In this article, our team of China specialists reveals their compiled knowledge of winning strategies for China’s most relevant search engine, Baidu—organically and through paid strategies. We will compare Baidu to Google, extract the most important aspects foreign marketers need to know, and give examples.

Why should you listen to us? We draw from almost 20 years of experience with hundreds of high-profile clients globally, whom we have helped to raise their brand in China and increase sales. Overall, we have run thousands of campaigns—not every single one a complete success; however, we have taken those that didn’t perform well, analyzed them, and learned how to adapt strategies to improve future results.

No time to waste – let’s go!

Search Engine Sector in China

If you look at official data from statistics portals, Baidu has lost a lot of market share and is hovering below 50% with other players gaining traction. However…

This is not the picture we see in our everyday work of creating and optimizing content and running ads across key platforms in the Chinese market.

Here’s why.

Baidu’s financials show 600 million monthly active users (MAU) for its mobile app, which is an understatement of the search engine users because users can search on Baidu’s website without installing or logging into the app.

Statistic pages like Statcounter show that Baidu’s dominance is dropping, but this data is based on website usage, which doesn’t include the app. Besides, Statcounter needs to be installed on Chinese websites to collect this data. Our take: The sample size is far too small to extrapolate this data.

In conclusion, the largest statistical sites only show part of Baidu’s true potential.

For reference: China’s search market according to statistics portals.

As of February 2025, Baidu is the most popular search engine in China with about 47% market share, but Bing (Microsoft) has been catching up since its release in China in 2009. Unlike Google, which was blocked in China in 2010, Bing remained operational by adhering to government policies. Today, Bing is the second-largest search engine in China with approximately 36%.

Established in 2012, Haosou (aka 360 Search), is owned by a Chinese online security company and holds about an 8% market share.

The other “non-China” search engine on the list is the Russian search engine YANDEX, a publicly traded company owned by investors and shareholders. YANDEX entered the Chinese market in 2012 and currently has a share of around 3%.

Founded in 2004, Sogou was once a subsidiary of Sohu, one of China’s largest internet companies. In 2013, Tencent (owner of WeChat and many other companies) became a significant shareholder in Sogou with about 40%; however, this rise only lasted a short time. According to statistics groups, Sogou’s market share in China has recently declined to about 2.5%.

Finally, there’s Alibaba’s Shenma (launched in 2014). Despite its powerhouse owner, the search engine never really took off and has only a small sliver (2%) of the overall pie.

The real picture – According to us.

What we see in our campaigns is different:

• We almost always start with Baidu, because it has the greatest search volume by far.
• Then, we might add Sogou or Shenma to help a campaign get even more reach.
• What about Bing? Well, Bing is integrated into Baidu’s ad system. If you advertise on Baidu, your ads can also be extended to Bing.
• Even Google, which is blocked in China, can have a role in Chinese marketing because it’s used by Chinese users who have a VPN (as well as those abroad).

And then, there’s WeChat.

Although not a stand-alone search engine, WeChat plays an interesting role in the search market. Of course, you know that WeChat is THE must-have app in China, used daily by every person for chatting, shopping, payment, food, tickets, taxis, and anything and everything else you can think of (well… almost), but life in China without WeChat would be making things harder than necessary. 

Now, WeChat has an integrated search functionality in the app, which many netizens use simply due to convenience (because they’re on the app anyway, and can organize everything in one place). 

Users should take the WeChat search results with a grain of salt though. WeChat mainly refers to its ecosystem (official accounts, public content, etc.) to create search results. Some information is pulled from the entire web, but not nearly as much as a proper (meaning search-only) platform does. Interestingly, WeChat has a partnership with Baidu, which can allow some search queries to pull information from Baidu’s search engine. 

Baidu vs Google

Although they don’t operate in the same market, Baidu and Google have some similarities and even more differences attributed to culture, regulations, and market dynamics.

Both platforms are primarily search engines and leaders in their markets: Baidu in China and Google in the rest of the world (except for a handful of countries where it is blocked or restricted).

In terms of algorithms, both search engines value high-quality and relevant content, but Baidu’s rankings are more influenced by local factors and restrictions. 

Google focuses on global factors like backlinks, and user experience, with advanced AI tools to interpret the users’ intent. It also emphasizes mobile optimization. Conversely, Baidu’s algorithm is tailored to China, prioritizing information in Simplified Chinese and in-country hosting.

Next, let’s look at the special role videos play on both platforms.

Videos

Interestingly, Google dominates video search through YouTube (the largest video platform worldwide), which is fully integrated with Google Search. On Google, videos often appear in search results, benefiting from SEO and user engagement.

Baidu does not own a YouTube-equivalent (although not for lack of trying), but its search results often bring up video results, mostly via Bilibili (first indexed and shown on Baidu SERPs) and Haokan (formerly Baidu Video) integrating video results into searches. Baidu also prioritizes short-form videos from Chinese platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou.

In China (and the rest of the world), video content is gaining more relevance as it fosters higher engagement, and builds trust and brand awareness. Videos on products or services—explaining how to use or repair them, and containing important testimonials— can lead to higher click-through and lower cost-per-click rates. 

Furthermore, Baidu prioritizes video content in its search results, giving brands better visibility. Successful video ads are short (under 60 seconds), have localized Mandarin subtitles, and focus on storytelling rather than direct sales. 

Brands can cross-promote videos on WeChat, Baidu Tieba, and other popular platforms and leverage this multi-platform synergy to expand their reach.

Example: Search for “Mercedes” on Baidu, results include videos

Moving on, let’s take a closer look at how Baidu and Google compare.

Platform Comparison

You are likely very familiar with the next topic: Running search engine ads.

PPC Advertising Types

Baidu and Google offer similar or comparable pay-per-click (PPC) advertising options with key differences in their respective ecosystems and user behavior.

Basic Search Ads

Example: “Study abroad in USA” (美国留学)

Advanced Search Ads

Example image ads: “English language training” (英语培训)

Mobile Ads

Example: “Photo retouching app” (修图软件)

Other Ads (PPC)

Other Ads (not PPC)

Finally, let’s examine how to rank first on Baidu through organic and paid strategies.

How to Rank First on Baidu

To rank first (or high) on Baidu, combine organic SEO and paid advertising strategies. Read this in-depth article on SEO vs. PPC strategies on Baidu.

For organic ranking, focus on useful content that is entertaining, informational, or adds value in another way. 

Onsite SEO: Optimize your website (fast-loading is a must to surpass the Great Firewall of China) for keywords and user experience and leverage parasite SEO. 

Parasite SEO: Publish interesting, keyword-enriched content on sites like WeChat or Rednote and take advantage of their popularity. Engagement on Baidu Tieba, Baijiahao, and Zhihu also boosts rankings.

Offsite SEO: Link building and other SEO methods like forum/community engagement are used to increase the ranking of a website via activities done outside of the website.

For paid strategies, leverage Baidu PPC ads and ensure strong ad copy and a call to action. Keywords with high volume and low competition are ideal, as well as long-tail and buyer-intent keywords.

Example: Search for “Adidas”

At the top, you see the aforementioned Brand Zone live and in action, which is followed by text and image ads, organic text, and video results. Ads on Baidu must be marked with “广告” for “advertising,” and you will also commonly see the tag “官方” to indicate a listing is “official” and thus legitimate.

On the right-hand side of the image, you can see related results and trending topics (both organic results).

Now, let’s take a look at all this in comparison.

Case Study: Dior

When comparing ads and organic search results on Baidu and Google, in terms of display and user experience, Google appears more structured with a clear separation of ads and organic results (which is more integrated on Baidu). 

On Google, the top section prominently features ads for Google Shopping and more, followed by sponsored text links. The following organic results prioritize the official Dior website and its subpages, while featured snippets provide additional content about the brand.

Baidu’s top results include advertisements and promotions. The “Dior China Official Website” is a Baidu Brand Zone, and these paid ads blend with organic results that follow. The Dior China official site is displayed but is mixed with news articles and social discussions about the brand. Additional localized content, including forums (Baidu Tieba) and discussions, appears within the organic results.

This brings us to the end of this article on Baidu versus Google.

