There are four main differences:
- Global versus local focus: Google is globally focused, indexing Chinese sites on a par with other sites. Conversely, Baidu dominates China’s search market and offers higher ranking to sites with servers located in China, as well as with Chinese content. Our marketing specialists could help you localise and host your website in China for optimal search performance.
- Indexing time frame: It can take longer (several days) to get a site indexed by Baidu than Google due to the tighter internet regulations in China.
- Search algorithm: In general, Baidu’s algorithm is not as sophisticated as Google’s. For example, Google has an image recognition function that helps identify relevant images without the necessity of alt text. However, Baidu mainly uses alt text to help identify images.
- Social media: Just like Google, Baidu takes into account social media accounts and links. But it favours Baidu’s own platforms like the Zhidao Q&A forum, and the Wikipedia equivalent in China, Baike. On the other hand, WeChat is a closed platform and its content is not searchable via Baidu, so you should also post your content through Baidu’s own social media platforms for best Baidu search results.