The Best Beginner's Guide to Baidu Advertising Marketing in China 2021 (Part 1)

Intro

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced more of us to enter the digital era. To business owners, digital marketing strategy becomes the most important method to grow your business, especially when you try to enter China market. According to the latest data, Internet users in China are estimated at over 800 million and growing.

In terms of digital marketing, the first thing that comes to your mind must be Google ads or Google search engine. You may be an expert with Google search engine; however, the search engine in China is different from Google.

If you consider entering China market, you must know Baidu, which is the biggest search engine in China. In this blog, we will help you understand Baidu’s advertising, including why you need to choose Baidu paid search and how to use Baidu Ads to boost your business.

Why you should use Baidu Ads

As the biggest search engine in China, Baidu holds 78% of the search engine market share. To target potential Chinese customers, using Chinese advertising platforms is the most crucial method.

When foreign marketers enter the Chinese market, Baidu is the first channel they consider, especially for paid search marketing. Think about how important Google Ads is to your local business; that is how important Baidu advertising is to the Chinese market. Of course, Baidu has several competitors within China, but none of them could match the reach of Baidu ads. Not only because Baidu has the largest market share or visibility, but also the far better conversion rates than any other advertising platform.

Over the years, various businesses from different areas (fashion, beauty, tourism, education, etc.) have achieved great success in China marketing via Baidu advertising.

Case Study: La Rochelle Business School – French Grande Ecole

La Rochelle Business School is the largest of five institutions in the coastal city of La Rochelle, France. In 2018, La Rochelle Business School decided to work with a Chinese advertising agency to brand their school and recruit more Chinese students.

First, they started with the Chinese-language landing page and focused on Baidu SEO. The main purpose is to improve keyword rankings by selecting the right keywords and phrases to create tags to gain visibility and attract Chinese students. At the same time, Baidu PPC experts employed a strategy that embeds the right keywords, optimises targeted clicks, and directs traffic for the school.

Results:

• The website of the La Rochelle Business School is on the first page of Baidu and gain great visibility on the Chinese web.
• Since 2018, the number of Chinese students has reached 20% and is still growing.

How to advertise on Baidu

After understanding the importance of Baidu paid ads, you may consider how to advertise on Baidu.

Like Google, Baidu offers different forms of paid ads. Normally, when we talked about Baidu paid ads, it refers to search ads (or PPC ads) and in-feed ads.

Baidu search ads appeared as one of the search results. Here are five steps to help you run effective Baidu search ads.

1. Understand your SEM goals and marketing strategy

Let’s start with defining your goals. China is a complex and challenging market. Before you run an SEM or another campaign in China, you must understand the marketing strategy, especially the goal of the SEM campaign. Many marketers fail this part. Therefore, you need an experienced advertising agency to give you balance expectations.

2. Gather data and configure your analytics

Once you and your team make the plan, the next crucial step is to gather data and assets. Normally, you should prepare the original image design files, documentation on branding or marketing guidelines, etc.

3. Plan and execute campaigns

Now you need to start writing your ads, prepare keywords, negative keywords, and account structure. Then set parameters like budget, device type, and maybe geography.

4. Monitor campaigns parameters

Campaign monitor includes each campaign detail, such as UTM campaign, UTM links, visits, and percentage of the total key metric completions, conversion rates, etc.

5. Data analysis and optimisation

No one can guarantee one campaign can be successful from the beginning without any change. Monitor your Baidu SEM and PPC campaign daily. Consider ROI, traffic, and the quality of the traffic based on the gathered data. An experienced marketer knows how to optimise the campaign by data analysis. Keep asking questions such as, what are the potential customers looking for? Or how can we spend this money more efficiently?

Eventually, your goal is to run cost-efficient campaigns without too many actions needed.

Baidu in-feed ads with organic content displayed Baidu-owned platforms, including Baidu app, Baidu forum, search engine homepage, and mobile browser. Here are the steps of creating Baidu in-feed ads.

1. Basic information for your ads

Set up budget, date, period, and choose target audience criteria.

2. Campaign type

Select where to promote your ads; you could place them on the landing page of a website, mobile app, online forum, or store.

3. Bidding price

Fill in the bidding price. Decide your CPC bidding in your in-feed ad’s position.

4. Ads creatives

The final step is to fill out your brand information. If you want to grab the attention of your potential clients, the look and feel of creative material are important.

Baidu Advertising Pricing

How much does a successful ad cost on Baidu? Well, the cost could be different based on the different services. Also, Baidu is frequently changing its prices. You will go through all the fees and costs when you start to run Baidu ads.

1. Account set up and pre-pay for ad credit

When you set up a Baidu account, there is a deposit required in your account. Also, the prices could be different based on the locations.

2. Pay-Per-Clicks (PPC) Costs

When you get ready with the account setting, it is time to consider your ad budget and the daily costs of running your campaign. It is like Google; each time a user clicks your ads, you will be charged“per click.”

Conclusion

As we all know, the Chinese market is evolving at a significant and fast pace. If you consider seizing the opportunities or want more information about Baidu advertising or the Chinese market in general, we are happy to help.