The Takeaway

A strong presence on Baidu is a must for any brand serious about the Chinese market. But beware: How the algorithm works and the way netizens use this search engine differs from the Western powerhouse Google.

Following the strategies laid out in this article will allow your brand to rank first (or at least very high) on China’s largest search engine.

• Run Baidu ads to reach millions of potential customers
• Optimize your Chinese website and socials with relevant keywords and localized content
• Leverage parasite SEO
• Utilize video ads to boost engagement at lower advertising costs

Don’t wait any longer—every day without marketing puts you one step behind your competition. Take action now to stay ahead in the dynamic China market.

Contact us today to get started.

The post Baidu vs. Google: Key Differences & Why They Matter for You appeared first on Baidu Advertising.

Now, the question is: As an overseas marketer, how can you achieve that? Just keep doing a good job, provide a useful product, offer customer service, and the rest will follow, right? Well, as noble as that may sound, it likely isn’t enough to cut through the noise of the bustling online world. There are several ways of “pushing” your brand to the top of search engines, but should your business focus on Baidu SEO or Baidu PPC strategies? Or perhaps even both?

In this article, our China experts—with more than 18 years of professional experience running thousands of campaigns for hundreds of clients—break down the Chinese search market for you and show you how to develop campaigns that convert. 

Using examples from real clients, we will lay out the differences between SEO and PPC on Baidu, the strengths and limitations of each approach, and our take on it. We will equip you with the knowledge so you can decide what’s best for your brand and its search engine marketing (SEM).

Let’s jump right in.

What is Baidu SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) on Baidu and other search engines refers to optimizing your website (with keywords and relevant content). This means the website is easily found by search tools and ranks high organically. 

Additional tactics include backlinks to your site from high-authority domains, a smooth user experience, social signals, and more. Finally, technical SEO, which is particularly relevant in China, includes

• site loading speed (less than three seconds!), 
• domain hosting, 
• mobile friendliness, 
• sitemaps, and 
• well-structured data. 

The key characteristic of Baidu SEO is its long-term strategy, which focuses on earning traffic over time instead of paying for it (which PPC does). SEO can be seen as a marathon that requires consistent effort over at least one year up to several years. The process is gradual and regularly requires updating to respond to the ever-evolving search engine algorithms. Also, SEO isn’t “free” as marketers either need to invest their own time and skills or outsource this task to an agency. 

Now, all this may sound a bit off-putting, and you may wonder why anyone would even bother with Baidu SEO and not just pay for a click. 

Well, SEO is cost-effective…(dramatic pause)… in the long run, and therefore sustainable. Unlike PPC, which ends once your budget is used up, SEO is a gift that keeps on giving. Once a website has achieved a high ranking, organic traffic is generated without additional costs. An added benefit is that organic results on Baidu are often seen as more trustworthy than paid ads.

Baidu SEO vs. Other SEO

Chinese Internet users tend to use search engines differently than users in the West, prioritizing locally relevant content. Baidu search results often include both paid ads and organic results, and the interface may appear “cluttered.” On the other hand, Google users have a broader search approach, and the search engine makes a clearer distinction between ads and organic listings. While in the past, this made the Google interface look “cleaner,” it has become more cluttered in recent times with things like AI results and ads.

Furthermore, Google displays information from around the world, whereas Baidu shows content that is useful for searchers from China. Besides, Baidu must adhere to China’s strict online regulations, whereas Google generally offers more freedom and fewer restrictions.

Finally, Baidu mainly focuses on content quality, whereas Google prioritizes backlinks as a key factor for authority and trust. In fact, fresh, relevant, and localized content plays an extremely important role in the Chinese online world.

It’s much easier for a small, niche website to do well on Google than for Baidu. To demonstrate, this very website you’re reading now usually ranks #1 on Google for keywords related to Baidu ads. However, when we use this niche strategy for Chinese websites, they usually won’t even get indexed within six months.

Baidu loves huge websites with tons of information. For example, we’ve only done minimal work on Samtec.com and yet were able to help them improve organic rankings a great deal. Baidu has indexed almost 100,000 of Sametec’s pages and sends lots of “free” monthly traffic.

Another thing Baidu loves is fresh content. We once had a website ranking #1 for the Chinese words for “los angeles” real estate by publishing three translated real estate listings per week and organizing those listings into categories.

Our Take on Baidu SEO

Baidu SEO and SEO, in general, can be challenging for smaller and newer websites. It’s simply an advantage if you have hundreds or even thousands of pages with relevant content that you can enrich with keywords, integrate into sitemaps, get valuable backlinks, and so on. Newer websites may struggle to gain visibility and climb rankings, especially when competing against other, more established players.

Besides, SEO is a long-term strategy that requires persistence and, for those who don’t find this challenging enough, patience! Unless you are prepared to (and have the resources to) invest at least one year (in practice, more like several years), you will be disappointed with the results.

But don’t lose hope just yet! SEO is versatile, full of opportunities, and fun. Parasite SEO leverages content marketing on established platforms like REDnote or Bilibili to work in your favor (more on that in a moment). Plus, you can always hire an expert to help you with Baidu SEO, as it does pay off in the long run (promise).

At Baidu Advertising, we include Baidu SEO when we create or transcreate our client’s websites. Then, we distribute the content to different platforms to increase the index and brand awareness.

When to Choose Baidu SEO

Using Baidu SEO tactics is suitable if you have the long-term resources (budget, skills, team or partners, time) and strategy to grow your traffic, and, of course, the larger your website, the better the SEO scalability. Finally, the less competition there is in your niche, the easier it is to achieve higher rankings faster with SEO.

A Word on Parasite SEO

By publishing useful content on sites like Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, or Zhihu, you can take advantage of their established status and indirectly push your site higher on Baidu. It’s like riding piggyback on sites that already have a large user base with high engagement rates and trust.

Parasite SEO achieves faster results and is more cost-effective. However, smaller and newer brands in the Chinese market still find themselves in a highly competitive environment. 

We usually write WeChat articles and distribute the content to different high-value platforms related to the client’s industry to create SEO synergies.

What is Baidu PPC?

Pay-per-click ads on Baidu are exactly what it sounds like. By bidding on keywords, you pay for a click or other call to action (CTA), such as completing a contact form or downloading an app.

Compared to SEO, this has several advantages, the main ones being that PPC is faster and you see instant results, it’s precise (in targeting your audience), scalable, and fully measurable. The downside is that as soon as you stop paying for ads, your traffic will also evaporate.

There are several different ad types on Baidu, including search and display ads, and on Baidu SERPs (search engine results pages), ads usually appear at the top or on the side of search results. 

The exact cost per click depends on the keywords you bid on and your industry—the more competition, the more expensive a click on the keyword! The good thing is the targeting on Baidu is precise and offers many options, including location, demographic, and user behavior, to ensure that your ad reaches the right audience.

Our Take on Baidu PPC

To be perfectly honest, we love paid ads on Baidu (and WeChat) and believe that alongside organic strategies, this is the most effective approach for most brands to gain traction in the Chinese market. Therefore, PPC on Baidu is usually part of our China marketing mix for overseas and domestic brands. 

Even with budgets under 10,000 USD, results can be achieved, and the return on investment and ad spend can be directly measured. This gives you, the client, optimal control and flexibility (unlike SEO, where you have to commit for a long time).

When to Choose Baidu PPC

Baidu PPC is fantastic if you seek immediate results, for example, when launching a new product or service, running a promotion, or wanting to get your brand off the ground in China.

Although ad campaigns on Baidu can be started with a small budget, keep in mind that high-value keywords have their price, and once your bidding stops, lead generation will come to an end as well.

In our experience, service businesses like education, real estate, and tourism particularly benefit from quick lead generation through paid ads, but make sure that your specific service is not blocked from advertising on Baidu.

Baidu SEO vs. Baidu PPC

The principles of SEO and PPC apply to Baidu and other marketing channels. We have broken down the key differences between both strategies and what they mean for your business. 

These principles apply regardless of your niche, whether you are a B2B or B2C brand, or whether you sell products or services.

What do we mean by restrictions? 

