INSIGHT
“Baidu’s banner advertising or Display
Network does have retargeting capabilities.”
of local content, and while the Chinese are
large consumers of online content and are
not wary of buying online, they do love to
check a larger number of media sources
before making a decision to buy.
And what works on Google won’t
necessarily cut it on Baidu. So, you will
need new keywords that are relevant to the
local market. The work you have done on
Google can certainly act as a benchmark
for your operations across Baidu, but don’t
be foolish enough to think you can simply
replicate everything you’ve ever done
outside of Asia as you enter China.
Baidu operates on a pre-paid basis,
which differs from Google. The product
also offers several different formats:
●●Content Network (display advertising)
●●Keywords/SMS – paid search
●●Brand Zone
Baidu will take you through the set-up
process step by step, and it’s is very similar
to Google Webmasters. Make sure your
structure, content and code is localised, and
understand that it’s all about engagement
and back-links. It’s not as sophisticated as
Google, and while it’s currently cheaper
to operate on Baidu, this is changing
as demand for its services continues to
increase. An average keyword bid on Baidu
is around $9 per click, depending on the
keywords you are pitching on.
Basically, the biggest opportunities for
affiliates and operators targeting China are
in paid media. There are high volumes of
potential customers that can be accessed
through untapped traffic sources as follows:
●●Lead generation websites
●●Baidu SEM and display advertising
46
iGB Affiliate Issue 52 AUG/SEP 2015
display advertising
pop and overlay advertising
●●RTB display advertising
●●Email marketing
●●Social media (Sponsored Influencers)
Email marketing can prove particularly
successful in China. If you get a high
quality list and can optimise it, you’ll have
access to quality customers who are highly
receptive to your communications.
Social media, in particular Facebook
equivalent Weibo, has something called
“sponsored influencers”, who you can pay
to promote your brand. These influencers
have established credibility in the online
community, and therefore a recommendation
or endorsement of your brand can pay
huge dividends in terms of building brand
awareness, and ultimately sales.
For example, a financial trader will
promote and distribute your financial
betting content. Readers will interpret this
as a stamp of approval for your company,
and it can contribute quite substantially to
generating conversions.
Baidu’s banner advertising or Display
Network does have retargeting capabilities,
operating a sophisticated retargeting
engine. They look at interaction with other
media, i.e. on Weibo pages, and on other
different media that Baidu has control of
the cookie pool or insight over.
The Baidu Content Network is the
absolute best place to start, and offers
floating ads, overlays, and standard banner
ads in GIF, JPEG and FLASH formats.
Brand Zone is a unique service in that it
gives you leading brand preference on your
brand search terms. Effectively, it is a better
advertising module that gets distributed
across all of Baidu’s Networks, providing
superior search results. This can be used by
affiliates and forex brands.
●●Contextual
●●Branded
In summary
So, while China offers excellent
opportunities for affiliates, the importance
of having a local partner in your corner
who understands the market and the
different traffic sources is clear.
You would be well advised to seek out
an experienced agency with localised
knowledge that can set you on the right
path in China from the outset. Otherwise,
you could be unnecessarily wasting
valuable resources and time on trying to
manoeuvre your way through a maze of
unfamiliar territory, advertising channels,
and digital marketing tools that are foreign
to you.
Avoid the pitfalls of being the very naïve,
new kid on the block, and you will be well
placed for becoming one of the growing
number of affiliate marketing success
stories coming out of China today.
KATHRYN FARRELL is
Online Content Editor
- Digital Fuel Marketing
Ltd. An experienced PR
professional specializing in the
gaming sector, her career spans more
than 18 years and three continents for
both land-based and online gaming
entities - Crown Casino Melbourne and
Mansion.com amongst them - within a
wide variety of verticals, including poker,
casino, and sportsbook.