Registering a PPC (Pay Per Click) account on Baidu, China’s leading search engine is almost impossible if your business isn’t in Mainland China. Suprisingly, several businesses have already entered Baidu and are thriving!
That’s why in this article, we’re going to show ways you can register a PPC account on the platform so you can start promoting your business in China by Baidu paid search advertising. However, before we jump deeply to Baidu paid search marketing, let’s first give a quick rundown on why it’s difficult to create a PPC account from overseas in the first place.
China is notoriously strict when it comes to their online Platforms. For example, creating a Douyin account to promote your business becomes a strenuous processes without help from advertising or social media companies based in China.
The same goes for Baidu. Furthermore, China made big changes to its paid advertising structure. As such, it becomes a more jarring task than creating Google Adwords accounts. Additionally, unlike Google, you can’t just create a Baidu account using an email address.
What Is an ICP License?
Another thing you need to have is an ICP Number or “Internet Content Provider”. This is a state-issued registration that provides you hosting capabilities and run a website from mainland China.
Everyone who operates an online store in China must have one. It's a requisite in China for a wide variety of websites.
Actually, it is mandatory for any and all sites hosted on a server located within mainland China to apply for and be granted this license before going online.
Baidu PPC Vs Google Adwords
If you’re in anywhere else in the world, you go with Google. However, if you want exposure to the large population of Chinese consumers, you go to Baidu.
According to the Search Engine Journal, 76.9% of internet users in China use Baidu. And, in China, there’s over 1 billion internet users.
So, with that said, let’s take a look at a realistic on what it takes to create an advertising account outside of China.
Steps For Creating Baidu Advertising Account Outside China
Prior to creating a PPC account, you need to meet several requirements. Once that’s settled you can start to collect the documents needed to begin the registration processes for overseas businesses.
Contact Regional Baidu Reseller
Baidu exclusively serves local businesses in Mainland China. As such, only resellers and divisions can set up new PPC accounts.
SODA Global Marketing is official Baidu Advertising Agent who can help overseas companies to open Baidu advertising account and manage PPC campaign, kindly check here for ore details.
Can You Register For Baidu Advertising Overseas?
Provide Company Name and Optimize Website For Chinese Audience
The Baidu reseller you contacted will ask for the URL of your business's website after you make contact with them. The first stage of confirmation has been reached.
Baidu will first check the legitimacy of your site and the legality of your business sector to determine whether or not you can purchase search advertising on their platform.
Search advertisements are prohibited on adult-oriented and gambling sites. Sometimes, additional certificates or licenses from Baidu are needed to operate in certain businesses, such as those dealing with money, medicine, drugs, and health care.
Submit Your Documents
After finishing the first part of the verification, your business will be asked to complete a list of legal documents that will be screened further.
These documents include the following:
Copy of Business Registration Certificate and the handwritten statement ‘文件与原文件一致’ (“it is same as the original”).
It should include the company name, office where it’s registered, and contact details .
Chinese Translation Of Business Registration Certifcate
Screenshot of Website’s Homepage (With URL)
Also include a handwritten statement ‘与网站一致’ (it is same as the website).
Why Does Baidu Need To Screen Your Website?
Further evaluation by Baidu is required to determine whether or not your website can be accessed, whether or not all of its features work as intended, whether or not your company's name, address, and contact information are included on the site, and whether or not the information on the site matches what is stated on your business registration certificate.
You may need to make certain changes to the site's content in order to satisfy Baidu's standards. For Instance, the company's full legal name, physical address, and phone number should all be listed on the About Us or Contact Us page.
Find Your Business In China’s Local Government Official Website
To prove that your business is registered with the proper authorities, you must conduct a search on their official website and submit a snapshot of the results page, which should clearly display the URL.
You need to write "it is identical as the website" (与网站一致) at the top of the page. If you require a translation into Chinese, you may simply print out a second copy of the same page with the Chinese phrases next to each English character.
Provide Your Businesses Bank Account Statement
You can present a check, bank statement, and bank payment order form in addition to bank account details for local tax payment. Please take note that you are only need to give ONE of the aforementioned.
Please supply the full details of the bank account, including the bank's name, the business account's name, the account number, the bank's branch name (if applicable), and the bank's address.
After submitting all the required documents, all you have to do is be patient and try to follow up on your appllication process. The process usually takes between 2 to 4 weeks until your Baidu PPC account is approved.
Also note that you need to ask for updates from your representatives so you can make sure that everything is going smoothly. Moreover, don’t stress if it takes a long time to finish. The guidelines are strict, but, if you submitted the right documents you shouldn’tworry.