Due to online regulation, certain categories are outright blocked from running any type of advertising, while there are workarounds for other niches. If you want to learn more about the minefield of Chinese Internet regulation, our WeChat compliance article covers online censorship in general and also largely applies to Baidu.

This is what Baidu SEO vs. Baidu PPC looks like

For the exemplary search for “Lizenzero” on Baidu, you can see the results below as follows:

Left Side

1. Paid ad
2. Baidu AI answer box (organic)
3. Baidu Baike, an encyclopedia entry (organic)
4. Lizenzero Europe Website (organic)
5. News Article from 企鹅 (organic)
6. News Article (organic)

The text next to the blue mark means “ad” (广告) and indicates that the content is paid advertising (this is mandatory on Baidu).

Right Side

• Baidu’s trending topics: popular search trends and news (organic)
• Customer service ad

Some items have an orange “热” (hot) or “新” (new) tag, indicating high engagement.

Next, let’s dive a bit deeper into a real-life case study.

Case Study: Lizenzero

Lizenzero （莱证通） is a platform that helps global businesses comply with the German packaging law, which is complex and mandatory for all sellers in the German market. To reach Chinese retailers and help them sell in Germany, Lizenzero wanted to gain visibility in China and get more orders.

Objective

To increase Lizenzero’s visibility, we applied a holistic strategy with a focus on organic measures. 

Organic strategies (including SEO)

First, we launched a WeChat Official Account and published bi-monthly articles on packaging regulations (enriched with relevant Baidu keywords) to provide helpful and relevant content to Chinese manufacturers.

Secondly, we integrated Zendesk for customer support on WeChat to remove any friction in the consultation and sales process.

Paid strategies (including Baidu PPC ads)

We also ran paid advertising on Baidu. (See the screenshot below.)

Campaign Results

After just one year, the number of license sales increased significantly, and Lizenzero became the first packaging authorization licensing service agency to offer free Chinese customer service. This positive trend only amplified over the following years of our collaboration.

Baidu Results

Marked in red below, you can see Baidu SERPs for “德国包装法注册教程” (German Packaging Act Registration Tutorial). The first result is an ad, which we launched, all other results marked red are organic results we achieved.

Next, marked in red below, are the Baidu SERPs for “ 莱证通” (Lizenzero). Again, the first result is an ad we ran, and the other results are organic pages we published.

When users first discover a topic, they can fall down a rabbit hole of search queries. So, in our case, a Chinese exporter who learns that certain packaging regulations are mandatory for the German market will start multiple searches to narrow down the specific information they need.

During this process, thanks to the power of SEO, they will keep seeing Lizenzero, suggesting that this service provider is the leader in their field—which is the truth. Plus, paired with our other services to improve conversions on the website, Lizenzero can bring this traffic straight to the bank.

PPC ads: Baidu Results

Below, you can see a close-up of the paid ad in the search results for “德国包装法” (German Packaging Law).

This brings us to the end of this article on Baidu SEO vs. Baidu PPC.

The Takeaway

To sum it up, paid ads on Baidu are integral to almost every China marketing strategy. Throw Baidu SEO in the mix, and you set yourself up for success in China in the long run. 

• Baidu PPC: Instant results, but the effect vaporizes when the ad budget stops.
• Baidu SEO: Organic, takes years, but pays off in the long run.
• Parasite SEO: Leverage the high authority of established sites to publish your organic content.

Our service to you is more than that. We optimize your funnel from awareness (keywords and ads) to purchase (landing page and website conversion).

In our experience, a multi-faced strategy yields the best results. Chat with our experts about your next step to success in China with Baidu SEO and Baidu PPC.

The post Baidu SEO vs. Baidu PPC: Best Strategies in 2025 appeared first on Baidu Advertising.

We get and answer many questions about this powerful marketing tool, so in this article, let’s find out which platforms belong to the Baidu Display Ad Network, and how to get your content displayed there. 

Let’s jump right in.

The Chinese Online Landscape

As you know, Baidu is the Google of China and the most relevant search engine in the country, but have you ever heard of Baidu Union? Let us explain.

What is Baidu Union?

The Baidu Display Ad Network aka Baidu Union allows brands to display their ads beyond the Baidu search engine and serve a specific target audience on a variety of websites and apps. Here, diverse ad formats are displayed like

• native ads,
• immersive video ads, 
• splash ads, 
• and mini-program ads.

The whole Baidu Display Ad Network includes more than 600,000 platforms, allowing advertisers to engage with a large variety of users on different channels, and is widely used by marketers in China for brand promotion, audience retargeting, and driving conversions. 

The benefits of distributing ads in the network include an extensive reach across various demographics, diverse formats tailored to each platform, and high visibility on China’s most visited and trusted websites.

The Baidu Union Ecosystem

Led by Baidu-owned platforms, the following sites are the most prominent ones included in the Baidu network. You can access them and distribute your ads via a Baidu advertising account.

All of this can be overwhelming and confusing (we get it), and there are even more tools to help with that and assist with running ads, for example, Baidu Analytics.

Within the Baidu advertising account, Baidu Guanxingpan (百度观星盘), which translates to “Baidu Star Watching Platform,” helps advertisers to monitor user behavior, track ad performance, and optimize marketing campaigns.

Then, Baidu Jimuyu is a landing page builder for Baidu ads that doesn’t require coding knowledge. 

The top websites on the Baidu Display Ad Network are the following:

Baidu’s Owned Media Platforms

• Baidu Search: Baidu’s main search engine platform, 676 million monthly active users (MAU)
• Haokan Video (好看视频): A video platform for streaming and sharing content
• Baidu News (新闻): A news aggregation and distribution platform
• Baidu Tieba (贴吧): Largest community platform with more than 3.5 billion daily page views
• Baidu Cloud (百度云): Baidu’s cloud storage and file-sharing service
• Du Xiaoman (度小满): Baidu’s financial product, e.g. for loans
• Baidu Netdisk (百度网盘): Personal cloud storage service

Baidu Search: news feed ads channel

Baidu’s Network Alliance

Informational Platforms

• Toutiao (头条): News aggregation and content platform, 292 million MAU
• Sohu (搜狐): News and media website, two million MAU
• Zaker (Z): Personalized news aggregation app, with 190 million users

Fiction/Reading Platforms

• QQ Reading (QQ小说): Platform for reading novels and other content, 562 million MAU
• Duokan (多看): E-book reading platform
• Jinjiang Literature City (晋江文学): Fiction reading platform with seven million users

Video Platforms

• Mango TV (芒果TV): Video streaming platform
• PPTV (PPTV): Video-on-demand and live streaming platform, 300 million MAU
• iQIYI (爱奇艺): Major online video platform, 530 million MAU

Mobile Phone Manufacturers

• Huawei (华为): Smartphone and technology manufacturer
• Xiaomi (小米): Electronics and smartphone manufacturer
• Vivo (维沃): Smartphone brand

Various Platforms

• Baidu Netdisk (百度云): Cloud storage and file management services
• Baidu Input (百度输入法): Language input editor
• Baidu Maps (百度地图): Navigation and mapping service, 581 million MAU

Example: Novel-reading platform on Baidu Tieba and Baidu News

Example: Promo for brands like Chanel on Baidu App’s Video Channel and Baidu Haokan Video

Next, let’s take a look at some real-life examples.

Case Studies

Here are a few examples directly from Baidu Union.

Qimao is one of the most popular novel-reading platforms in China. In just six months of using the Baidu Display Ad Network, Qimao’s traffic increased by 40% and the revenue doubled.

New Wave Media partnered with Baidu JuScreen to create an “AI + Elevator Media” platform. The Baidu Display Ad Network meant more than 68 million daily ad impressions were generated and more than 200 million people were reached daily.

Shanghai 2345—a platform offering PC, mobile web (WAP), and app-based services—was one of the BDN’s first users. The platform extensively utilized its services with impressive results, including more than 20 million daily active users and one billion ad exposures each day.

Now that you understand the basics of the Baidu Display Ad Network, let’s look at some frequent questions to deepen your understanding of this service and its benefits.

FAQ: Baidu Display Ad Network

Can I distribute all Baidu ad types through Baidu Union? 

