The Most Complete Baidu SEO Algorithm List Guide

11 Oct 2021 | Weng W | 6 min read

Why understanding search engine algorithm is essential to marketers

A search engine algorithm is a set of rules to determine a page’s significance. The algorithm helps search engines determine which pages should show to users based on their search queries. That means that optimised pages for the algorithm will often rank higher and have more traffic.

Simply put, understanding search engines algorithm is like understanding the basic rule of playing a sport. Without knowing it, players will not know how to score and how they will be penalised. SEM and SEO are like the actual game, where marketers implement the strategy around the algorithm.

Therefore, understanding the algorithm before implementing any SEM or SEO plan is essential to achieve the best result in Search Engine Marketing and prevent any mistakes happen in the processes.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Modern marketers realised ranking on search engines will help drive tremendous traffic to their business. So today, companies are spending a generous amount of money on Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) means running advertising campaigns on search engines. It is also an umbrella term of marketing activities conducted on search engines, including content marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), Analysis, backlinks, etc. ­­

SEO is the most important element in SEM. It is the process that optimises sites for search engines, and the method of SEO is highly dependent on certain search engine algorithm / SEO algorithms. Furthermore, every search engine algorithm works differently, and there is no single or official manual explaining how the algorithm works. Still, it requires marketers to continuously run trial and error tests to learn and gain experience on the algorithm.

Why Baidu SEO

There are more than ten search engines available in the market, and they all work differently. You have been doing SEO or optimising sites for search engines, but which one? Probably, you have been optimising for Google.

Google owns 90% of the search engine market share in the world outside China. So, in general, the material you learned about SEO is all about Google.

Often, many marketers think SEO meant optimising sites for Google. But until they are expanding businesses to China, they realised their SEO knowledge on Google is less effective on the largest local search engine in China – Baidu.

Most of the Chinese population uses Baidu Search Engine. It owns more than 70% of search engine market shares in China, while Google only owns 1.56%. So, to expand any business in China through digital marketing, using Baidu SEO is necessary.

Baidu SEO Algorithm

Some experts claim that the Baidu SEO Algorithm is like the Google SEO Algorithm that lags in 3-5 years. But of course, it is not that simple, and you might need to read this blog post with a fresher perspective on SEO algorithm because what worked on Google will not necessarily work on Baidu and vice versa.

These are the main elements that influence pages ranking on Baidu

• Content quality
• Meeting user needs
• User-friendly interface (UX/UI)
• Site security

Content quality

In digital marketing, there is a famous saying – “Content is King”, but I would say “Quality Content is the Emperor”.

Poor content that is unable to solve user problems is spammy and not valuable for users. So, content quality plays a significant role in the algorithm. Any content written on the page must provide good readability and user experience.

Content quality is not a standard that only Baidu sets for its algorithm; all search engines focus more on content quality than anything else to provide a better user experience.

The following are content quality requirements based on the latest Baidu algorithm updates.

1.1 Baidu Hurricane Algorithm 3.0 – Resolve the collection of bad sites

Readability and Problem Solving (Collection behaviour)

User readability is important; content that is poor in organising and without having proper layout will not work well in ranking. Hence, content should have a good layout and white space that helps readability, and content should solve user problems as quickly as possible. If the copy has too many words without solving user problems rapidly, it is a no-no.

Focus and Consistency (Cross-domain collection issue)

Consistency on content topics is what helps the algorithm to determine what the sites are about. Not having contradictions between domain, site title, and content is a must. For example, if the site mainly provides service for B2B, then focus only on B2B content. And sites should focus on a niche instead of shoving a bunch on unrelated content like news, cat videos, food recipes, etc. That will hurt the ranking.

Tailored page designed (Station group issue)

If sites have multiple pages that aim to sell different products or services, you must ensure you do not duplicate the pages. It should be designed differently according to the page’s purpose to help users identify the pages quickly. Often, sites that tend to use a similar template for multiple pages will lead to confusion.

1.2 Baidu Strong Wind Algorithm – Re-evaluation of malicious use of aggregated pages

Focus area

All pages should have a focus area, and pages with scatter content will not be favourable by the algorithm. All the content should be well organised and provide clarity, while users can easily read and understand what the page is about, in a simple word; make it simple and precise.