Once you’ve received confirmation, all that’s left is to sign the contract. If you are partnering with an agency, the contract would depend on the reseller and the agency you work with.
Some contracts don’t have English translations so better prepare for translations while reviewing.
Why You'd Need a Baidu Marketing/SEO Agency
As mentioned above, there’s a strict process that you need to go through if you want to register on Baidu outside of China. As such, businesses contact agencies that can help them set-up a Baidu PPC account and connect them with the right resellers.
Meanwhile, all you have to do is to provide the righ documentation and let the agency to the heavylifting for you. That being said, Baidu is extremely different compared to google.
Search Engine Journal says Baidu accounts for 78.4% of the search traffic in China versus Google’s 1.9%. But, when it comes to the Chinese market, you need to focus on both the SEO aspect and the cultural aspect.
Hence, you would need the help of a good marketing agency that not only knows about Baidu SEO but how users engage with the internet.
Cost Of Advertising On Baidu (PPC)
Baidu, unlike Google, requires you to pay a down payment for PPC ads. Meanwhile, resellers in China can also require you to pay an annual service fee or account creation fee. According to Oxygen, here are the latest fees structures for Baidu:
Baidu Payment Structure
Working with a company such as SODA Digital Marketing, the payment structure would include the following:
Opening Verification 188 USD (One Time Fee)
Annual Maintaining Fee (248 USD)
With this, you don’t need a China entity license, a website ICP and application. Furthermore, SODA can handle all the processes needed for opening a Baidu PPC Ads account.
Meanwhile, Ads campaigns can cost 15% on commissions based on the deposit. This can include the following services:
Keyword research, analysis and recommendation for final list
Baidu statistics tool setting
Aifanfan-online chat and leads management
Campaign plan PPC or Display ads. Positioning
Landing page creation based on customer's image stock and content raw material
JiMuYu page building (10 pages are included for each client) Constant optimization for ads performance
Non-use clicks monitoring
Customized content planning for special marketing calendar
One&One Account Manager service
Regular execution report
Reasons To Advertise On Baidu
There are several benefits to advertising on Baiud especially if your target market is the Chinese population. In China, there are other players such as Haosou, Sogou, and Shenma. However, Baidu stands supreme as the primary search engine in Mainland, China.
Baidu as a platform not only offers PPC advertising. It also has the ability to utilize in-feeds and reate “Brand zones”. As such, an advertiser has a lot more methods to reach their target audience.
That said, here are some benefits of advertising on Baidu:
Benefits of Advertising on Baidu
More Features
Baidu offers a more comprehensive audience segmentation feature with recent revisions. Baidu released a drag-and-drop landing page builder and industry search insights. These new enhancements help you gain customer insights to improve your advertising.
Baidu PPC Offers The Best Platforms In China
Baidu PPC isn't as mature as Google Ads, but it's the best in China and growing fast.
In recent years, Chinese tech platforms have faked engagement metrics to meet shareholders' development demands.Many of these apps provide targeting options like Facebook for picking interests, jobs, and demographics, but they rarely work.
Baidu's targeting is based on search keywords. Better targeting and accuracy than other platforms (at least for the time being).
Lower CPC (Cost Per Cick) On Ads
Baidu's advertising expenses (particularly print, video, sponsored posts, and influencers) are much lower than in the West. Baidu offers a lower CPC than Google for similar search phrases (varies by keyword and industry).
Working mostly in B2B, we've discovered that popular search terms are 25-40% of the cost of specific keywords in Google.
Baidu requires an initial deposit of RMB 7,000 (USD 1042) from foreign companies NOT located in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore, the UK, or France.
A one-time service fee of RMB 1,000 and a yearly Company Authentication fee of RMB 600 are also required. Baidu advertising costs should be lower overall.
China has a High Income Audience
China's new wave of customers are spending. Here's an example. China's Singles Day is November 11. Last year's Singles Day sales topped $60 billion, or Costa Rica's GDP.
Low Risk, High Reward
While there are many promising investment avenues, Baidu's low entry barrier makes it possible to get started without taking on undue risk. With the right approach, the channel can generate a healthy return on investment.
Conclusion
When it comes to advertising in Baidu, the benefits definitely outweigh the risks. However, entry for overseas businesses can become tedious and stressful.
Luckily, SODA Global Marketing is here for your business! We handle everything from account creation to setting up landing pages and marketing campaigns for your brand or products! You can use our monthly operation solution to handle your all advertising work under one roof.
Contact us today and book a free meeting to learn more about how SODA can help you thrive in the competitive Chinese market through Brand Strategy, Content Marketing, Ecommerce, Advertising and as Social Media Marketing Agencie!