I spent five years working in China, which was then followed by a good chunk of my SEO career back home helping Western brands tap into the Chinese search market and wider digital ecosystem.
With Google blocked in China since 2010, this leaves a unique challenge for SEO practitioners and brands wanting to take advantage of the huge organic opportunity in the region.
Chinese SEO, namely Baidu SEO, does have some similarities to Google in terms of ranking algorithms and SEO best practice. Aside from the obvious requisite of using Simplified Chinese content however, there are some key differences in ranking factors and technical SEO. This comes coupled with the challenge of a unique native toolset as well as the nuances of the Baidu product itself. Find out more about this on my China SEO Guides page.
How I Can Help
A fluent Chinese speaker who has held a number of China SEO-focused roles, I offer services on:
Chinese Hosting & ICP Licencing
Hosting a site in Mainland China is highly recommended for visibility on Baidu. This will help with the Great Firewall and site speed. For this, you’ll need an ICP Licence, a government requisite for Chinese hosting. Obtaining these is complicated, however I can guide you through the process to ensure necessary licensing and verification.
Baidu Webmaster Tools Setup
Baidu Webmaster Tools one of several Chinese language-only SEO tools. It’s similar to Google Search Console, but is exclusively for Baidu. I can assist with setup of your site on Baidu which allows management of indexation, crawling, link spam, robots.txt creation, and understanding of how Baidu interacts with your site.
Chinese Keyword Research
Chinese keyword research is vital in understanding your market and content direction. Tools like Google Keyword Planner won’t provide accurate data for China. My expertise with Chinese keyword tools like Baidu Index (百度指数) and Baidu Keyword Planner (关键词工具) will inform your content and on-page SEO to bring users and conversions to your site.
Baidu Technical SEO Audits
Baidu spider differs in its coverage and understanding of websites compared to Googlebot. It’s vital that areas such as site architecture, internal linking structure and site speed are aligned with this. I can provide a Baidu-focused technical SEO audit covering key elements required to rank on Baidu as well as an ongoing technical consultation service.
Baidu Analytics
Baidu’s native analytics platform, Baidu Tongji (百度统计), provides data on a rich array of metrics and allows you to customise detailed analytics reports. The only reliable source of web analytics data for the Chinese market, Tongji is only available in Simplified Chinese. My experience with Tongji has seen me consult with leading Western brands on their China analytics and SEO strategy.
Brand & Content Consulting
With a rapidly evolving digital culture, China offers a unique challenge for brands to get their image, tone and identity right in way that connects with Chinese consumers. Outside of SEO for China, I have worked with major Western brands on their Chinese brand identity and content campaigns. This has extended to social content on WeChat and Weibo as well as digital advertising.
China SEO Experience Snapshot
- Full Chinese keyword research and competitor analysis to inform Baidu content strategy
- Accompanying technical SEO audit of existing CN site
- Promotion and branding of Autodesk across key Baidu products to drive additional traffic
- Technical SEO audit of Chinese site
- On-page optimisation of key SEO elements across site to improve keyword ranking
- Successful Baidu PPC campaign around key London Fashion Week collection release
- Growth of brand fan following and sales through accompanying WeChat and Weibo account management
- Chinese keyword research project and on-page SEO recommendations to improve keyword rankings on Baidu
- Chinese localisation of selected big content pieces and subsequent outreach and link placement on major 3rd party media publications