What is Baidu?

Baidu is the largest search engine in China. Baidu was established in 2000 by Robin Li. It is one of the largest internet companies in the world. Baidu dominates the search engine market in China. By April 2017, Baidu held a 76.05% market share in China’s search engines market. It is the first choice of search engine marketing in China. Baidu search engine marketing is a result-driven marketing channel, as the Chinese users are proactive to look for solutions/information on Baidu.

How to create Baidu PPC account?

We have been asked by many Western companies the same question: how to create Baidu PPC account? It is not like Google that you can easily set up an account on your own. In China, things are more complicated than the Western. To set up Baidu PPC account, you will require to submit your legal documents, also it could take weeks to go through the process.

What is the process to create Baidu PPC account?

1. Initial approval of your website:

In order to promote your products and services on Baidu PPC, Baidu will first need to initial approve your company as some industries are not permitted to be advertised on Baidu, such as gambling, adult material and tobacco products for example.

We will sumbit your registered company name and the website which you plan to promote to Baidu. The registered company name must be the same as on the website or documented on an About Us or similar page. Baidu will review the website and inform you if you have qualified to account a Baidu PPC account.

2. Submit required documents:
After initial approval by Baidu, we will help you to submit the required documents to Baidu.

• A scanned copy of certificate of incorporation issued by government
• A link to a valid government website where the company information can be viewed
• One of the following finance documents (the full company name is required to be presented on the document)
  a. Bank statement; b. Cheque; c. Tax payment
• Any other documents if required, especially for highly restricted industries, like finance, healthcare, airline.

Once the required documents are finally approved by Baidu,  you are one step closer to open your Baidu PPC account.

3. Make an initial payment:

Baidu requires an initial payment to set up a PPC account, which can then be used for your campaigns. The initial payment might change depending on the regions and countries. An annual fee will be charged depending on regions. Please note: it takes time to complete the international transfer.

4. Receive login details:

The login details of your Baidu PPC account will be provided to you once the Baidu PPC advertising fee arrives to your Baidu account. You will own your account.

5. Get ready to launch your Baidu PPC advertising campaign:

You can set up your account structure, such as campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ad copies. Also, you can implement the Baidu Tongji (Baidu Analytics) code on your Chinese website to track the data and set up conversion tracking. Though Baidu PPC account and Baidu Analytics are only available in Chinese.

Usually, advertisers do not need a .cn domain, or a Chinese ICP licence.

It takes around 4 weeks to set up a Baidu PPC account.

Currently Baidu PPC account admin system is only available in Chinese.

Why does Baidu place strict qualifications on advertisers?
Because Baidu have previously been fined for the advertising of illegal business such as fake medicines, therefore Baidu places great importance on the approval of a company and website prior to the running of any PPC account.

If you don’t have an expert to run your Baidu PPC campaign on your own, we are happy to help. Why not contact us today for a chat?