Title and content match

When someone looks at the title, they should expect the content they click to match the title. Therefore, site titles must summarise the content and be simple enough to allow users to understand the content briefly.

Static search page

If the site’s built-in search function does not work well or cannot reflect user search queries, it will also affect the ranking. So, be aware of any malfunctioned feature on the sites and fix it immediately.

Aggregate page without valid information

For aggregate sites, it is essential to show the searched information. For example, if the site often shows “invalid information” when users search, it will affect the ranking because it indicates that it cannot provide what users expect.

1.3 Drizzle Algorithm 2.0 – Address low content quality issues of B2B site

“Official”

If an unofficial site pretends to be the official site or uses the word “Official” in its title, the algorithm can tell it is cheating and misleading the site title, and the sites will be penalised.

Keyword stuffing

The algorithm can detect keyword stuffing, and it is a common mistake that marketers make to rank for more keywords by shoving multiple similar or repeating keywords in the title. For example, Rent Car, Sell Car, Buy Car, Service Car.

Symbol

Putting symbols and emojis in the title will also cause bad readability, and the algorithm will not like site titles with poor readability.

Showing contact information

Site title that shows contact information like WeChat account number, phone number, email, etc., in the title will also be detected and consider irrelevant content.

Body text

A common mistake made by traditional advertisers is that they tend to include contact information on the advertising material and treat digital advertising material as printed banners or flyers.

It should make sense when including big phone numbers on printed banners because that is the only way people can contact the business. But when it comes to running advertising online, having a contact number included on advertising pictures and videos will make less sense and not provide a good user experience.

Therefore, including contact information in the title, body text, and picture is a bad practice that will hurt ranking. So, you should separate contact information from its primary content. That can be a button or place on a different page.

The algorithm also dislikes unorganised information, so you must separate all the content about the products and show a clear distinction between specifications, benefits, prices, or other descriptions.

Illegal content

Sites that collect content from other sources and mispresent the site intention will be inappropriate content, which the algorithm will tell it’s part of illegal content. Besides, malfunctioned features and pages will also affect ranking. For example, e-commerce sites that lack product details, prices, payment methods, etc.

Low-quality content

Low image quality, inconsistent images, too much contact information on the page, images that do not have any description, these mistakes will lead to bad ranking.

1.4 Blue Sky Algorithm – Addressing Directory trading issues

The algorithm aims to penalise news sites that sell adverts and catalogues and spread false news.

Meeting users’ needs

Page title

A different page with different titles helps the algorithm differentiate it from duplicate content and not confuse users. Page titles should summarise the page content, and a good page title should be concise and avoid lengthy title, keyword stuffing, vague and irrelevant descriptions.

Unable to meet user needs

Page title must describe the content accurately. For example, if the title says you can download content in the link for free, but when you click the link, it is an app instead of the content, users get confused, which hurts rankings.

Repeated keywords and tags in title

Using multiple similar keywords and tags in titles is also a bad practice because it is spammy, and users do not like it.

Baidu’s auto-rewrites the title

Baidu’s AI auto rewrite will sometimes regenerate a new title for pages when it has a better way to display the title according to the user search intent.

Download station quality

A good quality download station should consist of these categories: fast, secure, and direct. And without malicious behaviour or stealing user privacy, and no fake download button on the advertisement.

Make sure users can download what they want in the fastest way. Besides, local, or high-speed external software download must state clearly, no pornographic, illegal software, and gambling. While default download is enabled, and high-speed download is a priority.

Sneakily redirect

This behaviour is not allowed. For example, when users click on the next page button, it redirects them to other irrelevant pages. It is a no-no, and respecting user experience is the key here.

Fraud and illegal transactions

The following five elements are not allowed in a site, and if you see any action stated below, sites will have a high chance to be terminated.

1. Pornography, gambling, drug, and illegal information
2. Imitate government/official website
3. Maliciously spreading false information
4. Spreading fake books, techniques, tools, and the promotion of illegal money-making activities
5. Fake documents, fake cash-out services, academic dishonesty, private detectives, illegal loans, illegal software, illegal online jobs, etc.

