China is a huge market with more than 1.4 billion people and growing. China has more than 854 million Internet users accessing different local digital platforms. And Baidu is the largest search engine with more than 174 million daily active users.

If you want to do search engine marketing in China (adstochina.westwin.com/search-engine-marketing-in-china), Baidu SEM can give you quick and effective results when it comes to reaching Chinese audiences and establishing your brand in the Chinese market. Here we look at different methods of search engine marketing supported by Baidu.

Paid listings on Baidu

Baidu PPC is a proven search engine marketing tool in China to engage the Chinese audience and improve conversions. Baidu PPC works on the same principle of Google Ads where businesses have to bid on the list of keywords to display their clickable ads in Baidu’s search results.

Keywords are the foundation of search engine marketing. As the user enters keywords in the Baidu search box to find the information, it should come as no surprise the keywords form the basis of search engine marketing as an advertising strategy.

Different Types of Baidu Advertising

Baidu PPC offers different types of advertising that include Baidu search advertising, Baidu brand Powerlink, and Baidu union advertising. Baidu Powerlink is a unique service offered to big brands. It allows animated Flash ads, images, video, links to products and events. This method of search engine marketing offers a more attractive display and greater brand exposure.

Baidu SEM has a database of 300,000 websites for Baidu union ads. These websites are categorized into 25 fields and 115 sub-brands. Businesses can choose the websites where they want their ads to appear.

Baidu search advertising allows a maximum of four paid adverts on the top of the search results page and two paid ads at the bottom of the page. On mobile and tablet, Baidu shows three paid adverts on the top of the search results page and more adverts at the bottom of the page; the number of ads displayed on the search results pages changes with time.

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is an important element of search engine marketing. Unlike Western countries, local social media platforms in China have a larger user base that also gives them huge marketing potential. WeChat is one of the top social media platforms in China. Hence, your search engine marketing strategy should include WeChat marketing. WeChat offers different marketing tools like WeChat advertising, WeChat Store, WeChat Mini programs, and WeChat Influencer Marketing.

WeChat allows businesses to showcase banner ads at the bottom of the articles posted on the platform. These ads are similar to in-feed ads shown on Instagram and Facebook. WeChat allows businesses to create and offer programs to their target audience. For example, a leading Chinese bike-share Company has a Mini Program on WeChat that allows WeChat users to rent a bike through the WeChat Mini Program.

Baidu SEO

Baidu search engine marketing in China is incomplete without Baidu SEO. The Baidu search results page does showcase organic listings in the middle section. By employing the right Baidu SEO strategy, you can ensure top rankings for your website on Baidu. Here are some key factors you need to consider when performing Baidu SEO.

Site Structure and Functionality

Baidu indexing bots prefer flat-structured sites that can be accessed with few clicks. Also, the Baidu index does not deal with JavaScript or Flash video content, hence you need to make sure your website has alternate HTML5 content. Other tips include keeping the URL structure short and use Frame instead of iFrame.

Metadata and Page Titles

You need to ensure the Metadata and Page titles are unique and the keyword-optimized simplified Chinese. Meta keywords hold importance in Baidu rankings and you should stick to the limit of characters for Meta description (limit is 200) and Meta keywords (limit is 100). You need to also ensure the Alt tags and headings are optimized in the Chinese language.

Links

Link building is an important factor to achieve higher search engine rankings. Internal and external anchor text is also important. You need to target links from industry-related, high authority Chinese websites.

What’s your strategy for search engine marketing in China?