Baidu

Baidu is one of the leading search engines in China and is often referred to as the "Chinese Google". Compared to Google, Yandex and Bing, Baidu has some unique features and requirements for website owners and SEO experts.

The way it works compared to other search engines is as follows:

• Crawling: Baidu crawls websites similar to other search engines, but es it is important that the website is hosted in China or has an ICP (Internet Content Provider) license.
• Rendering: Baidu has specific requirements for rendering JavaScript content. Mobile optimization is of great importance.
• Indexing: Baidu prefers Chinese content and recognizes traditional Chinese characters. The loading times of the website are also important.
• Playing out search results: Baidu SERPs often show more organic results on the first page compared to Google, focusing on advertising and featured snippets.

SEO rules for Baidu and requirements in Asia

• Chinese content is critical. All content for websites must be carefully translated and transcribed into traditional characters. Brand names and product names can be published in the original.

Baidu is not the only search engine used in the PRC. Countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan also use the Chinese written language. However, es has different versions of these languages. In the People's Republic of China Mandarin and Simplified Chinese Characters are read, in Hong Kong Cantonese and Simplified Chinese Characters, in Taiwan Mandarin and Traditional Chinese Characters, and in Singapore English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and Simplified Chinese Characters. When SEO localizing a website for the Asian region, these peculiarities must be taken into account. The hreflang tag can control the display of content for the respective language area.

• Hosting in China or an ICP license is important for visibility.
• Mobile optimization is essential, because very many users use mobile devices.

Load times and mobile friendliness can of course be checked with Pagespeed Insights. If es should be more specific, then Chinafy offers a good overview.

• Content quality and load times are key factors.

It should be noted that foreign content must first pass through the "Great Chinese Firewall". Any content that is accessed from foreign servers by Baidu is subjected to a check for unwanted content. Therefore, the loading time of the websites is delayed accordingly. To circumvent this hurdle, hosting in the country and an ICP license (Internet Content Provider license) are recommended.

• Backlinks are important, but they should come from reputable sources.
• JavaScript: Baidu does not yet execute this format (as of 2021). All text content must therefore be available via the source code.

Significant differences to other search engines

Baidu prefers Chinese content and has special hosting and rendering requirements. Es is possible to search for MP3 files with the search engine.

Yandex focuses on Russian content and has similar requirements as Baidu for hosting and language.

Bing essentially follows Google's SEO best practices, but has its own algorithms and focus.

Google has a global presence and is less focused on language or region.

For companies that want to appear organically in search results in the Asian region, es it is crucial to understand the specific requirements of search engines such as Baidu and implement targeted SEO strategies. This enables better visibility and reach in this important region.

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