Baidu is to China what Google is to the rest of the world. The huge market that China is, most businesses that look for an entry into the country or to establish themselves in this side of the world cannot ignore marketing on Baidu. Like many other search engines, Baidu offers paid advertisements that businesses can make use of to showcase their products or services to potential customers. If you are considering using Baidu advertising for promotions, it is important that you know what goes into and what you should be up for.

# 1 – You need to build a Chinese website

Baidu is a Chinese search engine, and so, it is important that you set up a Chinese website, which people can visit when they click on your paid ads. Baidu advertising that links to English websites don’t really appeal to Chinese folks and can result in very high bounce rates as many visitors may not be able to read or understand your website well. Setting up a website that uses simple Chinese helps you connect directly and more appropriately with your target audience in the Chinese land.

# 2 – The content needs to be more than translation

Employ a translation software to set up a Chinese version of your business website, and most likely, it will end up failing to impress the audience there. You are selling to people of a different geographic region and with different socio-cultural bearings and so, it is extremely important that you communicate with them in a manner that they would love to be spoken to. It’s a good idea to employ the services of a Chinese digital marketing agency here.

# 3 – It helps to host your website in China

This is not compulsory, but it helps immensely to host your site in China or Hong Kong. This is because it boosts loading speeds and ensures that your visitors can browse your website without interruptions, all of which have an impact on user experience and website conversions.

# 4 – The website needs to accept Chinese payment solutions

If you are going to be selling products or services directly to Chinese folks, ensure that your website accepts payment that the people there are familiar with. Alipay, UnionPay or WeChat are commonly used by Chinese customers for transactional purposes.

# 5 – You will need to go through extensive documentation

Before you can begin Baidu advertising, you will need to submit a list of documents for verification to ensure that your business is valid and legal and that it does not contain prohibited content. Businesses functioning in restricted industries like medical or finance may need added licenses. Some common documents that need to be submitted include business registration certificate, screenshots of homepage URL of the website and an affidavit claiming that it is the same as the original website, and bank account information, which could be any of the following  – a cheque, a bank statement or a bank pay order form, or a local tax payment certificate. If any of these is in a language other than Chinese, it is best to get the papers translated. After the submission of documents, it takes about two weeks to a month before the advertising account is approved.

# 6 – Ad campaigns have to be planned carefully

As your account undergoes review, you can begin planning for your ad campaigns. This includes researching keywords, generating a list of target keywords, creating the ad flow and campaign structure, deciding on landing pages and accompanying images, and so on. It takes time to create good ads, so ensure to not rush into the Baidu advertising program.

# 7 – You need to pay a deposit before activating the account

Once the legal documents are approved, you are just one step away from activating your account. This is making a deposit into your ad account for ad spends. If you are employing the services of Baidu resellers or Chinese digital marketing agencies, you may also need to finalize a contract with them and sometimes, pay them an account creation fee and an annual service fee. Once the deposit has been received, Baidu activates your account, mostly in a week, and you are good to go.