No, only Baidu Display Ads (images, videos, interactive media). Banner ads are the most popular format within Baidu Union. Certain ad formats like Baidu PPC search ads are not integrated into Baidu Union. Find out more about the Baidu ad formats here. 

Do I have to create separate ads for the Baidu Display Ad Network, or can I share an existing Baidu ad to even more platforms?

You can share existing Baidu ads to the network partners with minimal adjustments. However, we recommend optimizing creatives for the specific platforms within to align with the formats and resonate with the target audience.

How much does it cost to spread Baidu ads through Baidu Union? Is there a minimum ad spend or setup/access fee?

The cost to run ads through the platform network depends on the bidding strategy (CPC, CPM, CPD) and the target audience. It is billed separately, there’s no fixed minimum spend, but customized ads can only be created by contacting Baidu.

Which ROI can I expect?

Typically, the platforms on the Baidu Display Ad Network are used to raise brand awareness. Whether this is achieved or not, depends on your specific goal, budget, and ad creative. Normally, brands with popular products or services can expect strong brand visibility and competitive click-through rates.

How do advertisers choose the platforms of Baidu Union to distribute their ads?

Advertisers select the platforms based on their campaign goals and budget. Within this, they may consider which audience they want to reach, user interests, and behavior. For this, Baidu offers a practical targeting tool and Baidu’s AI can also automate distribution to maximize the impact.

Are there any restrictions for brands to appear in the Baidu Display Ad Network?

Advertisers must comply with Chinese Internet regulations and Baidu guidelines. Sensitive industries like healthcare or finance require specific attention to meet regulations.

As a global marketer outside of China, can I access Baidu Union or do I need to hire an agency?

Baidu Union may only be accessed through or in collaboration with an agency. An experienced Baidu agency can help global marketers navigate the complexities of ad regulations, content localization, and audience insights effectively.

Which user demographic can I reach through Baidu Union?

The platforms reach a diverse Chinese demographic, including urban professionals, tech-savvy youth, and middle-income consumers. Precise targeting options allow marketers to segment these users based on various factors, including interests, behavior, and location.

What are the advantages of using the Baidu Display Ad Network compared to competitors like Tencent, Alibaba, or Douyin?

Baidu Union ads can be shown on Tencent, Alibaba, and Douyin platforms (and vice versa).

Which types of brands or industries particularly benefit from showing up in the BDN?

Baidu Display Ads are very beneficial for branding purposes.

How should Baidu ads in the Baidu Display Ad Network be integrated with other China marketing efforts for a comprehensive digital strategy?

The Baidu Union network is ideal for boosting brand awareness and increasing traffic. Keep in mind that this requires an extra budget. Baidu Tieba and Zhihu are integral parts of a comprehensive China marketing strategy. What’s most important is that the key value propositions, brand voice, and visual identity of the ad correspond with the target platform of the network. 

The Takeaway

The Baidu Display Ad Network aka Baidu Union refers to a variety of Baidu-owned and non-Baidu-owned platforms where advertisers can further distribute their Baidu ads. Like Google Display Network, various ad formats like images, videos, and rich media are supported to increase brand awareness among a diverse audience and drive traffic. That being said, banner ads are the most common.

E-commerce and consumer product brands benefit most from the more than 600,000 platforms on Baidu Union, and global and domestic marketers can place ads on Baidu’s various partner websites, vastly extending the reach of their advertising beyond the search engine itself. However, a Baidu advertising agency and a separate budget are required.

Have we sparked your interest? Tell us about your project.

The post Baidu Union: The Baidu Display Ad Network (BDN) Explained appeared first on Baidu Advertising.

How can you achieve that? 

We’ll share our “secret sauce,” tested in hundreds of Baidu campaigns we have run, and continuously refined over 15 years. Squeeze the most out of Baidu ads and achieve maximum impact with your Chinese ad budget. Plus, we’ll advise you on when to use which ad type.

Let’s take a look.

Reasons for Brands to Be on Baidu

Being visible on Baidu allows Chinese netizens to discover your brand, get to know your products and services, and ultimately buy them. 

You can get to the top of Baidu organically (SEO) by providing valuable content for online users, and through paid ads.

Baidu Ad Types – Overview

The following Baidu ad types are pay-per-click ads (PPC).

Basic Search Ads

Display Ads (Advanced Search Ads)

Ads for Direct Conversion

Direct Interaction Ads

Other Ads

Are you curious about how Baidu ads compare to WeChat and Google ads? Click here.

Basic Search Ads

Good old text ads are never out of fashion: They are the most popular Baidu ad types, and fundamental on other search engines.

There is one title line (50 characters) and two description lines (80 characters). Next to the URL, if applicable, you can see the “Advertising” (广告) notice (for ads, obviously) and “Baidu Guarantee” (which aims at combating fraudulent offers).

Text ads are best for driving traffic to a website or generating leads through keyword targeting, allowing brands to engage with users actively searching for products or services.

Display Ads (Advanced Search Ads)

These visual ads are very powerful. Let’s examine the four options.

Baidu Image Ads / Image Extensions (Basic)

Image ads on Baidu come in various sizes and formats. Do you know the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Well, in our experience, this is true as image ads tend to have higher click-through rates. 

Fun fact: Baidu allows marketers to upload images of different sizes and randomly choose one to be shown in the largest format.

Baidu image ads are particularly effective in raising brand awareness across industries.

Multi-Image Ads (Advanced)

This format is effective for visually highlighting diverse offers and engaging users. Varied content can improve click-through rates compared to single-image display ads.

This ad type is ideal for e-commerce brands to showcase their products and variety. Clicking on one of the images usually leads people to browse an online shop.

Multi-Text & Link Ads

This format combines the regular title and description from text ads with an additional image and text links. It allows marketers to list multiple services and advantages to attract users. Every link can point to a specific landing page.

These ads are also referred to as “navigation ads” because they allow users to easily click through to different parts of a website or specific landing pages from the ad, acting as a navigation tool within the Baidu search results​.

Multi-text and link ads are ideal for testing different CTAs or landing pages.

Video & Text Ads

Did you know that the videos start playing automatically when the ad appears? This is ideal for capturing the attention of audiences online.

Video ads can be more engaging and memorable, making them great for brand awareness campaigns, products, and services requiring a bit more explanation.

Ads for Direct Conversion

As the name suggests, these ad types are optimized for mobile devices (smartphones and tablets), aiming to capture digital users on the go.

Phone Number Extension

Setting a “call” button for mobile devices is easy and fantastic to generate leads.

Service providers and local businesses can leverage this straightforward setup to incentivize customer engagement through direct phone contact.

App Download Extension

While app download extensions are a bit more complex to set up than the “call” button, they are well worth it. Marketers can promote an app, and most importantly, drive downloads from the iOS or Android stores.

This type of ad is great for all brands with apps.

Direct Interaction Ads

In addition, Baidu offers ad formats to directly interact with online users and further promote brands.

Ads with Contact Form Submission

Marketers can add small contact forms to their Baidu ad campaigns. In this example, we see a dropdown menu where users can select what they want to do, the city, and the phone number. There are other fields to choose from when creating the ad like the email address or WeChat contact.

This type of ad is ideal for lead generation. Keep in mind to create a clear CTA.

Ads with Customer support

Similar to ads with contact form submission, the ads that include customer support in the form of a “consult now” button allow for direct interaction with online users. Marketers can interact with existing and prospective clients directly via live customer support chat on their brand’s website. 

This ad also displays the number of processed inquiries (e.g. 50 inquiries in the last 30 days). This serves as social proof, which is very important in Chinese culture.

Baidu customer support ads allow businesses to provide direct customer support options, including live chat or callback requests. With that in mind, it is ideal for businesses that offer more complex products or services, such as technology, healthcare, or real estate. It’s important to remember that advertising restrictions apply in China in industries like finance, healthcare, and education.

Other Ads

Baidu Brand Zone is the ultimate ad, making a powerful statement at the top of search results. We’ll show you a solid example below in the case study section. These ads can include images, text, and links, but they are pricey and usually run by larger global brands.

This premium ad format on Baidu allows brands to dominate the search results. They are pricey and ideal for established brands with strong recognition and an extensive product or service range. This could be

• multinational corporations, 
• luxury brands, or 
• leading companies in their respective fields.

