Baidu SEO Breakdown: Ranking Factors of the Chinese Search Engine Titan

There’s been a plethora of studies exploring Google’s ranking factors, conducted by various entities including ourselves. However, a detailed and systematic examination of the organic ranking factors specific to Baidu, China’s leading search engine, has been notably absent until this point.

For Baidu SEO, (western) SEOs often default to strategies proven effective on Google.

This approach isn’t entirely misguided, but it overlooks crucial aspects where Baidu diverges significantly from Google. These unique differences are what make this study, which I am pleased to provide for complimentary download, particularly intriguing and valuable.

Method of the Searchmetrics-Study

During the middle of 2020, I conducted a thorough analysis of the URLs and indexed snippets from the Top 10 pages in Baidu’s organic search results, focusing on approximately 50,000 Chinese search terms.

The criteria for choosing these terms included:

• Exclusively in Chinese (excluding numbers, Latin letters, Arabic, Japanese, or any other languages)
• Strictly Simplified Chinese (avoiding longer characters typical of Taiwanese or Hong Kong Chinese dialects)
• The length of keywords ranged from 2 to 8 characters.

Navigating Expert Opinions in Baidu SEO

In the field of Baidu SEO, there’s a plethora of conflicting views from experts, creating a dilemma for SEO professionals about whose advice to follow. A prime example of this is the debate over the impact of Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs).

Take Veronique Duong, a noted SEO specialist at Fabernovel and author of ‘Baidu SEO’ published 2017 by ISTE Ltd. (see: https://www.amazon.com/Baidu-SEO-Challenges-Intricacies-Marketing/dp/1786301113), who posits that owning a ccTLD is beneficial for ranking higher on Baidu. Similarly, Gary Stevens, a Front End Developer and the mind behind SEMRush’s Baidu SEO Guide, asserts, “Get a .cn or don’t bother. Baidu strongly prefers the .cn domain suffix (China’s country code) over .com for its search rankings.” (Source: https://www.semrush.com/blog/crash-course-chinese-seo-exit-google-enter-baidu/)

Contrastingly, Dragon Metrics argues that using a Chinese ccTLD might not significantly influence rankings – a stance I have verified through my research (see: https://www.dragonmetrics.com/technical-on-page-seo-guide-baidu/).

My own in-depth analysis in 2017 debunked this myth as well, and my recent studies reaffirm this conclusion: owning a .com.cn or .cn domain does not inherently boost rankings.

The data reveals that the generic .com TLD overwhelmingly dominates the domain extensions in Baidu’s SERPs, excluding the Baidu-owned sites which constitute about half of the Top 10 rankings. The full study offers more insights into Baidu’s dominance.

However, possessing a ccTLD isn’t a drawback either: about 9% of TLDs in Baidu’s Top 10 (excluding Baidu-owned sites) are Chinese ccTLDs like .cn, .com.cn, org.cn, and .net.cn.

It’s important to note that the data does not conclusively point to TLDs as definitive ranking signals in Baidu’s algorithm.

Dispelling the HTTPS vs. HTTP Misconception

The SEO community has been abuzz with the notion that switching a website to HTTPS is a significant ranking factor for Baidu, especially after Baidu hinted at considering it as a signal.

However, the findings of this study paint a different picture. Although over half of the Top 10 search results feature HTTPS URLs, there isn’t a definitive link proving that HTTPS is a critical ranking factor. The fact that an equal proportion of top-ranking URLs do not use HTTPS suggests that not adopting HTTPS isn’t a major setback for SEO efforts.

Nonetheless, I strongly recommend website owners targeting the Chinese market to adopt HTTPS encryption. This isn’t just a prudent security measure, but it could potentially influence rankings in the future. That said, it’s crucial to temper expectations and not anticipate a substantial boost in ranking solely from switching to HTTPS.

Unexpected Findings in Subdomain Strategies

The usage of subdomains in the study’s results was quite revealing. Major Chinese corporations are at the forefront of this strategy. They typically house their main operations under the www subdomain, while allocating distinct, individual subdomains for various sections of their site – such as Customer Support, FAQs, User Forums, Help Forums, Picture Galleries, Video Portals, Wikis, and more.

Interestingly, the study indicates a prevalent trend where pages ranked in the Top 10 are predominantly on the www-subdomain

While this might seem like a potential ranking factor at first glance, my analysis leads me to believe it’s more of a correlation rather than a definitive factor. This conclusion stems from the observation that numerous companies place their primary business offerings on the www domain.