User-friendly interface (UX/UI)

Site speed

Speed matters when it comes to retaining user attention. Mini programs and landing pages must load within one second. It will lead to a higher user retention rate and provide a quick search experience.

Page layout

Typography

Clear paragraphs, different font sizes to distinguish primary and secondary info, locations, and media size should match the layout to provide the best readability experience.

Font size

Font size should be more than 10px; line-height 1.4, make sure it is not too big or too small for readers.

Most importantly, prioritise designs for mobile users because the number of mobile internet users in China is significant; sites should also have responsive mode design to cater to mobile and Desktop users.

More content, less advertisement

Advertisement to content ratio should be about 1/3 %, always provide more content, and have lesser advertising.

Separation and Space

You should separate the main content from secondary content such as advertisements, mini-program, and recommendations. Having large spaces between content, links, and buttons is necessary to prevent users from clicking on the wrong content.

Design for different mobile models

Site design should fit into different mobile models. For instance, IOS has a home bar at the bottom of the screen, so the design does not block any content of the site.

Landing page and advertising specification

Regulation

Landing pages or any content on the site should comply with the “Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China.” Advertisements involving words like “national, superior, and best” are not allowed, and the advertising message cannot exaggerate effects, provide false promises, and force users to share.

Besides, content or advertising involving the country’s interests, leaking state secrets, infringing on personal privacy, inducing, deceptive, and fraud are strictly prohibited.

Style

The advertisement style is not allowed to distract the main content. Therefore, advertising styles such as floating, pop-ups, or masked ads are not allowed. Also, it should not jitter, flicker, carousel, or auto play and distract user attention.

The top of the landing page can embed advertisements without exceeding 10% of ​​the screen, with clear distance to content, not too large, with a functional button, clear logo, and a good user experience.

And here are some rules for placing an advertisement in content.

1. No ads between headline and body text
2. No ads between body text
3. No ads between body text, pagination, and button
4. Ads size not more than 1/3% of the screen

Interoperability specification

Sites that can provide a good user experience must provide valuable and relevant experiences to users. These are the essential requirement for a good site.

1. Smooth scrolling
2. User-friendly function
3. Back button (at the top left, fixed, no jittering and flickering)
4. No auto pop-up, unless users click on expand button to enable the Pop-up
5. You cannot duplicate the pop-up function that is already showing on the page
6. The call-to-action (CTA) button should be less than 10% and be at the bottom of the screen
7. Simple and convenient
8. Enable to long press to copy text
9. Image must have rich functions: click to open, back button, pinch for zoom in and out, and swipe to see other images.
10. Video’s progress bar should drag, view in full screen, no lag in playback, and the same goes for audio.
11. Integrate with extended function and like QQ for instant conversation.
12. Integrate with Baidu log in/sign up to provide a convenient experience.
13. Maintain longer log-in status
14. Location service for (delivery, renting, automatic position tracking)
15. Complete function (For e-commerce: search, customer service, payment, shopping cart, order, and return)
16. Payment (Integration with WeChat Pay or Alipay)
17. More selection, less manual typing input
18. Reminder and guidance prompt (Such as countdown to receiving verification code, operation reminder, explanatory reminder, customer service message notification, progress notification, etc.)

Content authority specification – Address user authority issues

Baidu algorithm dislikes sites that use forceful ways to ask users to perform certain actions. For example, download apps to watch videos, log in/register to view pictures, or other requirements containing forceful action.

Site Security

If they catch sites cheating hyperlinks and faking visit rates by refreshing and clicking, the site will be penalised and terminated. Therefore, marketers should prevent using Black hat SEO tactics to rank sites and be aware of hacking because it will put the sites at risk of termination.

One of the hacked site examples:

Back hijacking: The following situation happens when users click the back button.

1. Unable to back, no response when clicking the back button, the content did not change.
2. Back to a “Fake Baidu page,” the search results appear to be overwhelming.
3. Back to spam web pages that the user has not visited before.

If the site appears to have such problems, the Fiberhome’s algorithm would discover the problem and inform users and owners through on-site notice and other methods. Owners will receive information about the deadline for rectification. They will lift the restriction on the search display after you rectify the issue. The observation period is one month.