Case Study: Apple

Apple needs no introduction, and the tech brand is very popular in China. On Baidu, they are pulling out all the stops: A brand zone up top, two ads on the first page, and organic results in the form of text, images, and videos.

Are you keen to get started with promoting your brand on Baidu now?

Get Started with Baidu Ads

Although an official account is not mandatory to run ads on Baidu, an advertising account is needed. This costs 600 RMB per year and requires an initial deposit of at least 5,000 RMB from which the ads are deducted.

Baidu PPC ads have a higher return on ad spend (ROAS) than WeChat, for example, with the average ROAS on Baidu being 400%. 

On Baidu, ad prices are determined by keywords rather than ad formats.

The Takeaway

Besides WeChat, Baidu is THE place for brands to have a presence. Appearing in the top ranks on the first results page helps brands raise their profile in China, drive leads, and generate sales.

With this article, we have provided you with a comprehensive overview of the advertising options on Baidu. But it’s now up to you to read up on the Baidu PPC advertising options, familiarize yourself with each of their USPs, and when best to use them. 

Are you keen to get started with Baidu advertising? Drop us a message and book your free consultation here.

The post All Baidu Ads Explained (By a Human) appeared first on Baidu Advertising.

In this article, the Baidu advertising experts at Nanjing Marketing Group share their insights on the search engine market in China and Baidu’s role in it. We’ll be focusing on how 

• Baidu is structured and the role of ads, 
• to run successful Baidu PPC campaigns, and
• we turned unsuccessful Baidu campaigns around.

With China’s economy worth 18 trillion USD (about one-fifth of the total global GDP), it’s a huge market that global brands cannot afford to ignore.

The Chinese Search Engine Market

As you know, the Chinese market is quite different from the West, and their digital ecosystem is no exception. Google, Facebook, X, and other major online platforms are blocked, and in their place are a plethora of platforms and apps catering to the social, shopping, and daily needs of 1.4 billion people. 

Founded in 2000, Baidu quickly rose to popularity and is the largest search engine in China today with more than 50% market share and the nickname “Google of China.” Other major search engines for the Chinese market are Bing (about one-third market share), Haosou, YANDEX, Sogou, and Google (via VPN). 

With almost 700 million monthly active app users, Baidu is an attractive place for advertisers to market their domestic and international brands. In fact, brands spend a significant amount on advertising on Baidu, generating a whooping 13 billion USD in annual online marketing revenue for Baidu!

If you’re brand new to Baidu or you’d like a bit more background before getting into the advertising side of things, you can join Nanjing Marketing Group’s founder, Tait, on a video tour of China’s biggest search engine.

Problems that Baidu PPC Marketing Solves

Ranking high and standing out visibly on Baidu—organically and through paid ads—helps brands reach a Chinese audience already expressing a specific intent by searching for a certain term. For example, someone searching for “puppy training” might click on an ad for puppy training classes. 

Nevertheless, a few challenges may lie ahead for global brands. 

If they’re outside China, how do they get their brand known when the infamous “Great Firewall” stands between them and their intended audience? And even if their website loads without issues, do they understand local user preferences and habits?

Brands already active in China might have trouble getting Chinese people interested in their products or services; some may even struggle to close sales in China.

For this, Baidu is an ideal channel in China for global brands to

• raise brand awareness, 
• generate high-quality leads, 
• drive traffic (to website, app downloads, etc.), 
• increase sales, and 
• test the market with your product or service before entering it.

Keep in mind: Baidu’s user demographics are predominantly males (74%) below 35 years of age (71%).

Who Should (NOT) be on Baidu?

Marketing on Baidu is ideal to leverage the Chinese market if you know your playing field.

Company Type/Size

Given the massive Chinese online shopping market, B2C e-commerce brands (think fashion, beauty, luxury!) greatly benefit from an eye-catching appearance on Baidu. Besides, B2C service providers in the hospitality and education industry are high on the search list of Chinese netizens.

B2B companies can also benefit from a dominant presence on Baidu, particularly to generate leads, when focusing on specific and high-value keywords.

Since Baidu requires a certain budget and ad spend, larger and medium-sized businesses tend to benefit more from Baidu marketing compared to smaller brands. Likewise, brands with lower margins may find Baidu PPC costs ineffective.

However, the success of a campaign is individual and depends on the overall China marketing strategy, keyword selection, targeting precision, and effective evaluation and adjustment. 

For one of our clients, our Baidu ads weren’t initially successful until we figured out the right combination of these parameters. We will share the story a little later in the case study section. 

Restrictions/Bans

China’s strict advertising laws and regulatory standards limit or prohibit advertising in certain industries, including tobacco, gambling, financial investments, real estate, and a few more. Contact us to see if your specific products or services are restricted.

However, there still are options. With 15+ years of experience helping more than 300 Western businesses enter and expand in the Chinese market successfully, we have a trick or two up our sleeves (all legal, of course!). More on that to come in the same case study. 

Baidu PPC Ad Formats

Baidu PPC advertising comes in various formats and is displayed uniquely across the search engine results pages.

Baidu Ad Types & Pricing

While a Baidu official account is not mandatory, a Baidu advertising account is required to run ads, and this costs 600 RMB per year and requires an initial deposit of at least 5,000 RMB from which the ads are deducted.

Interestingly, Baidu offers more affordable pay-per-click starting rates than WeChat where engagement rates are overall higher. 

For Baidu, we generally recommend search ads (text only) as they are most effective based on our experience. Overall, the average return on ad spend (ROAS) of 400% is excellent on Baidu, which means that for every $1 spent on ads, brands can generate $4 in revenue.

Ad prices are always related to keywords, not ad formats. However, ad formats can affect the click-through rate (CTR) but not the cost per click (CPC).

Baidu Search Ads

Baidu Display Ads

Mobile Ads

Besides, there are additional ad formats on Baid – like Brand Zone and Baidu News Feed Ads—but these are not included in Baidu PPC.

Text ad on Baidu: search for “Study abroad in USA” (美国留学)

Image & Text-Link Ads: search for “English language training” (英语培训)

Multi-Text & Link Ads: search for “Study in the United States” (美国留学)

Video & Text Ads: search for “English language training” (英语培训)

Mobile Button Ads: search for “Photo retouching app” (修图软件)

Next, let’s look at how Baidu ads compare to Google ads. 

Baidu Ads vs. Google Ads

Although Google and Baidu use different algorithms, they share key metrics for organic rankings, such as relevance, mobile optimization, and quality backlinks. Both platforms also integrate ads that appear alongside organic search results.

The ad setup and management features on Google and Baidu are comparable. However, creating a Baidu PPC account is significantly more complex and time-intensive, especially for non-Chinese businesses, due to additional regulatory and verification requirements.

On both platforms, ads with long-tail and buyer-intent keywords tend to perform better, particularly with the increasing popularity of voice search in China. 

Baidu, however, stands out with its proprietary tool, Jimuyu (基木鱼), available through the Baidu PPC platform. This tool enables advertisers to build ad-specific landing pages that are approved faster, load more quickly, and help lower overall campaign costs.

Baidu SERPs

Like on Google, there are organic and paid results when searching on Baidu. What’s noticeable is that Baidu links to many of its own subsidiaries or companies like Baidu Baike and Zhihu.

To give you a better understanding, we will show you the Baidu results based on the example “English language training” (英语培训).

Main page

1. New Oriental（新东方） – image/text ad (verified) 
2. Longre Education Group（朗阁）- image/text ad
3. Longre Education Group（朗阁）- image/text ad (verified)
4. Longre Education Group（朗阁）- image/text ad (verified)
5. Jinbo Education (金博教育) – image/text ad (verified)
6. Hello Kid – organic search result (image/text)
7. Baidu Huilife (百度惠生活), Baidu owned platform of local businesses – organic search result (image/text) 
8. Gateway language village (平和村英语) – image/text ad (verified)
9. Organic search result (text)
10. Organic search result (text)
11. Organic search result (image/text)
12. Organic search result (image/text)
13. Organic search result (image/text)
14. Organic search result (text)
15. Organic search result (text)
16. Organic search result (image/text)
17. Related searches – organic search result

Side view

1. Related brands – organic search results
2. Related stock exchange (HK) – organic search results
3. Contact Baidu to place ads – organic search result

The blue “Baidu Guarantee” (保障) mark means that Baidu has checked the website, verified it, and gives a guarantee, which means you are refunded in the event of fraud. The text next to the blue mark means “ad” (广告), and shows users that the content is paid advertising.

