Although China represents a huge chunk of netizens (over 600 million users), the Chinese government is very strict when it comes to what content is shown to its people. They have stringent regulations and their ruthlessness is shown in partially or fully blocking popular websites like Google and Facebook in the past.
In spite of the absence of these American giants in the Chinese world, local websites have emerged, which perform the tasks of their American counterparts quite well. In this post, we look at the progress of one such website — Baidu.
Although the primary product of Baidu is the search engine, it also has services like Baidu Yun (cloud services), Baidu News, Baidu Dictionary and many more. Baidu’s advertisements are also similar to Google’s Adwords and AdSense. In this article, let’s focus on the search engine and how to give your site the best chance of appearing in Chinese search results.
Why Care about Baidu?
To understand the importance of Baidu, you should consider the market share of different search engines. As the January 2015 search engine market share results show, Google accounts for over two thirds of searches, but Baidu comes in second with 18.7%. Bing currently has 8.7% and Yahoo is close behind with 7.8%
Baidu boasts more than 60% of Chinese search traffic but it is also known to refer over a quarter of its traffic to its own properties.
Getting Ready for Baidu
If the primary audience of your website is English speaking then it’s not necessary or wise to implement any of the tips that I provide here. However, if you run a product line or service with a large portion of your audience being Chinese-speaking, you can’t ignore this huge potential market. Let’s have a look at what you can do to help your website attract more Baidu users.
Use Chinese Keywords in Meta Tags
Although Google does not use the “keywords” meta tag to rank search results, Baidu has no such policy. Therefore, you can add Chinese words to your meta description and meta keywords. I’m not saying that you’ll immediately shoot to the top of Baidu’s rankings but it looks like at this stage, it can’t hurt!
An easy approach to this would be to translate your existing keywords and make copies of them in Chinese. Naturally, this leads to redundancy and you would do this only if you cater to a Chinese audience.
Here is a look at the different types of meta tags and their usage.
Be careful with JavaScript and Flash
Although web crawlers do not have the ability to execute JavaScript, the Google crawler is smarter and sometimes tries to crawl pages that the JavaScript pages point to. However, the Baidu crawler absolutely has no way of interpreting your JavaScript. You should therefore have alternate text for anything that might be invisible to the crawler. You may also want to provide alternate non-JavaScript versions of webpages to point the crawlers to.
In addition to JavaScript, the Baidu crawler also has no way of detecting Flash content. If you can’t avoid Flash content, make sure you provide alternate text strings that describe the content and relevant meta tags.
Avoid sensitive content
The reason the American giants aren’t successful in China is because of the strong censorship by the Chinese government. Baidu adheres to those censorship policies. If you host content that the Chinese government thinks is not suitable for the Chinese public, your website will be taken off Baidu search results. You may refer to the list of blacklisted keywords in China to make sure you do not violate any terms.
Avoid duplicate content
By now you should know that every search engine hates duplicate content, Baidu is not different. Make sure you write a proper robots.txt to tell the crawler explicitly what to search for.
Get a Chinese domain
Baidu prefers sites hosted locally, so there is a higher preference to sites with the domain .cn or .com.cn. If you want significant traffic from China (this might be important for e-commerce sites for instance), it may be worth maintaining a Chinese version of your website with a .cn domain name to rank higher in Baidu.
Final Thoughts
Baidu has a huge market share and as a webmaster, you should be aware of its potential to drive Chinese traffic. If a large portion of your users or target market is Chinese and Baidu doesn’t index your website properly, you are missing out.
Frequently Asked Questions about Baidu
How does Baidu differ from Google in terms of search engine algorithms?
Baidu, often referred to as the “Chinese Google,” has a unique search engine algorithm that is specifically tailored to the Chinese market. Unlike Google, which prioritizes backlinks and domain authority, Baidu places a higher emphasis on the relevance of the content to the search query. It also prioritizes websites that are hosted in China and are in the Chinese language. This is because Baidu’s primary goal is to provide the most relevant and localized results to its users.
How can I optimize my website for Baidu?
Optimizing your website for Baidu involves several steps. First, ensure your website is in the Chinese language and is hosted in China. Baidu also prefers websites that load quickly, so optimizing your site’s speed is crucial. Additionally, Baidu values fresh and relevant content, so regularly updating your site with high-quality content can improve your ranking. Lastly, using meta tags and keywords strategically can also help your site rank higher on Baidu.
What is Baidu Webmaster Tools and how can I use it?
Baidu Webmaster Tools is a free service provided by Baidu that allows website owners to check their site’s indexing status and optimize their site’s visibility on the search engine. To use it, you need to first verify your site, then you can access various features such as search analytics, sitemap submission, and more. It’s a valuable tool for anyone looking to improve their site’s performance on Baidu.
How can I verify my site for Baidu Webmaster Tools?
Verifying your site for Baidu Webmaster Tools involves adding a meta tag to your site’s homepage or uploading a verification file to your site’s root directory. Once you’ve done this, you can submit your site for verification through the Baidu Webmaster Tools dashboard.
What is Baidu Yun Pan and how does it work?
Baidu Yun Pan, also known as Baidu Cloud, is a cloud storage service provided by Baidu. It allows users to store and share files online. To use Baidu Yun Pan, you need to create a Baidu account and download the Baidu Cloud app. Once you’ve done this, you can upload files to your Baidu Cloud and access them from anywhere.
How can I add my website to Baidu Webmaster Tools?
To add your website to Baidu Webmaster Tools, you first need to create a Baidu account. Once you’ve done this, you can log in to Baidu Webmaster Tools, click on ‘Add a Site’, enter your site’s URL, and follow the on-screen instructions to verify your site.
How does Baidu rank websites?
Baidu ranks websites based on several factors, including the relevance of the content to the search query, the site’s speed, the use of meta tags and keywords, and whether the site is hosted in China and is in the Chinese language. Baidu’s algorithm is designed to provide the most relevant and localized results to its users.
Can I use Baidu outside of China?
Yes, you can use Baidu outside of China. However, keep in mind that Baidu is primarily designed for the Chinese market, so the search results will be more relevant and localized to Chinese users.
How can I improve my site’s speed for Baidu?
Improving your site’s speed for Baidu involves optimizing your site’s design, reducing the size of your images, minimizing the use of JavaScript and CSS, and using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) that has servers in China. Baidu values sites that load quickly, so optimizing your site’s speed can improve your ranking on the search engine.
How often does Baidu update its search algorithm?
Baidu regularly updates its search algorithm to provide the most relevant and high-quality results to its users. However, the exact frequency of these updates is not publicly disclosed. It’s recommended to regularly check Baidu’s official announcements and SEO forums to stay updated on any changes.
Shaumik DaityariShaumik is a data analyst by day, and a comic book enthusiast by night (or maybe, he's Batman?) Shaumik has been writing tutorials and creating screencasts for over five years. When not working, he's busy automating mundane daily tasks through meticulously written scripts!