Given Baidu’s preference for a distinct focus per website and subdomain, my recommendation is as follows: For businesses targeting the Chinese market with an independent domain, the primary business should ideally be on the www subdomain (for example, www.mychinesedomain.com). Additional aspects like blogs, forums, Q&A sections, etc., should be accommodated on separate sub-domains.

In cases where a sub-domain strategy is already employed for global reach, such as cn.mydomain.com, it’s advisable to structure the site to separate user intents, for instance, cn.mydomain.com/forum/. This approach helps in achieving a clear organizational distinction within the subdomain structure.

This topic can become somewhat philosophical, and perspectives may vary. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts in the comments below.

Key Observations on Content Composition in Top Websites

To those familiar with China’s digital environment, it might not be startling to learn that over 98% of highly-ranked pages predominantly use Simplified Chinese Characters.

Traditional Chinese Characters, more common in Hong Kong and Taiwan, seem to have a lesser impact on Baidu’s search rankings. The study suggests that an excessive use of Traditional Chinese Characters might actually hinder a page’s performance in Baidu searches.

Delving deeper, it’s observed that the composition of a typical page’s content is about 57% Chinese Characters. The rest comprises Latin letters, numbers, punctuation, and spaces. Interestingly, these pages typically rank for search queries composed entirely of Chinese characters.

Moreover, it’s not just the linguistic elements that play a role. The presence of images in the content of top-ranking Chinese websites also seems to have a positive correlation with their rankings. For a deeper understanding of how images may influence search rankings, I recommend downloading the Baidu Ranking Factors Correlation Study.

Index Snippets Explained

In the provided visual representation, the small squares symbolize Chinese characters.

The title shown in the SERP is capped at 32 characters. Nonetheless, the data reveals that most websites typically use titles that are only 22 to 23 characters long (illustrated by the blue squares), not fully utilizing the available character limit (the unused portion shown as grey squares).

Regarding the meta description, up to 75 characters are displayed in the SERP snippet (depicted by the dark grey squares). Intriguingly, the meta descriptions in the source code tend to be significantly longer, often averaging much beyond the displayed limit (this excess length is shown as red squares in the image).

This analysis indicates a common trend: while titles generally remain shorter than the maximum allowed length, meta descriptions are crafted to be roughly 23 characters longer than what appears in the snippet.

For pages that rank within the Top 10, the average title tag length clocks in at 22.55 characters, and the average meta description is around 98.18 characters.

Your Complimentary Copy of the Study Awaits

We extend a cordial invitation for you to download our comprehensive study at no cost. This detailed research offers a wealth of information, providing valuable insights and practical guidance to enhance your website’s performance on Baidu.

Additional Fascinating Discoveries in the Study

By downloading the study from myself and Searchmetrics, you’ll gain access to an array of intriguing findings, such as:

• A striking 99% of the Top 10 Ranked Pages feature references to a Chinese social media channel.
• The average length of content on these Top 10 Ranked Pages is 3,194 characters, with the highest-ranking pages typically having the most extensive content.
• On average, these pages include 28 images, and 60% of these images incorporate the alt attribute for better SEO.
• About 17.6% of these pages effectively use an average of 8 tables in their layout.
• A notable 88.7% of the pages employ, on average, 10 unsorted lists, while a smaller percentage (7.9%) uses an average of 2 ordered lists.

This study is not only an informative resource but also a tool to empower you with the knowledge to make impactful changes for a stronger presence on Baidu.

We extend a cordial invitation for you to download our comprehensive study at no cost. This detailed research offers a wealth of information, providing valuable insights and practical guidance to enhance your website’s performance on Baidu.

Additional Fascinating Discoveries in the Study

By downloading the study, you’ll gain access to an array of intriguing findings, such as:

• A striking 99% of the Top 10 Ranked Pages feature references to a Chinese social media channel.
• The average length of content on these Top 10 Ranked Pages is 3,194 characters, with the highest-ranking pages typically having the most extensive content.
• On average, these pages include 28 images, and 60% of these images incorporate the alt attribute for better SEO.
• About 17.6% of these pages effectively use an average of 8 tables in their layout.
• A notable 88.7% of the pages employ, on average, 10 unsorted lists, while a smaller percentage (7.9%) uses an average of 2 ordered lists.

This study is not only an informative resource but also a tool to empower you with the knowledge to make impactful changes for a stronger presence on Baidu.

Looking to improve your rankings in Baidu and Google? Research your Competitors in China and internationally? Uncover Gaps in your SEO?