If they find the same issue a second time, Baidu will restrict the search results display and notify the site simultaneously, and the observation period is three months.

If they find a hacking problem a third time, Baidu will terminate the site permanently.

How to prevent hacking

Having protected sites is essential to be ranked on Baidu, and most importantly, to prevent any information from being stolen and misused.

1. Frequent update of Content Management System (CMS)
2. Perform regular security protection process on the server
3. Do not use the default robots file of open-source programs
4. Make sure sites have an HTTPS certificate

SEO Tactics

Content freshness

Content freshness is important on Baidu SEO, and many sites found rank dropping when they did not publish new content enough. The ideal content publishing period should be about one piece of content/month to signal the system that the site is still active.

Optimised for Baidu property

The Baidu SERPs are more in favour of their own properties. You can often see that most of the SERPs results are owned by Baidu because Baidu was investing their own information since only a few users generated information. Therefore, marketers should use Baidu platforms to optimise for better ranking.

Baidu News

Baidu News is a news platform that sources news from publication sites. Publishers that wanted Baidu to source from their sites must have proper licencing as a news publisher. However, due to government regulation, having an official news publishing licence is hard to obtain.

Baidu Maps

It is like Google Maps, where businesses can use this platform to optimise for local SEO by simply listing business information, and users can easily get the navigation they search for.

Baidu Image

Ensure the image you used on your page has included proper tags because Baidu Image is not that advanced like Google image that uses AI to learn about Images. So, always tag and provide information about the picture to be ranked.

Baidu Tieba

It is a community-based network or a forum that allows users to start and discuss any topic in any niche. It integrates with its search engine that helps users find information from the discussed forum.

Baidu Wenku

It is more like a Google article or slide share, and it is for users seeking validated, long-form, and reliable information. Marketers that leverage this platform by publishing articles will help B2B businesses.

Baidu Baike

It is the Wikipedia of Baidu. It works as Wikipedia does, which shows authoritative sources of information controlled by the public. However, Baidu Baike allows brands to pay to increase their control on the information.

Baidu Zhidao

Like Quora or Yahoo Answers. People can ask any question, enabling users to connect with others and use the content for answering search queries.

Hosting and localising

The algorithms are favourite sites located in China. China has strict censorship on the internet, called the Great Firewall of China. Using Local Content Delivery Network (CDN), local server, and local domain (.CN) is advantageous to rank your site on Baidu. However, it also means that site owners should obtain ICP licences for personal and business to achieve those requirements.

In fact, it is not easy to get those licences as foreign companies, so considering licencing a business in China or work with a local SEO agency would be a choice. If you need help, speak to our Enlybee team.

Linking with blocked sites in China

Many foreign brands are still linking their Chinese sites to their “Western” social media accounts. Baidu will detect if the site links with blocked sites in China like Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. As a result, the sites cannot rank because of the censorship regulation.

Chinese content, URL in Pin Yin

Sites will be ranked better in Baidu when the content is written in Chinese since most of the population speaks Chinese as their native language and tend to search more in Chinese keywords.

Duplicate content

Duplicated content is prohibited by many search engines, which also include Baidu. Baidu has lesser tolerance to sites that copy content compared to Google. They will terminate sites if there is a serious amount of copied or duplicated content.

Tags (Meta, Tittle, Alt)

Baidu is not as advance as Google, and it still requires users to provide certain data for the algorithm to identify specific information. Therefore, tags like Meta tag, Tittle tag, and Alt tag for content are necessary.

JavaScript /AJAX

Baidu has a weakness when it comes to reading JavaScript or AJAX. So, ensure the sites are not included in these two types of coding to be ranked.

Link Building

Baidu SEO is still relying on Link Building. However, it does not mean that shoving links on a site or buying links will help with ranking. The algorithm will detect illegal behaviours and penalise the sites.

Conclusion

Understanding the Search Engine Algorithm is the rule of the game. At the end of the day, playing is the most important part of winning any game.

Marketers should also invest in understanding the local marketing culture to achieve the best result on Baidu SEO. Therefore, being persistent in learning is necessary.

To prepare further for your Baidu SEO skills, this Baidu SEO Guide will help your journey.

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