on them, and get redirected to the page that you choose – a landing page;
• The ads disappear once you have run out of the budget required.

This mechanism is called PPC, or pay-per-click. You simply pay for the people who click on the ad and land on your selected page.

So, what you have to do for SEM is to:

• Allot a necessary budget;
• Take care of your landing page and make it absolutely attractive, informative, persuasive, etc.;
• Keep track of your leads.

What are the advantages of doing SEM?

• SEM starts working just as you pay – it doesn’t require too much time;
• It can be less costly;
• It makes the people see the page with the information you think they should see to become interested;
• It gives quick results.

What are the disadvantages of SEM?

• It is accelerated – you can run out of your ads budget in a single day;
• Very short-term;
• The registration process is not easy at times;
• There are fewer chances to get high-quality leads like that, in fact.

We wrote a very comprehensive Guide to Baidu PPC Advertising in China, you should check it out!

More on SEO on BAIDU

Just as I said, search engine optimization is a process. It is a process of climbing up the Baidu search results, climbing over your contenders, and getting on top where everyone can see you and reach out to you.

How to conduct Baidu SEO?

• Chinese Hosting (still pretending to be a bit isolated, China’s Internet may only warmly welcome local websites with local hosting);
• Keywords (search requests are all linked to keywords that can be directly connected to your website; the more keywords you have, the better your position on Baidu);
• Backlinks (Baidu is a smart system! Internal and external backlinks help to create the authority of the website).

How to make good use of backlinks in the Baidu system?

Baidu is not just a tool to search, but it is a complex system of various services. Let’s check what it has for you to contribute to a successful Baidu Campaign:

1. Baidu Baike (Chinese Wikipedia; a webpage here gives you substantial credit);
2. Baidu Zhidao and Zhihu (forums similar to Quora, also contribute to delivering a top rank to you);
3. Baidu Tieba (another forum to get more backlinks within Baidu).

Used all in combination, these tools might get you to the top of the Baidu search engine.

Not only do they make you visible to Chinese consumers, but also play a significant role in starting to build up your reputation with positive comments on forums.

What SEO gives:

• Steady and long-lasting position on Baidu;
• Deeply rooted presence in the entire Baidu system;
• A contribution to the reputation through positive comments within the system;
• Effective targeting with links to various pages of your website depending on the search request;
• High quality leads;
• An opportunity to analyze the process.

The only disadvantage is the time that it requires. However, Rome was not built in one day as well.

Basically, the perfect option is to start working on SEO and do SEM in the meantime.

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If you need more guidance on how you can do SEO and SEM, get a call with us asap.

We are the GMA – with us every successful story started with Baidu.

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

Falling For Search Engine Optimization Myths on Baidu

Every new business owner in China hopes to create a Chinese website that will sit on the top of the search results on Baidu, every other Chinese search engine. And they hope to rank for more than just one keyword.

However, the truth of the matter is that a good SEO strategy takes time, smarts, and money. Plus, it’s impossible to successfully optimize your homepage for hundreds of keywords. That’s just not how the internet works, and if you try to cut corners, Baidu knows where you live.

A better strategy is to think about the top keyword for your website and optimize your content to rank for that keyword. Here are a few suggestions:

• Write a rich Long-Form Content. Once upon a time, stuffing your content with your top keyword would help you rank in the search results. These days, it’s better to simply write your rich and authentic content for the internet Chinese user. Be as comprehensive and helpful as possible and Baidu will reward you.
• Structure Your Content with Heading Tags are often seen as a “meh, not that important” sort of thing, but they really do matter. Headings give structure to your pages, making it easier for both readers and Baidu bots to consume your content.
• Add a Call-to-Action. Your homepage should have a clear call-to-action (CTA). Not only will it help direct your Chinese internet users to do the thing you want them to buy your product, sign up for your service, or subscribe to your newsletter.

Creation of Chinese Website 

The creation of a professional and convincing website is for a company the first step in establishing its presence on the web. Even more so in a country like China where more than half of the population searches online on the website of the product/service that interests them.

