China is the only country that has developed its own internet technology and services rather than depending upon western products and services and being a huge market for both local and international business; it is flourishing. Baidu SEM is one such service that helps brands to grow in China despite of internet censorship, language barriers, and cultural differences. Given below are some of the factors that brands must know while expanding their business in China using Baidu.

Baidu is the Google of China

Baidu is the most popular search engine in China because of unavailability of Google there and therefore if a business in China follows the SEM practices of Baidu to maximum brand exposure.
Baidu uses a similar algorithm as the Google AdWords and therefore the international businesses having experience working with Google SEM find it little easy working on Baidu to improve brand’s visibility. Not just in China, Baidu is the world’s fifth largest search engine, and therefore a brand appearing on the top pages of the Baidu attracts huge traffic for the business.

Account registration

Internet in China is closely monitored and censored by the government; therefore account registration requires a list of documents. For international brands, they must have a hosting company in China for registration. The ‘About us’ and ‘Contact’ sections of the website must be in the Chinese language so that the audience must easily understand what a business is about and where to ask questions or concerns. Since all the registration documents are checked manually, it takes a little longer than normal to have account activation. But, once it is done, the business can enjoy maximum benefits using Baidu SEM.

Baidu’s share in the Chinese market

Baidu covers more than 70% of the total Chinese market which means, using Baidu a brand can reach the millions of online users in China and even worldwide. Chine is the fastest growing market, Baidu has grown faster than its close competitors and had consistently captured the market. There are more than 6 billion searches every day on Baidu, which makes it clear the amount of time internet users are spending on Baidu and what can be the benefits to a brand using it for marketing.

Advertising on Baidu

Advertisements are the most popular and best way of using Baidu SEM. China has a different format of showing ads online which are in the form of audios, videos, and animations having a link to the product with an introduction. In addition to this, the Chinese audience also makes it a little easier because of their positive attitude and response for online ads, unlike their western counterparts. They like online ads and so not mind checking out the product displayed in the advertisement. People in China even believe that if a business is not on Baidu, then it might not have a good range of products and services.

Keyword planning

Another important part of Baidu SEM is the keywords. Baidu offers information about what are the most common keywords used by the users, what is the volume of a particular keyword per day based on the past 30 days. This helps a business to develop a list of keywords that can help in diverting the traffic to their products and services. These keywords are used in developing the content of the ads and the website. Some SEM professionals suggest using the negative keywords to affect the search results and traffic. Keywords are then bid by the businesses for the keywords of their choice, which is often reconsidered and edited from time to time.

The cost of marketing on Baidu

Baidu also calculates the cost of marketing the way Google calculates it which is a cost per click. This again makes it easier for international businesses to understand it. Also, the cost of registering an account and then the cost of the campaign is comparatively lower than that on Google. Therefore, using Baidu for is not only convenient but also costs less.