Baidu SEO Case Study: How We Got a New Website Indexed and Ranking on Baidu
This Hotel
This Hotel is a travel research site that helps travelers discover top-rated hotels, hostels, B&Bs, and guesthouses in more than 100 destinations by combining expert recommendations with real customer reviews. It only lists accommodations with strong reviews and provides direct links to trusted booking sites to help users easily find and secure the best deals.
Client's Requirement
The client reached out to our marketing manager, Sally, to have their company’s Chinese website, which was set up two months ago, indexed on Baidu.
Challenges of the Project
- New Website with No Digital Presence: The company’s Chinese website was launched only about two months ago and doesn’t have any digital presence in Baidu ecosystem. Nowadays, it is becoming increasingly difficult for a new domain without authority or history to be indexed and ranked by search engines. Search engines usually have a “sandbox” period for new websites, during which indexing and ranking may be limited while the site’s quality, trust, and relevance are being evaluated.
- No ICP License: Although the domain uses a .cn suffix, it does not have an ICP license in China. In general, Baidu gives higher priority and credibility to websites with an ICP license, which often results in faster indexing and better keyword rankings.
Chinese Copywriter's Approach
- Our team set up the website in Baidu Webmaster Tools (Baidu Ziyuan), verified the meta tag, and conducted crawling, speed, and accessibility tests from over 60 cities in China across different operators (China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom) to ensure full accessibility and strong technical performance.
- We also carried out targeted marketing within the Baidu ecosystem to strengthen the site’s credibility and visibility.
Result
- The website is now indexed on Baidu and ranking for several brand-related keywords. Note: This is a significant achievement, as it typically takes 2–3 months for Baidu to index and rank new websites that have no prior digital presence and do not have an ICP license.
- Baidu AI is citing the brand name and the website, increasing brand visibility and trust.
- Our news articles and influencer posts about “This Hotel” are featured and ranked on Baidu News and the Baidu App.
Notes: Maintaining consistent rankings on Baidu requires ongoing Baidu SEO optimization. The screenshots showing the Baidu website indexing and rankings were taken within 3–5 months after the project was completed. The results you see now may differ from those shown in the screenshots.
Sally Wong
Curated and Impactful Chinese Localization
Sally is a Baidu Certified Marketing Consultant and Google Certified Analyst with 15+ years of experience. Since 2009, she has been helping international businesses craft and execute effective content marketing strategies tailored to the Chinese market.