Next, let’s examine specific examples and their stories.

Case Study: CISDRS

Earlier on, we talked about restricted and banned industries for advertising in China, including on Baidu. 

International debt collection agency CISDRS reached out to Nanjing Marketing Group in mid-2023 with the desire to enter the Chinese market. Understanding the local legal requirements, we created a marketing strategy compliant with the strict advertising laws in the country.

Our strategy for CISDRS

• Development and running of Baidu ads
• Creation of Chinese social media accounts, content development, and management: WeChat, Zhihu, Xiaohongshu

Our results (as of November 2024)

• 570 inquiries
• 77 qualified leads
• 14 conversions from the leads

Search results for CISDRS on Baidu

Let’s take a look at another example, where it took us a while to figure out what works best for a certain client.

Case Study: Bar Codes Talk

Since 2012, we have been running a comprehensive China marketing campaign for this international provider of certified barcodes – Bar Codes Talk. We helped them to enter the Chinese market and have continued to support them ever since. 

However, the beginning was not that easy! Some of our clients become profitable rapidly, but with Bar Codes Talk, it took longer than usual. 

Like many of our clients when they first approached us, Bar Codes Talk didn’t have any brand presence (and therefore consumer trust) in China, and this was reflected in the unimpressive results from the first two months (an ROI of -26%).

NMG experimented with the tactics and then the inquiries jumped. By the second year, Baidu ads were profitable, and this has continued. By monitoring our advertising efforts and testing different Baidu ad formats, we realized the website content needed to focus more on Chinese users and provide rapid customer support.

By addressing these actionable tasks, we managed to improve the results of the Baidu ads.

The impressive results (2012–2023):

• More than 60,000 inquiries (60,082)
• More than 41,000 transactions (41,592)
• More than 12,000 WeChat followers
• Up to 387% ROI

Example: Bar Codes Talk search on Baidu

Behind the Scenes: Baidu Ad A/B Testing

You may already have ideas or thoughts about the best time to run ads (we’d love to hear them; please leave a comment below!) but we performed a series of tests to determine the optimum time for Bar Codes Talk.

When is the best time to run ads for Bar Codes Talk on Baidu? 

Our tests revealed that the cost per action (CPA) is highest in the evenings (17:00–midnight) so we stopped running ads during the day (9:00–17:00) for Bar Codes Talk.

Which placement of display ads in the newsfeed is best for Bar Codes Talk on Baidu?

To be honest, none of the Baidu newsfeed ads yielded strong results, so we decided to stop them and transfer the remaining ad credit to regular Baidu campaigns.

Which ad format works best on Baidu for Bar Codes Talk?

We discovered that image ads work best for this client: simple, high-contrast visuals, with key selling points as text.

Our Takeaway for Ads Testing

We’ve only shown three examples here, but all are informed by our core company belief of “Explore, Discover, Create” which defines how we approach each new project.”

Each failed test may seem like a waste of resources and time, but every miss yields a new understanding of what works and what doesn’t.

For each successful test, we find new methods that can be utilized across many projects. But even when things work, we don’t leave it there: We are constantly testing, adapting, and sharing our findings with our clients.

Finally, before we wrap it up, let’s hear from our team their favorite tips for running successful Baidu ads.

Our Tips for Maximum PPC Results

These are our tried and tested strategies to separate successful campaigns from those that take a nosedive.

First and foremost, a localized website that loads quickly (less than two seconds!) is crucial to be successful in the Chinese market. This website or landing page is where the Baidu ads (or other ads in China) direct and convert the online user into a potential buyer. One way to improve the loading speed of a website is to host locally (in China), which is worth considering as loading speed is an important ranking factor of Baidu.

The ad itself should stand out, and text ads must be simple and on point with a clear CTA. It shouldn’t be too text-heavy either, so try to avoid overloading the image (and the reader) with information. Bright colors and a little text on images are generally a good call. Likewise, visuals should aim to catch the users’ attention while they are aimlessly scrolling.

Your content should be culturally appropriate and considerate of the preferences and needs of the users.

Finally, you need to test and improve the ads, which is something we do quite extensively to find the deal ROAS, reach, and engagement. This can take time but it is well worth it.

This brings us to the end of this overview of Baidu PPC ads, who can benefit, and how.

The Takeaway – Mastering Baidu PPC Marketing

When we create a China marketing strategy for global brands, we usually include content localization, Baidu ads, SEO, and WeChat marketing.

Furthermore, Chinese social media, e-commerce platforms, and marketing strategies like influencer collaborations are brand and budget-dependent.

We hope this article gave you a better understanding of the Chinese search engine market, what Baidu looks like, and how running ads on this crucial platform works.

While some agencies may only tell you about their best lighthouse projects, we don’t shy away from showing the process behind it: Testing what works and what doesn’t, and doing more of what does work. 

For those of you who want to get started ASAP, we have also compiled this practical Baidu SEM Checklist that guides you through the process step-by-step, including setting up a Baidu advertising account, and keyword research.

Do you have any questions or comments? Please feel free to contact us, we’d love to hear from you!

The post The Only Guide to Baidu PPC Marketing You’ll Need for 2025 appeared first on Baidu Advertising.

In this article, the Baidu advertising experts from Nanjing Marketing Group explore the opportunities and pitfalls of ads on Baidu and WeChat in detail.

Let’s jump right in.

Quick Recap of Baidu

Before we take a deep dive into Baidu ads compared with WeChat ads, let’s set our playing field.

What is Baidu?

Founded in 2000 by Robin Li and Eric Xu, Baidu (百度) is the largest search engine in the country with a market share of more than 50% 

As Google is blocked in China, more than 670 million monthly active users rely on Baidu to search online and use integrated services like Baidu Maps, Baidu Baike (encyclopedia), and Baidu Tieba (forums). As such, Baidu processes five billion queries every day! And just like on Google, many users open Baidu in a browser, instead of being logged into the app.

Click here for a more detailed breakdown of the Baidu user demographics.

Why Advertise on Baidu?

Generally, brands can appear first in the search results through organic content strategies (SEO) and paid ads (PPC).

Running ads on Baidu is effective for global brands, regardless of their niche and size, and allows companies to reach an audience with a strong buying intent, test the market quickly, and optimize cost per lead.

Based on our experience, the average cost-per-click (CPC) for Baidu ads is between 0.10–0.80 USD, depending on factors like ad type, targeting, and competition.

To see what Baidu ads look like in practice, below is an example from our B2B client—CrimsonLogic.

Next, let’s check out WeChat.

Quick Recap of WeChat

Let’s quickly recap the key facts about WeChat.

What is WeChat?

With popular global social media like Facebook and Instagram blocked in China, WeChat (微信) has become the go-to app for communication, social networking, and business interactions.

Developed by Tencent and launched in 2011, WeChat has more than 1.3 billion monthly active users as of 2024. It is known for its multi-functional ecosystem that includes instant messaging, WeChat Pay (mobile payments), mini-programs (in-app services like shopping, games, or booking), and Official Accounts for businesses and organizations. 

Users spend an average of 82 minutes per day on the app, and it plays a significant role in everything from personal communication to business marketing.

Unlike Baidu, where many users browse anonymously, WeChat requires users to be logged in, making it a highly personalized platform for targeting ads and delivering content.

Why Advertise on WeChat?

Running ads on WeChat is an excellent strategy for global brands looking to engage with Chinese consumers and boost their presence in the market. WeChat ads allow brands to target a highly engaged audience, generate leads, drive e-commerce sales, and increase brand awareness.

WeChat’s multifaceted approach, which combines social interaction, entertainment, and e-commerce, creates unique opportunities for brands to directly connect with their target audience in a highly engaging and efficient way.

WeChat Ads

WeChat offers a variety of ad types with different strengths and advantages.

