Baidu SEO best practices

THE BEST PRACTICES FOR OPTIMIZING A WEBSITE IN BAIDU

China, being one of the highly populated countries, has become a leading international

market many entrepreneurs covet to conquer. While the easiest way to build brand

authority within the Chinese digital market is through Search Engine Optimization,

using the guidelines you would usually use for Google would not make much of an

impact, because China’s number one search engine is not Google, but Baidu.

Baidu, which claims 70% share of the search engine market in China, was founded by

Robin Li and Eric Xu. Baidu’s main competitor in the market is Qihoo 360, although the

former still holds much influence over the Chinese digital market. Therefore, if you are

planning to promote your brand in China, you should focus your efforts on Baidu Search

Engine Optimization. However, you should keep in mind that Baidu SEO is much

different from Google SEO; for example Baidu prioritizes metadata when ranking a

website whereas Google do not give much priority to meta descriptions and title tags.

Likewise, Google tends to place much significance on the relevancy of inbound links

while Baidu consider both quantity and quality of inbound links.

In order to drive in a qualified Chinese web audience to your website, you need to lay

out a stable Baidu SEO strategy. The following SEO practices will help you achieve a

top rank on Baidu search engine result pages, hence a robust web presence in the

Chinese digital market.

Use local language

Most Chinese people do not speak English; therefore they feel more comfortable

conducting their search queries in Chinese, which is why Baidu tend to prioritize

websites which has content written in Chinese (most preferably in Mandarin). If you are

not thoroughly educated in Chinese language, then you should hire a translator who

should be a native speaker.

When it comes to translating, you should also pay attention to keywords; direct

translation of keywords that you use for Google will not have a great influence on the

Chinese market. It is essential to conduct research as to find which key terms the

Chinese people use on Baidu. Once you make a list of keywords, you can optimize the

content for Baidu search engine. Don’t forget to pay attention to the Chinese cultural

elements when you are planning your content strategy.

Avoid censored subjects

The Chinese government does not take a liking to sources which publish content related

to subject matters that have been censored. It is imperative that you avoid any element

(written content or images) that may directly affect the interests of the Chinese

government. Also you should be careful not to refer to any website or blog that may

have explicit content that have been censored by the government, in order to keep your

own website from losing a top rank on search engine result pages and from being

marked as a spam site.

Maintain a good link profile

The quantity and the quality of inbound links matter when it comes to link building in

Baidu. While many other search engines do not place much importance on the quantity

of backlinks, in Baidu, it is a major ranking factor. This trend could lead to black hat

SEO techniques such as buying off low-quality backlinks from spam sites; although it

may have some impact on the progress of your Baidu SEO strategy, the impact will not

always be a positive one. Hence, it is better to avoid such manipulative SEO methods

and adhere to the accepted ones.

The Quality of inbound links also does matter in Baidu SEO; with the growth and

improvement of Baidu, the importance of the quality of inbound links will increase

substantially. The quality of the backlinks you get for your website is associated with the

quality of your website and your brand; hence it is imperative to keep building on Baidu

SEO to gain a top rank on search engine result pages and to drive in qualified web

traffic that would convert to leads.

Pay attention to meta-tags

Unlike other western search engines, Baidu ranking algorithms place importance on the

metadata of your website. The title tags, meta descriptions, and Alt tags should not only

be relevant to the content of the web page, but they should also be optimized with the

proper keywords or key phrases.

Check the speed of the page

The loading speed of your web pages is a very important ranking factor in Baidu Search

Engine Optimization. In order to increase your page loading speed, you should remove

unnecessary coding, images that have not been properly formatted or that takes time to

load and have a local host. Faster loading speeds will not only get you a higher rank,

but it will also provide your visitors a user-friendly web experience.

Although some of the Baidu SEO practices seem similar to that of other western search

engines, most practices are exclusive and different; however with a proper Baidu SEO

strategy none of the practices will be difficult to master. Adhering to the above-

mentioned guidelines will not only get you a top rank on Baidu search result page, but it

will also help you establish your business and build a loyal customer base in China.

RELATED ITEMS:BAIDU SEO, BASIC SEO GUIDELINES, SEO