Baidu Pay Per Click Setup FAQ

Below are some of the most common questions I'm asked about Baidu advertising account setup. Note that some details may vary based on the reseller. Much of what I describe below is how we do things at Nanjing Marketing Group, and we work with several resellers.

What Does it Cost to Setup an Advertiser Account with Baidu?

1. Baidu requires an initial deposit of 5,000 Chinese Yuan. That's about 800 USD. This is used for account credit. If you're sending payment in a foreign currency, it's best to send a bit more due to bank fees and exchange rate losses, we usually recommend about 850 USD.
2. Baidu charges a setup fee of 1,200 Chinese Yuan. For people that are committed to setting up an account, Nanjing Marketing Group can often get that fee waived. If you work directly with a Baidu reseller, you should ask them if they can do it for a lower fee or no fee - some might accept.

What Paperwork is Involved?

Baidu requires a scanned copy of a business' Certificate of Incorporation or other proof of business. This must be translated into Chinese by a company authorized by Baidu. Nanjing Marketing Group will get it translated for clients, other companies may or may not provide this service.

For some industries, such as the healthcare industry, there may be a whole host of other legal paperwork involved.

Do I Need to Edit My Website?

Baidu will request some edits to your website.

1. There must be an About Us page, Contact Us page and page about the company's services or products.
2. The first sentence on the About Us page must contain the official company name used in the Certificate of Incorporation.
3. The Contact Us page must contain the company phone number and address, both of which must be for the country in which the business is located.
4. If the business does not have authorization to advertise for a certain industry, the page must not contain words related to that industry.

We sometimes receive additional requirements from Baidu.

How Long Does it Take to Setup an Account?

In our experience, it usually takes 2 weeks. Theoretically, with Nanjing Marketing Group, it's possible to do it in 1 day, but only if we are able to receive all the documents early in the day, if we're working with one of the resellers with better service and we receive payment from the client via an instant payment method such as PayPal. In reality, if you want to rush it, it would be possible to setup an account in 2-4 days.

Do I Need a Chinese-language Website?

Yes! Baidu requires that the website has some Chinese on it. Besides that, we wouldn't recommend spending money on Baidu unless the website is in Chinese. Even for services like high-end English-language editing or University-level education in Western countries, we still always recommend the website, or at least some landing pages, are in Chinese.

Can I Advertise for English-language Keywords?

You are allowed to. However, search volumes for keywords that are not in Chinese are typically so low that it would be a waste of time and effort to advertise on Baidu. In some cases we will use some English-language keywords, but we never run campaigns that only target English keywords.

Is Baidu Advertising Useful to Target Chinese Speakers in My Home Country?

Probably not. Baidu usage outside of China isn't huge. Plus, Baidu does not allow for targeting of specific countries outside of China, except for Japan. I covered this in more detail in a recent post.

Do I Need a Website Hosted in China?

No, if your website is consistently accessible and fast-loading within China, that is all you need. The only reason you should consider hosting in China is to increase performance. Hosting is usually quite low on our list of priorities.

What's a Baidu 'Reseller'?

Baidu uses a network of resellers (agents) that help setup accounts. These resellers work on a commission basis. In some cases, resellers are also marketing agencies and in some cases they claim to be marketing agencies but provide such a low level of service that they wouldn't be recognizable as marketing agencies to people that are accustomed to professional Western-style marketing agencies.

What Payment Methods Does Baidu Accept?

Baidu resellers usually only accept payment via wire transfer. Plus, usually only in Chinese Yuan, not foreign currency. At Nanjing Marketing Group, we can accept payment via several methods, including PayPal, cheque, wire transfer to our Canadian or Chinese bank account. Of course, clients of ours may also pay the Baidu reseller directly via wire transfer.

Any more questions about the Baidu account setup procedure?
 
 

About the author

Tait Lawton is an online marketer focused on the Chinese market. He is the founder of Nanjing Marketing Group, a company that provides Chinese-language Internet marketing services to Western clients. Tait has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of Alberta.
 
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