Click here to learn more about WeChat ads.

Baidu vs. WeChat

The Chinese digital landscape is not the same as the West’s. Google, Facebook, and other social media platforms are blocked in China, so user preferences and behavior are different.

Channel Comparison

Both apps are leaders in their respective fields, although WeChat plays a unique role in the social media environment worldwide and is unparalleled in its scope.

Remember, certain industries are restricted/banned from advertising on both platforms; for example, medical and healthcare products and treatments, and cryptocurrencies.

PUSH vs. PULL Channels

PUSH marketing channels are those where brands proactively market their products or services to clients. 

Traditional examples are TV ads, outdoor advertising, email newsletters, paid social media ads, and PPC campaigns. In China marketing, advertising on social media channels like WeChat falls under PUSH marketing, allowing brands to actively target their ideal audience through ads, promotions, and other methods.

PULL marketing channels are those where users search for certain terms; this could be an answer to their question (e.g. search engine like Baidu, forum, community), a tutorial (e.g. on YouTube), and so on. 

A brand then meets the user with useful information and solutions while saying “Hey, by the way, we can also fix your problem. And look at all the other cool stuff that we do.” This is usually done with blog posts (like this one!), videos, whitepapers, tutorials, and SEO, to name just a few examples.

In short, PUSH marketing actively advertises products and services to users, while PULL marketing relies on the users’ search for a certain term or discovery of the brand.

Case Study: CrimsonLogic

CrimsonLogic is a leading SaaS company providing trade, supply chain, and digital government solutions. It has a great reputation internationally and wanted to enter the Chinese market, build brand awareness, and drive sales. 

To achieve this, Nanjing Marketing Group came into action.

Our strategy for CrimsonLogic

• Setup of a WeChat brand account, creation of an H5 landing page to direct ads to, running WeChat ads, and content marketing
• Development and running of Baidu ads
• Creation and localization of their Chinese website
• Setup of other Chinese social media channels (Zhihu, Bilibili) and cross-promotion

The results (2021–2023)

• Generation of more than 230 high-quality leads
• Improved brand awareness

Our key learnings

For both the Baidu and WeChat ads, keyword research, and ad testing were crucial to precisely targeting the audience CrimsonLogic sought. Addressing people interested in or already searching for related topics is key to running ads that convert.

Example Baidu ads

CrimsonLogic: WeChat ads

CrimsonLogic: WeChat HTML5 landing page

CrimsonLogic: WeChat HTML5 landing page

Next, let’s take a look at another case study.

Case Study: Loqate

Loqate, a global leader in location intelligence and address verification solutions, reached out to us in mid-2023 intending to enter the Chinese market.

Our strategy for Loqate

• Creation and running of WeChat ads (Moments ads, WeChat Official Account ads)
• Development and running of Baidu campaigns (ads and SEO content)

Our key learnings

As you can see in the ads below, we emphasized bold colors that stand out and resonate with a Chinese audience. The image is big, and the message is short and clear without much distraction. The ad aims to catch the users’ attention and interrupt their “doomscrolling.” All the information can be seen at once without scrolling back and forth.

Loqate also includes the specific call-to-action (CTA) “立即体验” (Try Now) so that the user knows exactly what to do next.

Baidu Ads	WeChat Moments Ads

In terms of landing pages, we created these tailor-made sites for Loqate:

Baidu landing page via Jimuyu	WeChat HTML5 page

So, how do you know what to pick: Baidu ads or WeChat ads?

Pros and Cons of Baidu & WeChat Ads

Almost everyone in China uses WeChat and Baidu. 

So, showing up on both these channels as a local or international brand is a must as it allows brands to reach a huge Chinese audience. 

However, both channels have specific benefits and limitations and, in our experience, leveraging the strengths of both platforms in an integrated strategic approach is the key to success.

Baidu

The huge advantage of Baidu is that users already have a certain intent in mind, meaning they search for something specific, which is often a solution to their problem. 

Brands have the opportunity to be the first to show up (through ads and SEO) to solve these problems to gain visibility and generate leads at cost-effective campaign rates. However, many brands do this, leading to high competition. 

Creating “showstopper” visuals and picking the “right” keyword requires expertise and deep knowledge of the Chinese market. Even with tons of experience with these things: A/B testing, continuous adaptation, and improvement are still typically required.

WeChat

This Chinese super app is an integral part of daily life in China, and literally, everyone uses it, which equals a massive social reach. 

The other big plus is WeChat’s gigantic ecosystem. The other big plus is WeChat’s gigantic ecosystem. When we create useful, entertaining, and easy-to-read articles for an official brand account, this content appears when users search within WeChat, and can even be used on other touchpoints. For example, we create useful, entertaining, and easy-to-read articles for an official brand account on WeChat, and this content shows up when users search within WeChat, and can even be used on other touchpoints.

Users may just “hang out” on WeChat or do something specific (like hailing a cab) and then move on to something else entirely. WeChat’s diverse features and offerings mean there might not always be a direct purchase intent, but this doesn’t mean that netizens aren’t open and keen on clicking on flashy, cute, or otherwise interesting icons, banners, or pop-ups. 

Well, you guessed it, all brands are aware of the immense potential of WeChat, which leads to higher costs and competition for running ads. However, an experienced China marketing agency can help you cut through that jungle and get the best return on ads spend (ROAS) for your brand.

The Takeaway

Deciding whether to invest in Baidu or WeChat ads depends on your goals, target audience, and the nature of your business. Here’s a quick guide to help you choose:

Baidu Ads (PULL Marketing)

• Target the users actively searching for your product or service.
• Reach a broad audience through search engine marketing.
• A more cost-effective advertising solution, especially for niche markets.

WeChat Ads (PUSH Marketing)

• Build brand awareness, engage with your audience, and drive social interactions.
• Leverage WeChat’s massive user base and rich targeting capabilities.
• Requires a budget for a more expensive, social-driven advertising approach.

Get started with Baidu ads.

The post Baidu Ads vs. WeChat Ads: Optimize Your China Marketing Strategy appeared first on Baidu Advertising.

Your challenge: You represent a global or domestic brand in the B2B or B2C sector, the service or e-commerce industry, and you want to enter the Chinese market or expand in it. While you have an international website, your brand doesn’t appear on Baidu and consequently doesn’t get many product inquiries or customer requests.

The solution: SEM on Baidu ensures that your brand appears at the top of the first result page and catches the attention of Chinese mobile and laptop users.

We’ve run over three hundred Baidu campaigns for foreign businesses, including big names like Microsoft, Papa John’s, Nord VPN, Qatar Airways, and many small-to-medium businesses across all industries. We’ve also consulted with thousands of companies. 

Sometimes we provide a proposal right away, but other times we advise the company to slow down to do some preparation first.

The Baidu advertising experts from Nanjing Marketing Group put together this concise and actionable Baidu SEM Checklist. It aims to answer the FAQ: “What do we need to do to launch a successful Baidu search engine marketing campaign?”

Quick Recap: Chinese Digital Landscape

As Google (and other Western platforms) are blocked in China, Chinese online users rely on other apps to find information. Baidu is by far the most popular search engine in China, followed by Bing, Haosou, Yandex, Sogou, and Google (VPN users). Read up on Chinese search habits in more detail here.

Search engine marketing (SEM) is the sum of all strategies used to increase a website’s visibility on the SERPs (search engine results pages) through paid advertising. Search engine marketing does not include free/organic strategies.

Baidu SEM Checklist

Here is our tried and tested checklist to prepare for, create, and execute impactful Baidu campaigns that maximize your ROI. It’s meant for marketing managers who oversee a Chinese SEM campaign as part of a larger campaign.

The three key things that you must handle:

1. Responsibilities within your team and the budget for China marketing.
2. What you want to achieve in the Chinese market.
3. Make sure that your website and team, and handle the traffic and inquiries.

If you decide to work with us, we can help you with all the remaining six steps:

4. Setting up a Baidu account
5. Designing and optimizing landing pages
6. Keyword research
7. Creating ad copies
8. Setting a bidding strategy
9. Monitoring and continuous improvement

Let’s take a closer look at what each of these steps entails.

