Master Baidu SEO for Effective Market Entry | What Marketers Must Know in 2024

For global companies aiming to grow their business in China, getting their website to rank well in search results (SEO) is crucial. However, the SEO strategies that work on Google don’t always work on Baidu. As the most popular search engine in China, with over 70% of the market, Baidu has its own unique ways of ranking websites and its own set of rules.   

While Baidu and Google both care about things like how relevant your website is to what people are searching for, how well it works on mobile phones, and whether it gives users a good experience, there are important differences. Because of these differences, you need a specific plan for SEO in China. This discussion will highlight these key differences as they stand in 2024 and offer advice on how to effectively make your website visible in China’s digital space.   

Shared SEO Foundations: Where Baidu Mirrors Google

Content Relevance Is Still King – Both Google and Baidu prioritise content that is relevant, complete and aligned with user intent. Baidu’s white paper on page quality explicitly highlights that addressing user needs remains its primary ranking factor. Pages that offer cohesive, useful and original content perform better across both platforms. Baidu also values content that displays integrity, strong layout and clarity. Visual organisation and design aesthetics—such as clear navigation and scannable formatting—factor into its quality assessment. Additionally, trust signals such as cited sources and brand authority influence visibility. Baidu has reiterated its commitment to content quality over several updates. Its latest guidance provides detailed insights into what constitutes valuable content, making it imperative for marketers to produce purposeful, audience-centric material.

Website Speed: Still Important, But With a Chinese Twist – How fast your website loads is a ranking factor for both Google and Baidu. However, China’s internet setup, with its “Great Firewall,” creates some unique challenges. Websites hosted outside of China can experience delays for users within the country. This gives websites hosted inside China a big advantage when it comes to loading speed and how easily people can access them. Baidu even has a special system called the “Lightning Algorithm,” which started in 2017. This system gives a ranking boost to mobile pages that load in under two seconds. On the flip side, websites that are slow to load – especially if they take three seconds or more – will be pushed down in the search results. To get the best results on Baidu, businesses should really think about hosting their website on servers in China or using Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) that have infrastructure within mainland China.

Backlinks Are Still Important – Getting other websites to link to yours is still a key part of SEO for both Baidu and Google. However, Baidu pays even more attention to backlinks that come from Chinese-language websites, especially those that are hosted within mainland China. Baidu’s own SEO Guide 2.0 says that backlinks are a strong sign of how good a website is. They like to see a variety of links from credible sources that are relevant to your website’s topic. While trying to trick the system with low-quality or fake links can get you penalized, getting natural links from trustworthy Chinese websites can really boost your visibility in Baidu’s search resu

User Experience as a Core Ranking Driver

Just like Google, Baidu believes that how people experience your website is incredibly important – it’s not just a side issue anymore, it’s a basic requirement. Baidu looks at several things related to user experience (UX), including:

• Pages that load quickly – Nobody likes waiting for a website to load.

• A design that makes sense and is easy to use – People should be able to find what they’re looking for without getting confused.

• Website layouts that work well on mobile phones – With so many people using their phones, your site needs to look and function perfectly on them.
• Content that is clear, relevant, and keeps people interested – What you say needs to be easy to understand, related to what users are looking for, and engaging enough to hold their attention.

Websites that make it easy for people to find information quickly and have a smooth, straightforward interface tend to get better visibility in Baidu’s search results.

Machine Learning and Personalised Search

Both engines increasingly use machine learning to interpret search intent and surface personalised results. Baidu incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) across multiple layers: search rankings, multimedia content analysis, voice recognition and spam filtering.

Its algorithms now better recognise nuanced queries, allowing marketers to shift from keyword stuffing to producing high-quality, intent-driven material.

Key Differences That Distinguish Baidu from Google

Content Language is Paramount in Chinese – Unlike Google’s diverse language environment, Baidu’s ranking system is specifically designed for Simplified Chinese. Content in other languages typically doesn’t perform well, especially if it doesn’t resonate culturally with Chinese users.   

SEO strategies for Baidu need more than just translation; they require localization. This means adapting the content to match how Chinese users behave online, using common Chinese phrases, understanding local regulations, and respecting cultural norms. If you don’t localize your content properly, you’ll likely miss out on engaging with your target audience.   