GMA designs websites aesthetically and technically valid, capable of enhancing the quality of your image thanks to a system that will extend your turnover in the Chinese market, as well as thanks to the fact that the websites we develop are SEO friendly

Design your Website

Even when talking about websites, the eye wants its part, so a careful vision of the site and its design is essential to ensure that a user is interested. What distinguishes GMA is our experience in the Chinese market and the knowledge of the tastes of Chinese users, in fact, the graphics of a website addressed to a Western audience is different from that of the public in China, oriented for example on a graphic made fewer images and more links.

We are GMA, an agency able to respect your brand identity and the wishes of Chinese users, all on the same site.

SEO on BAIDU

The positioning of a website on search engines is perhaps the most important element to be taken care of if you want to guarantee certain visibility online to your website and then to the product related to it.

The number one search engine in China is Baidu doing SEO on it is not the same thing as doing it in Google. Baidu follows its rules and its criteria and our agency creates a proper SEO plan suitable for the Chinese search engine.

GMA is able to offer a professional and focused service towards the goal both in the design phase of the website and after its online submission if this does not generate enough traffic. Depending on the status of the website specific interventions will be carried out.

Analysis of your results

One of the fundamentals of GMA is to create long-term relationships with our client partners. That’s why we want to be completely transparent and make you participate in your own project. How? Every month we will provide you with the data and results of your campaign, finding TOGETHER new strategic key points for an increasingly profitable investment.

Market your website on Chinese social media

Social media, whether Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest are blocked in China, so you need to adopt Chinese social media such as WeChat, Weibo, Little Red Book in order to increase your audience reach and alert customers and clients about what’s going on with your company. Whenever you update your website, post about it on your social media outlets but balance that out with genuine, nonpromotional engagement.

Also include links to your social media on your website. The most common places are the footer or the ancillary bar. Learn more about social media for business in our marketer’s guide.

“Building relevant keywords into your content from the very first phases of your Chinese website, and having a strong focus on SEO from website launch, will help you generate traffic early on,”

Are you looking to make a website for your small or big business so you can find new customers on the Chinese internet? Who better than the Chinese themselves can help you in the Chinese market? Our team of native speakers is ready to provide you with the support you deserve. You can contact us and we will be happy to help you to Level up your Business in China

Read also:

• Website in China
• 5 tips to build a good website for China.

• What you need to know before creating your website in China

Ranking high on Baidu requires a lot of Work!

Do you want to do nothing and rank high on Baidu?

Sorry, it is almost impossible!

SEO on Baidu or in so.com or sogou.com (algorithms are almost the same) If you’re aiming to reach a Chinese digital audience, it’s vital to subcontract the SEO of your business to a professional SEO agency specialized in the Chinese market. Why? In China, the ‘mighty’ Google is blocked by the ‘Great China Firewall’. Baidu owns more than 70% market shares of search engines in China, with more than 700 million monthly active mobile search users. So a Chinese website is the first thing an SEO agency in China will recommend, after that, there is much work to be done in order to access a huge pool of traffic via the SEO process. What follows are the five steps that let your website gain trust and have a perfect SEO.

1/ Onsite optimization: 10% of the Job

In many situations, the present decisions must be made while having no or incomplete knowledge of the future online. In such cases, online optimization is used.

‘’Making the website more Baidu friendly’’

Optimizing the website for Baidu is vital for online success in China. This process will improve your ranking and by extension help, more customers find you when they search for keywords related to your business sector or activity.

Without Onsite optimization, you will always be struggling to keep up with the rest of the competition.

2/ Content: 10% of the working

‘’Your content must be optimized for the search engine’’

Adding content can be a real challenge in many cases, for example when you’re dealing with an e-commerce website in the retail space, sometimes it’s a platform restriction, the other times adding too much content can push the product down the page or distract the user.

It’s important to have keyword-focused content in order to gain more visibility, but it’s not everything, the content must be original and should make sense.

3/Backlinks: 60-70% of the work

Backlinks = popularity of your website on the Web 

Backlinks campaign will take 70% of the SEO process time (depending on the competition on the keywords). In order to increase the website’s position (ranking in Baidu), you need to increase the popularity of the website, how do you do that?

You increase the popularity of your website by creating pages and articles that speak about your website. This process takes a lot of energy and a lot of time because the SEO agency will be writing very good articles

Web content matters a lot to onsite optimization. The post or the article must be unique with valuable information and the title must grab attention and be eye-popping.

