How to optimize your website for Baidu
If you’ve never heard of Baidu, it’s time you not only discovered what it is, but also what it can do for your online business. Baidu is the leading search engine in China and the 5th in the world with 300 million visitors and 63% of market share. In fact, Baidu has twice the amount of market share in China than Google, and when Google announced it was thinking of leaving China back in 2010 Baidu’s stock went up by 50%. Internet marketing Los Angeles SEO firm ATAK Interactive shares some ways you can take advantage of China’s rapidly growing ecommerce market.
Things to Know About Baidu
First, unlike the search engines we are used to in the U.S. and most western countries, Baidu is heavily censored by the government. Facebook and Twitter are both also blocked by the government, so having your page optimized for these social media networks will not help you in the Chinese market. In a Google-like similarity, Baidu has various branches other than just a search engine that include News, MP3 search, anti-virus software, internet TV, and Baidu Space, which is a social networking site. It operates on a pay-for-placement model similar to Google AdWords.
How Can You Optimize Your Site For Baidu?
1. Create a Chinese domain. There are a few providers offering Chinese hosting, including sinohosting.net and en.hichina.com as the two most popular. Your page will only have a good chance of high rankings if it is hosted on a Chinese domain, so this first step is a must to achieve results.
2. Translate your pages into Chinese. As Baidu encourages international websites to compete within their search engine, it also provides a service of English-speaking individuals who can help translate your page and upload it onto the Chinese server. You can also hire an agency or Chinese freelancer to do the same; your best bet will be to compare the level of English-speaking capability to be able to communicate effectively during this process and also the experience level of the individual with Baidu specifically. Note that you should only use simplified Chinese.
3. Do your research. Just like any search engine, you need to optimize your page for certain keywords. Perform research on relevant Chinese keywords and be sure to have your translator effectively incorporate them into your content while keeping its quality. Baidu also offers a keyword tool to assist you.
4. Avoid Flash and Javascript. Just as the Google crawlers are not fans of Flash, Javascript and similar applications, Baidu’s crawlers will also give your page a lower ranking if it is filled with them. Especially for your page optimized for Baidu, stick to basic HTML so your keywords stand out more. This applies to the navigation on your site as well.
5. Bring back the metatags. Metatags may be a thing of the past for Google and Yahoo! but they are still very much in the present when it comes to Baidu. Be sure every one of your images has metatags with rich keywords in both the title and description.
6. Invest in Baidu Paid Search. Similar to Google AdWords, Paid Search operates on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis and generates far superior results than just keyword optimization. It is also said that Baidu rewards websites that invest in its search engine advertising by increasing their rankings, while doing the opposite for those who were paying for search and then stopped.
With 400 million internet users in China, it is a smart idea to get your ecommerce website ranked well in its number one search engine. Although it will require some investment unless you are familiar with Chinese, the ROI has proven to be well worth it, and keyword competition is at a much lower level than Google or Yahoo!. Search engine optimization Los Angeles leader ATAK Interactive helps your website to stay at the forefront of global internet marketing and to achieve the best results possible.
Author Details:
The author Josh Goodman shares his experience of working for Search Engine Optimization Los Angeles in this article. He talks about rise of Baidu search engine and how Internet Marketing Los Angeles firms have developed various ways and means to optimize the website for Baidu.
Things to Know About Baidu
First, unlike the search engines we are used to in the U.S. and most western countries, Baidu is heavily censored by the government. Facebook and Twitter are both also blocked by the government, so having your page optimized for these social media networks will not help you in the Chinese market. In a Google-like similarity, Baidu has various branches other than just a search engine that include News, MP3 search, anti-virus software, internet TV, and Baidu Space, which is a social networking site. It operates on a pay-for-placement model similar to Google AdWords.
How Can You Optimize Your Site For Baidu?
1. Create a Chinese domain. There are a few providers offering Chinese hosting, including sinohosting.net and en.hichina.com as the two most popular. Your page will only have a good chance of high rankings if it is hosted on a Chinese domain, so this first step is a must to achieve results.
2. Translate your pages into Chinese. As Baidu encourages international websites to compete within their search engine, it also provides a service of English-speaking individuals who can help translate your page and upload it onto the Chinese server. You can also hire an agency or Chinese freelancer to do the same; your best bet will be to compare the level of English-speaking capability to be able to communicate effectively during this process and also the experience level of the individual with Baidu specifically. Note that you should only use simplified Chinese.
3. Do your research. Just like any search engine, you need to optimize your page for certain keywords. Perform research on relevant Chinese keywords and be sure to have your translator effectively incorporate them into your content while keeping its quality. Baidu also offers a keyword tool to assist you.
4. Avoid Flash and Javascript. Just as the Google crawlers are not fans of Flash, Javascript and similar applications, Baidu’s crawlers will also give your page a lower ranking if it is filled with them. Especially for your page optimized for Baidu, stick to basic HTML so your keywords stand out more. This applies to the navigation on your site as well.
5. Bring back the metatags. Metatags may be a thing of the past for Google and Yahoo! but they are still very much in the present when it comes to Baidu. Be sure every one of your images has metatags with rich keywords in both the title and description.
6. Invest in Baidu Paid Search. Similar to Google AdWords, Paid Search operates on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis and generates far superior results than just keyword optimization. It is also said that Baidu rewards websites that invest in its search engine advertising by increasing their rankings, while doing the opposite for those who were paying for search and then stopped.
With 400 million internet users in China, it is a smart idea to get your ecommerce website ranked well in its number one search engine. Although it will require some investment unless you are familiar with Chinese, the ROI has proven to be well worth it, and keyword competition is at a much lower level than Google or Yahoo!. Search engine optimization Los Angeles leader ATAK Interactive helps your website to stay at the forefront of global internet marketing and to achieve the best results possible.
Author Details:
The author Josh Goodman shares his experience of working for Search Engine Optimization Los Angeles in this article. He talks about rise of Baidu search engine and how Internet Marketing Los Angeles firms have developed various ways and means to optimize the website for Baidu.