To promote your business successfully in China, harnessing the power of Baidu is something you must do. It is the most influential search engine in the country, with an almost 90% control of the domestic market. If you want your services and products to reach the massive internet user base in China, you must be on Baidu.

Earlier on, it was difficult for foreign businesses to participate in promotional activities due to language barriers. As a solution to that, Baidu came up with the idea of creating an English version. If you want to use that for your business expansion in China, it will be a good idea to consider the pros and cons first.

Let’s look at some of the pros of advertising on Baidu in English:

You can increase your online visibility

With over 60 million Chinese using Baidu every day, the search engine processes an extensive amount of search queries. So, by advertising on Baidu, there is a strong chance that you will be able to get your products and services out there before millions of potential users. Of course, you will have to make an effort to stand out from your business competitors. For that, you will need to use the right keywords and keyword phrases, write an appealing advertising copy and create eye-catching advertisements.

People will click on the advertisements if they find them interesting enough, and the resulting website traffic will give you better online visibility. If you manage to handle the public attention well, you will be able to convert more visitors into customers, boost the business, and reap great profits.

You can do segmented and targeted marketing

Market research is essential for making sure that your promotional activities can reach the right audience. After all, the ultimate goal is finding customers who will be more likely to buy and use your products and services. One of the ways of doing this is by segmenting your target customers by their ages, genders, interests, professions, locations, incomes, spending habits, and so on. You can then create advertising campaigns that targeted these specific segments to get a better response.

You can save money on advertising

Unlike with Western search engines, where the advertising can be expensive, it is comparatively more cost-effective to advertise on Baidu. Additionally, you will get more traffic. The advertising fatigue that is now common in the West and which makes users ignore online advertisements in many cases has not yet affected China. If your advertisements are interesting and appealing, many Chinese consumers will pause to have a look. And if your products and services seem useful to them, you will even get new customers.

And here are some of the cons of advertising on Baidu in English:

You will have a limited outreach

By advertising in English, you will be limiting your outreach to the segment of Chinese consumers who know the language. While a fast-growing percentage of Chinese internet users can understand English, many prefer to use their language for online communication and transactions. They may ignore or overlook your advertisement and you will lose the business opportunity to convert a large section of potential customers.

You may have to limit the range of products and services

As the majority of Chinese internet users are likely to ignore advertisements in English, you will lose out to competitors who advertise in Chinese. So it doesn’t make much business sense to pursue English advertising. Or, if you must do so, it is better to do it with products and services geared towards an English-speaking audience or those who want to learn English. For instance, if you offer English translation services or sell English language learning products or classes in China, you will benefit from advertising in English. It will show off your expertise to potential customers.

It will help to weigh the pros and cons carefully before deciding on advertising on Baidu in English. The most important thing is getting your products and services out there before the target audience. If you can do so by advertising in English, good for you. Otherwise, to achieve a broader reach, consider hiring a local advertising company and get high-quality promotional material in Chinese.