4/Trust-rank: difficult to evaluate.

Trust rank is an algorithm that calculates how many websites talk about you. If you have different pages or websites that link to your websites, it will increase the TrustRank score. In China, it is so important to be ranked as a good reference site, because Chinese people rely always on the opinion of others.

An SEO agency in China will have special techniques to increase the trust rank of your website.

Backlinks leading to your website are like the backbone for a good trust-rank score, it is important to have links pointing to your website from other relevant websites, and the longer the links are pointing to you, the more trusted they become. On the other hand, good websites won’t be linking out to bad websites.

So by having a good trust rank score, Baidu says ‘‘This website is great, the information on this site is just right for my customers, and so if it’s published on this site then I think it’s going to be the best place for my customers to read it’’

5/ Website updates (10% of the work)

Having a website that stays the same for a long time, a very long time, is boring and not competitive. The SEO agency will update the pages from a to z, why? Because the more your website is updated, the more trust score you get from Baidu.

The website update is regarding the content, the programming source code, the SEO modification, the web design, etc.

Keeping the website fresh in a constantly growing and evolving environment (Internet) is a must because simply a website that is not updated loses its value.

Baidu not only love frequently updated sites but fresh websites also, it means:

• Inciting visitors to check back often for new content and updates.
• Featuring company news like new services, products, etc.
• Providing value (without directly pitching your leads all the time).

An SEO agency treats your website as a garden, if it’s left unattended, weeds will grow and plants will shrivel up and die.

Trimming fertilizing, pruning, and removing pests in a strategic manner will get the most out of the garden; Your website is the same, it needs regular updates and maintenance to keep it functioning in a proper way so it can attract visitors and extension generates maximum revenue.

GMA the SEO agency for China!

1. We are an SEO agency based in Shanghai,
2. feel free to contact us if you need more information
3. or if you want to know more about our case studies.

Following recent scandals about China’s largest search engine, Baidu had to follow the government’s expectations.

Baidu had to revise much of its PPC (Pay Per Click) offer. PPC has sponsored advertising on search engines. In short: You pay a (large) amount of money to show your website in the top searches by keywords.

We have made screenshots before and after the update of this new reform. Will you find the differences between the old and the new Baidu? Get ready!

The recent scandal has forced Baidu to change its Algorithm!

• China investigates Baidu after the death of a student who sought a cancer cure on the internet

Baidu before the scandal: PPC Kingdom

Here are two screenshots made on May 20, 2016:

As you can see in this first capture, the PPC results are omnipresent.

This second screenshot reveals that the PPC results are also available in the right column.

The natural results appear only at the bottom of the capture. These natural results are displayed due to the work that has been done upstream by the SEO team of these sites.

Baidu after the scandal: Rebirth of natural results (SEO)!

Here are two screenshots dated May 30^th, not long after the update wanted by the Chinese government.

In this first screenshot, we see that Baidu adopts the same style of notification as his western brother Google. Thus, we see a small square in a slightly different color from the usual white. The top right of this framework can be distinguished by the Chinese characters 商业 推广 (Shangye Tuiguang). This corresponds to the space reserved for PPC ads. Baidu is now limited to 30% of PPC ads on its search results pages.

In this second capture, we see very quickly that there is no more PPC location on the right column. Indeed, with the restriction that took effect, Baidu has not the right to dispose of PPC ads.

• 5 keys to Master SEO on Baidu!

SEO on Baidu: a bright future

The beneficial effect of these ads ordered by the government is that the natural results, which are the result of excellent work done by SEO experts, appear in a much better position, and a much better ranking. These naturally referenced websites are more easily accessible to Chinese netizens.

Doing SEO on search engines will bring you a lot of good interactions. For instance, you can learn how to market your Business with Off-page SEO.

It is now clear that the stakes on Baidu are now mostly SEO. To get your website on the first page of search results, contact the SEO experts based in China. They are experts in the first Chinese search engine! Our SEO experts, for instance, have proven many times they can improve your natural ranking within a short period of time. Contact us to get more information about it!

Read more:

• Cross-Border E-Commerce (CBEC) in China: The Ultimate Guide
• Advertising in China – The Most Effective Strategies
• How to optimize your SEO in China