China, a country of over 1.4 billion people, is a market too big to be ignored by western businesses. However, to tap into the potential of the gigantic Chinese market, companies need to revise their strategy as per China’s digital marketing dynamics. The first thing to know is that Google does not exist in the country.
Given that Google acts as the biggest search engine tool worldwide with millions of businesses eager to reach their target market through the platform, its absence in China means that the medium to get through the potential audience is different and requires a different approach.
Baidu Search Engine Optimization
Baidu, China’s top-rated search engine, enjoys a 70 percent market share in the 800 million internet user community. Western businesses looking for an opportunity in this market have to rely on Baidu for reach and digital marketing. Baidu’s SEO works differently than Google, but with the help of Baidu SEO experts, your business can achieve a higher ranking website and trust among the users in an ideal time.
Chinese Domains
The internet in China is separated from the websites and social media platforms of the western world. Therefore, for a website to do well in China – or even appear in Baidu’s SERPs – it has to have a Chinese domain. If you are a foreign brand looking unable to reach a Chinese audience, you need to create a website with a .cn domain and ideally host it from China.
Local Language
One has to keep in mind that Baidu is looking forward to improving the user experience of Chinese users who are not interested in foreign languages or complexity. A simplified, standard Chinese language-based website is likely to appear higher on Baidu’s search results in contrast to a foreign language website that will be ranked too low to be noticed.
Backlinks or Black Hat SEO?
Like Google, Baidu has crawlers that comb through millions of websites present on its database to look for strong links (votes). A downside to Baidu is that, due to its comparatively low accuracy to Black Hat SEO practices (spamming, reciprocated link, etc.), websites with a higher ranking on Baidu are filled with poor-quality links. However, Baidu is working on its algorithms to fetch unnatural and bot-generated links to improve user experience.
Credible SEO agencies in China rely on the quality of backlinks by the natural placement of links on relevant websites. Although it’s a difficult job to do, it is essential to avoid blacklisting from Baidu.
Your Chinese SEO Experts
Do Matters is a leading Chinese digital marketing agency with a team of Baidu SEO experts. We offer a wide range of social media marketing strategies with a specialized approach to China’s online advertising. You can contact us today for a quote and let us help you in building a strong online presence in China.