1. Clarify Responsibilities & Budget

Running Baidu campaigns is effective and has a high ROI, but requires some investment upfront, including:

• Baidu ad account setup and verification: 600 RMB per year.
• Deposit for advertising credit: 1,500 RMB. 
• Baidu ad management through your team or an agency: click here for our pricing structure.

While you need an agency to set up a Baidu Ad Account for you (more on that below), you can decide whether you want to run the Baidu campaigns yourself (requires a person who can read and write Chinese) or with the help of an agency.

2. Define Your Campaign Goals and Objectives

Before launching any campaign, clarity and a common understanding among the team is essential. You can ask yourself: What do we want to achieve?

Do we want to increase website traffic, generate leads, drive sales, or boost brand awareness? It could be two or more of these.

Ensure that your goals align with your broader marketing objectives. For example, if brand awareness is your priority, focus on display ads and broader keywords. For lead generation, prioritize conversion-driven strategies like well-optimized landing pages and compelling CTAs.

Our Tips:

• Define KPIs: Number of impressions, click-through rates, etc.
• Set measurable objectives, e.g., a 30% increase in leads within the first quarter.
• Allocate budgets based on campaign goals.

Once this is done, you can start creating the necessary accounts.

3. Make Sure You Can Handle The Traffic

If you’re working with us, we’ll handle the remaining steps below; however, it’s up to you to handle the traffic.

If users need to make purchases on-site, you should accept Chinese payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat Pay. Luckily, this is often easy to achieve by enabling those payment options in Stripe. 

If users will contact a salesperson to talk, you should have a Chinese-speaking contact available. Plus, you will generate about 3X more leads if you accept email leads via a form and allow users to contact you via WeChat or a live chat box on the website.

4. Set up a Baidu Ad Account

The good thing about a Baidu Ad Account is that it allows you to use and log in to other Baidu products, including the Baidu Official Account and Baidu Analytics Account (Baidu Tongji).

So, to set up a Baidu Advertising Account, these are the necessary steps:

1. Find a Certified Agency (1–2 weeks):
   • It’s not possible to register a Baidu ads account directly!
   • It is mandatory to collaborate with a certified agency.
2. Prepare Documents (1–2 weeks):
   • Business license, contact information, and website URL (preferably with an ICP license for hosting in China).
3. Submit Application & Deposit (1–3 weeks):
   • Register on Baidu Ads (Tuiguang) and pay the initial deposit (1,500 RMB).
4. Approval & Ad Campaign Setup (1–2 weeks):
   • Baidu reviews the application and activates your account.
   • Once approved, campaigns can be launched immediately.

Overall, the process takes 3–7 weeks and costs at least 1,500 RMB.

5. Design and Optimize Landing Pages

A fast-loading and well-designed website or landing page in Chinese is crucial for a high ranking on Baidu. Specifically, Baidu evaluates the following aspects as part of its quality score, among others: Chinese language with localized content (not just translated), loading time (less than three seconds is ideal), and user experience (UX).

Our Tips:

• Create a Chinese landing page with
  • Baidu Jimuyu (which can help make quick-loading but simple landing pages), 
  • a quick-loading landing page on your website, or
  • a full Chinese-language mini-site.
• Test the loading time of your website with free tools like 17CE.
• Adjust the UX of your landing page to mobile-first (80% of netizens search and connect on their phones). Add clear CTAs to your navigation and include testimonials.
• Use Baidu Tongji (Analytics) to measure visitor behavior.

With all this preparation, we can now get to the actual ad creation.

6. Keyword Research

Understanding your target audience is key to selecting the right keywords. Baidu’s audience may differ from global search engine users, with unique behaviors influenced by cultural, linguistic, and regional nuances.

Use Baidu’s Keyword Planning Tool (关键词规划师)—access via Baidu Tuiguang—to identify relevant keywords, and analyze competitors’ ads for insights into high-performing terms. You should also consider long-tail keywords for lower competition and higher ROI and incorporate localized language and phrasing specific to Chinese users.

Our Tips:

• Add keywords for your brand, products/services, and problems you solve. 
• Avoid direct English translations; hire a native speaker to craft accurate and appealing phrases.
• Use trending industry-specific keywords for seasonal or event-based promotions.

Now, on to the creative part!

7. Create Ad Copy

Ad copywriting on Baidu requires a local-first mindset. Baidu’s algorithm rewards ads that resonate with the local audience and match user intent closely.

Write compelling and concise headlines (watch out for the 30-character limit) and highlight unique selling points (USPs) tailored to Chinese preferences. Finally, focus on culturally relevant messaging, and avoid Western idioms or humor that might not translate.

Our Tips:

• Develop ad variations for A/B testing.
• Ensure your ad content adheres to Baidu’s guidelines to avoid restrictions.
• Use advanced ad formats like multi-image ads.

Next, set your bids to start the customer journey and convert prospects to clients.

8. Set Your Bidding Strategy

Baidu’s bidding system works on a pay-per-click (PPC) model but incorporates a quality score that affects ad ranking. Balancing cost and performance is key.

Based on our experience, the key KPIs to monitor include the Cost-Per-Click (CPC), Click-Through Rate (CTR), and Conversion Rate (CVR).

Our Tips:

• Start with a higher bid to establish ad visibility, then adjust based on performance data.
• Use automated bidding tools like Baidu’s AI bidding to optimize CPC.
• Monitor competitors’ activity and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Finally, let’s look at the last aspect we handle.

9. Monitoring and Iteration

We continuously monitor the results of our strategy, content, and ads. By analyzing the impact (positive and negative), we can adjust our strategy as necessary to ensure the best results for you, our valued client.

We do this to ensure maximum effectiveness for your brand in the Chinese market.

Pre-Launch Checklist: What We Need from You

If you decide to put your China success and Baidu marketing into our trusted hands, we are happy to assist you to the best of our abilities. To hit the ground running, here’s what we kindly ask from you:

• Set a budget.
• Nominate a focal point in your team for our collaboration.
• Choose who will communicate with potential customers (us or you).
• Provide a copy of your business license (for Baidu account setup).
• Share a bank statement with your company name, bank name, and list of transactions.
• Allow access to your Google Analytics.

With this information, we can jump right into Baidu marketing.

Case Study: Bar Codes Talk

Since 2011, we have run a comprehensive China marketing campaign for this international provider of certified barcodes: Bar Codes Talk. We helped them to enter the Chinese market and continue to be by their side to expand their Chinese customer base. 

For Bar Codes Talk we first developed a comprehensive “China strategy” to build a brand presence and trust among Chinese consumers.

We set up brand accounts on the popular Chinese social media platforms WeChat, Zhihu, Baidu Zhidao, Baidu Tieba, and Xiahongshu. After that, we developed, launched, and managed ads on the biggest Chinese search engines Baidu and 360.

To optimize conversion rates, we localized the Chinese website. This included adding the local currency, chat functions via QQ and WeChat, and a FAQ page, and then we optimized pages on the website for Baidu, so-called search engine optimization (SEO). Finally, we integrated a quick and easy customer support tool into the website (LiveReception).

The results (2011–2024)

• More than 60,000 inquiries (60,082)
• More than 41,000 transactions (41,592)
• More than 12,000 WeChat followers
• Up to 387% ROI

“NMG has always provided diligent and outstanding service. Taking a company internationally can be daunting but NMG takes the reins, guides you into best practices and makes sure that you have the tools required to be successful. NMG constantly provides recommendations on best practices and new avenues to explore. We would highly recommend NMG’s services!”

– Brandon Gordon, Owner of Bar Codes Talk

This brings us to the end of this comprehensive and actionable Baidu SEM checklist.

The Takeaway – Baidu SEM Checklist

Launching a successful Baidu SEM campaign in 2025 requires a combination of thorough preparation, strategic planning, and local expertise. 

Following this comprehensive Baidu SEM checklist can ensure your campaigns are well-positioned to achieve your business goals in China’s competitive market.

If you would like a helping hand, we are here to help with faster account setup and approval and—with their firsthand experience of China and its unique culture— provide insights into local audience behavior. 

Once things are up and running, we will optimize the campaign ad hoc to respond to changes in local trends and the market as a whole.

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