Although the Chinese search engine market is slowly diversifying (especially through Sogou), Baidu still holds the majority market share in China with more than 70%.
Therefore, Baidu Optimization, for example, with Baidu Tongji, remains crucial for digital marketing and successful business in China. As always, Tenba Group, your SEO agency for China, has all the information you need. In the past, we’ve published several articles on Baidu optimization and the Chinese search engine market.
- Baidu PPC Advertising in China
- How to Boost Your Rankings with Baidu Zhidao, Zhihu, Tieba, and Baike
- Using Baidu Index for Trends (Zhishu) & Indexing Your Site on Baidu (Ziyuan Webmaster Tool)
- Baidu Optimization with Baidu Tongji
A Quick Recap: What is Baidu?
In the land of online and mobile first, Baidu is the most important search engine for Chinese users. As many sites are blocked due to the censorship by the Chinese government, a localized online presence in Chinese language as well as effective SEO tactics are important.Like Google, Baidu offers many services besides online search, including cloud computing, maps, music, translation, a Wikipedia clone, and more.
Generally, Baidu ranks web pages higher, which have a cn domain and are hosted near mainland China. This could be in Hong Kong, for example. That’s because local hosting increases the speed, which is crucial for SEO success in China. Click here to learn more about creating a website for Chinese users, including when you need an ICP license.
What is Baidu Tongji
Translated as Baidu Analytics, Baidu Tongji is a free tool where you can track and report traffic data of your Chinese website visitors. This data will provide you with insights to improve your rankings on Baidu.
Source: Baidu Tongji Demo
Baidu Tongji was launched in 2009, 9 years after Baidu, the most-used Chinese search engine, was founded and introduced to the Chinese market.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Tongji
The advantages of using Baidu Tongji include
- Integration with Baidu Ads for PPC
- Access to Baidu organic search terms, with which visitors find your site
- Baidu tracks visitors on an individual basis
- Check your site speed with the Baidu Site Speed Test in the left menu at the bottom (优化分析)
- Baidu SEO features, which are also included in the Ziyuan Baidu Webmaster Tool
- Baidu’s interface is only in Chinese (not English)
- Unlike Google, Baidu strictly separates mobile and desktop traffic
- Some Google Analytics features aren't available in Baidu Tongji
Google Analytics will provide you with the required information as you know it, and Baidu Tongji will provide additional information and value.
Since many Google services are blocked in China, the interface of Google Analytics is also permanently blocked. However, the GA tracking code works, although it is unstable.
How to Access Baidu Tongji
Baidu Tongji setup and login takes some time. You can access Baidu Tongji directly, via your Baidu PPC or Baidu Webmaster account. Either way, the registration is free.
For your personal Baidu account registration, you need a Chinese mobile phone number. Besides, for your Baidu business account (PPC account), you must go through the verification process, which can be lengthy.
Baidu Optimization with Tongji
In this section, we describe the dashboard, where you can find indicators, with which you can measure your site’s performance on Baidu Tongji. You can filter all metrics according to today and historical data.
- Recent Traffic
- Trends
- Top Search Terms & Keywords
- The Top Sources Websites
- Top Landing Pages
- Most Visited Pages
- New & Old Visitors
- Visitor Attributes - Age Distribution
- Geographical Distribution
1. Recent Traffic
Here, you can see your site’s recent traffic. Use this information to stay up to date on any sudden drops that may point towards an issue on your website and/or other online channels, e.g. social media.
Source: Baidu Tongji Demo
A spike in traffic indicates you hit a nerve with a recent publication. To further optimize for Baidu, you can look at the bounce rates, in order to improve your content.
2. Trends
This section provides you with an overview of different metrics as a graph. It includes page views (PV), unique visitors (UV), bounce rates, and session times. Click the arrow on the right to see the historical trends data.
Source: Baidu Tongji Demo
For Baidu optimization, this information gives you a “big picture” of the performance of your site. Here, you can see any spikes or abnormalities - positive or negative - and further analyze the reasons.
3. Top Search Terms & Keywords
Analyze with which keywords your audience found your site, including the percentage. This can help you to adjust your Baidu SEO/PPC keywords if Baidu is not yet optimized for your target keywords.
Source: Baidu Tongji Demo
Click the arrow on the right to see more than the top 10 search terms and keywords. You can also export these as a list for further analysis.
4. The Top Sources Websites
Baidu Tongji also displays source sites like Google and Sogou - Baidu’s competitors! By knowing where your visitors come from (in percentage) you adjust your strategy accordingly. For example, if you see that not much traffic comes from Sogou, you can further improve your Sogou SEO and place PPC campaigns to strengthen this source.
Source: Baidu Tongji Demo
Alternatively, you can steer away from them by focusing on other platforms. Click the arrow on the right to see more than the top 10 sources websites.
5. Top Landing Pages
This ranking displays those landing pages of your site, where your visitors land when they first visit your site. This tells you which pages are of particular interest or well-linked in the search results.
For Baidu optimization, make sure that these landing pages contain a call-to-action or optimize another landing page, which has a higher potential for conversion.
Source: Baidu Tongji Demo
Besides, make sure that your designated landing pages are optimized, in particular for speed, UI/UX, and are responsive (mobile friendly). Click the arrow on the right to see more than the top 10 landing pages.
6. Most Visited Pages
In this display, you can see the most visited pages of your website. If they are already in line with your strategy, that’s great.
Source: Baidu Tongji Demo
If you want to steer your visitors more to sites with a buying intent/sales close, this metric can be a starting point. Click the arrow on the right to see more than the top 10 visited pages.
7. New & Old Visitors
Here you can identify recurring visitors on your website as well as new visitors.
Source: Baidu Tongji Demo
By knowing your audience you can adjust your campaigns on social media as well as the content you publish.
8. Visitor Attributes - Age Distribution
This analysis of your visitors’ demographic includes age, gender, job, education, and interests.
Source: Baidu Tongji Demo
Utilize it to identify your target audience and adapt your digital marketing strategy accordingly.
9. Geographical Distribution
This display allows you to filter according to geographic region. For example, the top provinces that generate the most search for a specific keyword.
Source: Baidu Tongji Demo
By clicking on any region/province you can take a closer look at the metrics. This is particularly interesting for PPC ads and the trend of Xiachen.
Now this concludes our introduction to Baidu optimization with Baidu Tongji.
The Takeaway
SEM (SEO, PPC) is an essential component of any online marketing plan. Even more so in China, where digitalization and ecommerce are booming. Optimizing your online presence to rank high on Chinese search engines like Baidu and Sogou is a significant success factor in the Chinese market.
Find out more about on- and off-page SEO, SEA, and the specialties of the market in China in this Tenba Group article. Moreover, this Baidu SEO guide reveals the specialties of SEO in the Middle Kingdom.
Join successful businesses from around the world by entering the Chinese market. To reach your audience, implement smart Baidu SEO and PPC tactics! Tenba Group, your trusted Baidu SEO Agency, can help you to get started! Don’t forget to click here to find out more about Chinese business culture.
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