{"id":20114,"date":"2020-01-28T16:05:45","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T16:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/baidu"},"modified":"2026-10-02T11:30:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T11:30:59","slug":"baidu","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/baidu","title":{"rendered":"Baidu"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"boxpad alignright size-full wp-image-80367\" style=\"margin-top:0;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/baidu-square.jpg\" alt=\"Baidu\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/baidu-square.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/baidu-square-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><strong>Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Baidu<\/strong> is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/search-engine\">search engine<\/a> primarily focused on the Chinese language and the Chinese market. It enables people to find web pages, news, images, videos, maps and other resources through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baidu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">baidu.com<\/a> and its applications.<\/p>\n<p>The search engine is operated by Baidu, Inc., but the product and the company are not identical concepts. &#8220;Searching on Baidu&#8221; refers to its information retrieval system; the company also develops artificial intelligence, cloud, mapping, content and mobility services.<\/p>\n\n<h2>How the Baidu search engine works<\/h2>\n<p>Baidu uses discovery, indexing and ranking stages that are broadly comparable to those of other search engines, although its systems, criteria and operating environment are its own:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Crawling:<\/strong> automated programs discover URLs and follow links to retrieve accessible documents. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/crawler\">crawler<\/a> entry explains this type of agent.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Processing and indexing:<\/strong> the system analyzes the retrieved content and decides which information may be added to its indexes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Query interpretation:<\/strong> Baidu attempts to identify the search intent, language, location and context.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Retrieval and ranking:<\/strong> it selects results and displays them on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/serp\">SERP<\/a> that may combine links, answers, images, videos, maps and proprietary modules.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>A crawlable URL is not guaranteed to be indexed or displayed for a particular query. Selection and ranking may vary according to the device, location, wording of the search and changes to the system.<\/p>\n<h2>What can appear in Baidu search results<\/h2>\n<p>The results page may combine different sources and formats:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Web results:<\/strong> links to pages considered relevant to the query.<\/li>\n<li><strong>News:<\/strong> reporting and information related to current topics.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Images and videos:<\/strong> visual modules sourced from the index and associated services.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Local and map results:<\/strong> places, businesses, routes and geographic data connected with Baidu Maps.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Knowledge and communities:<\/strong> answers or references from products such as Baidu Baike, Baidu Zhidao, Tieba or Wenku.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AI-assisted features:<\/strong> summaries, answers or other generative experiences whose availability and format may change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The page brings together organic results, ecosystem content and advertising placements, which are distinct categories.<\/p>\n<h2>Baidu and Google differences<\/h2>\n<p>Baidu is often compared with Google because both provide web search and advertising, but simply calling it &#8220;the Chinese Google&#8221; conceals important differences:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Primary market:<\/strong> Baidu is particularly focused on users, content and services within China&#8217;s digital environment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Language:<\/strong> its systems and products have a strong specialization in Chinese, although they can process queries and documents in other languages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ecosystem:<\/strong> Baidu frequently integrates its own services, while Google uses a different collection of products and sources.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Regulation:<\/strong> each search engine operates under the rules of the countries where it provides services; China has specific requirements and restrictions for publishing and accessing information.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tools and algorithms:<\/strong> their webmaster platforms, result formats and ranking signals are not identical.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>SEO for Baidu<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/seo\">SEO<\/a> for Baidu aims to make a website crawlable, understandable and indexable while remaining relevant to users in the target market. Areas to review include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Language and localization:<\/strong> adapting content to Chinese and its cultural context is generally more useful than translating it literally.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Technical accessibility:<\/strong> the server, resources and links should be consistently accessible to users and crawlers from the intended market.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Crawlable architecture:<\/strong> internal links, response codes, canonical tags, robots directives and sitemaps should accurately represent the site structure.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Quality and purpose:<\/strong> content should answer the query, identify its source and avoid duplication, manipulation or pages created solely to capture traffic.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mobile experience and performance:<\/strong> readability, stability and speed affect real access to the content.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/indexability\">Indexability<\/a> controls:<\/strong> the Baidu Search Resource Platform provides submission, crawl diagnostics, index reporting and site maintenance features.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hosting a website in China or obtaining an ICP license may affect availability, performance and the operation of some projects, but neither should be presented as a universal ranking guarantee. Requirements depend on the infrastructure, organization and service provided.<\/p>\n<h2>Advertising on Baidu<\/h2>\n<p>Baidu also provides advertising within search results and other parts of its network. This activity should be distinguished from organic ranking:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sponsored results:<\/strong> advertisements may appear in relation to keywords and other targeting criteria.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Management through Baidu Marketing:<\/strong> campaigns can configure advertisements, bids, audiences, budgets and measurement within the available options.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Access requirements:<\/strong> account creation and verification may depend on the country, business documentation, industry and current policies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/ppc\">PPC<\/a> campaign buys advertising visibility; it does not automatically add pages to the organic index or improve their natural rankings.<\/p>\n<h2>Baidu as a company and its other services<\/h2>\n<p>Baidu, Inc. is a technology company founded in 2000 by Robin Li and Eric Xu. Search was its original core product, but the company has developed a broader ecosystem. Its products and business areas include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Baidu Maps:<\/strong> mapping, navigation and place search.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Baidu Baike:<\/strong> a collaborative encyclopedia integrated into its content ecosystem.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Baidu Tieba and Zhidao:<\/strong> communities and question-and-answer services.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Baidu Wenku and Wangpan:<\/strong> document and cloud storage services.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Artificial intelligence and cloud:<\/strong> ERNIE models, Baidu AI Cloud services and tools for businesses and developers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Apollo:<\/strong> technologies and services related to autonomous driving and mobility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These products form part of the Baidu, Inc. ecosystem; Baidu Search is its search engine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Baidu is, how its search engine works, which results it provides, how it differs from Google, and what to consider for SEO and advertising in China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"template":"","encyclopedia-tag":[1456],"class_list":["post-20114","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","hentry","encyclopedia-tag-general-search-engines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/20114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=20114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}