EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS VIA BAIDU: GOOGLE'S NUMBER ONE RIVAL

Baidu - in Chinese character 百度 - is one of the top tech companies specializing in artificial intelligence and internet-related products and services in the world. Since Google is not allowed, Baidu is currently the most used search engine in China and, with its billions of searches per month, it has been deservedly named as Google's number one rival.

But why is Baidu important for your business and digital marketing in China?

There are several reasons to choose Baidu over other Chinese search engines (e.g. Haosou, Sogou, and Shenma). Let us show you some insights into this massive Chinese Internet company and why it is the best way to reach your Chinese (potential) clients.

WHY YOU SHOULD ADVERTISE ON BAIDU

Through Baidu Paid Advertising you can easily develop brand awareness, greater visibility, and a good reputation.?

Chinese people are more and more relying on Baidu to look for information about a brand's reputation, reviews, products, etc. In fact, 76,9% of internet users in China use Baidu?(Statista’s August 2021 report), and its app has 580 million monthly active users (Baidu Inc.?second quarter 2021 report).?

Like any large company in the rest of the world, Baidu has had multiple ups and downs in the market over the years. But, based on Statista’s report?(March 2021), Baidu recorded an online marketing services revenue of around 73 billion yuan in 2020 and total revenue of approximately 107.1 billion yuan. In the same year, Baidu had a 74% share of the Chinese search engine market?(November 2020).

To further convince you of its great power in the internet market, let's also say that Baidu is the fifth most popular website in the world on?Alexa?and more than 7.6 million websites are using Baidu Analytics?(BuiltWith).

BAIDU'S FEATURES AT A GLANCE

Baidu can be very similar to Google in many ways, it has, for instance, maps, music and video platforms, email system, Analytics, etc. When considering expanding your business via Baidu, you should also consider:

• Baidu Ads resemble natural results:?Were it not for a small text highlighted at the bottom of the ad, at first glance it seems like an organic result. This encourages users to click on your ad.
• Accurate targeting:?Baidu has this strong ability to exactly reach your target group, based on users searches, targeting keywords, and interests.
• Lower costs:?you shouldn't be afraid of the budget needed for Baidu. Using a small budget you will have high exposure anyway and a vast audience reach. You will quickly increase your leads and conversions

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ADVERTISING ON BAIDU

It would be great if the advertisements on Baidu were easy to create and manage. But in reality,?you'd better be informed to make the right marketing decisions for your business, in order to successfully reach users and (potential) clients in China.?

You must be aware of China’s advertising policy and industry-specific rules before entering. The Baidu system has a lot of restrictions, rules, and requirements to let you advertise your business. In addition, most companies avoid doing Baidu ads because entering into the Baidu advertising system requires higher levels of management, competitive bidding activity, and a lot of time for administrative work.?

It should be quite obvious, but to reach your potential Chinese customers you must have your website, ads, and also keywords in Chinese, also because Baidu's ranking system gives priority to ads and websites in Chinese and websites hosted in China. Rather than simply translating your content, ads, and keywords, you must localize your business, so you will get better chances of succeeding on Baidu.

If you are interested in entering the Chinese market via Baidu, or just learning more about marketing in China, our team of Chinese marketing experts will be happy to help and support you!

You want to know more about the topic??Contact us for?more information.

This article first appeared on the?Marketingblatt.