Baidu is the most popular search engine in China. For this reason, utilizing Baidu SEM (search engine marketing) is imperative for businesses operating in China. The other search engines; popular elsewhere in the world, do not have a proper presence (some not at all) in China. In any case, with millions of Chinese searching for products and services through Baidu; businesses cannot afford it ignore it.

Here’s how to get a good page ranking on Baidu.

The Right Keywords

For Baidu SEM, it is best to use tools that can help you find the keywords relevant for the Chinese market. It is best to use Baidu’s own tools for keyword research and analysis as others won’t produce the optimal results.

You can use Baidu Webmaster Tools for keyword-related data. You can also use Baidu Keyword Planner and Baidu Index to research and organize the keywords for your business. Baidu Data Research is ideal to know more about consumer insights and search-related behavior. Baidu Popular Search Engine Ranking can provide you information on rankings of searches by popularity.

Relevant Content

With the help of the keywords, you can begin to create relevant content that will show good results for Baidu SEM. It is also important to regularly update the website content for good Baidu ranking. Be careful with content placement. Placing more important content right at the top of your website pages is more likely to get better search ranking on Baidu.

It is also important to use keywords in the content in a natural manner and not simply fill the pages with them. Baidu algorithms also keep updating like other search engines elsewhere in the world. It now favors keyword placements done in a natural manner for both meta descriptions and web pages.

External Links

Baidu also considers the quality and relevant external links for its search rankings. So, to get better results from Baidu SEM, it is important to get external links from locally-hosted websites and with a .cn domain name. You can get other useful links as well (such as from international websites) without these two criteria. But Baidu prefers links from locally-hosted websites.

Local Hosting of Websites

You can register your business in China in order to host the website locally. Locally-hosted websites get better ranked on Baidu mainly due to two reasons.

If your website is hosted on a local Chinese server, it will reduce its bounce rate. It will also result in lowering its load time. Both of these factors affect how a website gets ranked on Baidu. You can host your website by acquiring the right license for it.

Verification

You can get your website verified to get better search ranking on Baidu. Chinese consumers are more likely to click on websites with verification levels (V1, V2, or V3).

You will need to provide Baidu with details about your business and website in order to purchase a verification level. It is possible to purchase only V1 and V2 levels. V3 is on the merit-only basis and possible to achieve only after a website has V2.

The verification levels prove a business’s worthiness to consumers. It also helps with better search rankings. You also need to pay a fee to Baidu for V1 and V2 levels; the former being less expensive than the latter. The verification levels also show on organic search results.

Chinese Domain Name

For better Baidu search ranking, it is a good idea to purchase a Chinese (.cn) domain name. Websites with .cn names get priority on Baidu for search rankings as the Chinese users prefer to click on .cn domain names more than others – something to do with them trusting local brands more.

Mobile-Friendly Website Design

Mobile-friendly websites get better rankings on every search engine in the world. The same is true for Baidu as well. With more and more people searching online through their mobile devices, search engines give preference to website designs optimized for such use. It can be a significant factor for getting good Baidu search ranking.

Baidu SEM is important for business success in China. You can hire a professional search engine marketing agency in China to get optimal results for Baidu SEM efforts.