Indexing Speed is Slower and Less Predictable – While Google often updates its search results very quickly, sometimes within hours or days, Baidu usually takes much longer to index new or updated content. How often Baidu indexes a site depends on how authoritative the site is and how often it’s updated – it could be anywhere from daily to weekly. New websites often go through a “sandbox” period of about three months, where their visibility is limited while Baidu assesses how trustworthy they are.   

Meta Keywords Still Have Some Importance – Baidu is one of the few major search engines that still considers meta keywords when ranking websites. While they aren’t as important as the content on your pages, leaving them out can still hurt your overall performance on Baidu.   

When using meta keywords, it’s important to make them sound natural and relevant to your content. Avoid just listing a bunch of keywords or repeating them. Overdoing it can actually trigger filters in Baidu and reduce how visible your site is.

Hosting in China and ICP Certification Boost Trust – To do well on Baidu, it’s best if your website is hosted on servers located in mainland China. Baidu also gives preference to websites that have an ICP (Internet Content Provider) license, which is a legal requirement for operating a website in China.

Hosting locally can make your site load faster for Chinese users and helps Baidu index it more easily. Also, having a domain name signals to Baidu and Chinese users that your website is relevant and trustworthy for the Chinese market.

Strict Content Censorship is Enforced – Baidu operates under very strict rules about what content it allows. It checks to make sure everything it indexes is legal, appropriate, and clear. Political commentary, misleading claims, medical information that hasn’t been verified, and anything considered culturally sensitive are often censored or removed.

Content goes through several checks, including looking at the industry, the account, technical aspects, and real-time monitoring. If your SEO practices don’t comply with these rules, your website could be removed from Baidu’s search results.   

Different Rules for Sitemaps and Technical Setup – Baidu doesn’t handle sitemap index files the same way Google does. Instead, you need to submit each sitemap file individually, and it follows a specific format that’s different from Google’s.   

To help Baidu find and understand your website effectively, you need to create a sitemap specifically for Baidu and submit it directly through Baidu Webmaster Tools.   

Exact Match Keywords and Domain Age Matter More – While it’s not officially confirmed, it seems that Baidu’s algorithms pay more attention to exact match keywords than Google, which focuses more on the meaning behind the search query. Making sure your content includes all the words someone is likely to search for can help your site be found.   

Also, Baidu seems to favor older websites. Domains that have been around longer and have a history of credibility are more likely to rank higher than newer websites that haven’t been proven yet. If you transfer an old domain to a new website, the new site also inherits the domain’s history, both good and bad.   

Less Advanced Webmaster Tools – Compared to Google Search Console, Baidu Webmaster Tools has a simpler interface and offers fewer detailed insights. Features like real-time keyword rankings, tips for improving click-through rates, and advanced analytics aren’t as developed as in Google’s tool.

However, Baidu Webmaster Tools is still essential for submitting your sitemap, checking for crawling problems, and asking Baidu to index your site. So, it’s a crucial platform for anyone doing SEO specifically for Baidu.   

Rich Snippets Are Limited and Selective – Baidu does show enriched search results like images, pricing, and user ratings, but it doesn’t use Schema.org markup like Google. Instead, it has its own custom formats that are only available to certain websites.   

This means that newer or smaller businesses usually don’t have access to these rich snippets. Brands that have been visible on Baidu for a long time and have partnerships with Baidu are more likely to get these special display features.

Crafting a Baidu-Optimised SEO Strategy in 2024

While SEO fundamentals remain relevant across both Google and Baidu, executing an effective Baidu strategy demands careful adaptation. From language and hosting to technical structure and user behaviour, Baidu functions within a unique ecosystem shaped by national infrastructure and cultural context.

Marketers must localise content, ensure regulatory compliance, prioritise mobile design, and develop trust signals aligned with Chinese standards. Baidu is evolving rapidly, its algorithms are increasingly intelligent, but also uniquely local.

Understanding these differences is essential. Businesses that treat Baidu SEO as a parallel to Google without considering its unique features will struggle to compete. Success lies in respecting the platform’s structure, embracing local hosting, and speaking directly to the Chinese audience with precision, cultural fluency and high-value content.