In this post, you’re going on a tour of China’s most popular search engine, a place where over five billion searches are performed daily, the “Google of China”—Baidu.
On this tour, you’ll see some of Baidu’s different features, learn how a basic Baidu search works, and visit some of the relatives (i.e., the other platforms) in the extended Baidu family.
And of course, every tour should come with a map, so a demonstration of Baidu Maps—both in the Baidu app and the standalone map app—will be one of the stops we make today.
New Updates (2026)
- Refreshed the marketing insights to reflect how people use Baidu today to research brands, products, and services before making purchasing decisions.
- Updated the guide with Baidu’s latest AI Search experience, including AI-generated answers and Brand Zone ads.
- Included more Baidu services: Baidu Baike, Baijiahao, Zhihu, and the latest Baidu mobile app.
Click the image to take a video tour of Baidu.
This tour is from a regular user’s perspective.
If you’re studying Chinese, learning about China, or intending to do business there, you need to know about Baidu and how it works.
For marketers, advertisers, or anyone interested in Baidu for marketing purposes (e.g., SEO and backend analytics), we have a section dedicated to Baidu on our website.
Let’s begin with a basic search.
Basic Baidu Search
In 2026, Baidu’s homepage has changed significantly.
The large search box has been redesigned to encourage users to interact with Baidu AI with longer sentences rather than shorter keyword searches.
To demonstrate, we’ll use a few English search examples before looking at more typical Chinese-language searches.
Results
A Baidu search for “American girls’ high schools” produces the following results.
As you can see from the image above, a basic search produces many different options, including
- AI-generated answers,
- AI image generation,
- Baijiahao notes,
- related searches,
- images,
- websites, and
- other content formats depending on the query.
Hot Topics are usually displayed on the right side, with government announcements often appearing at the top, followed by trending topics.
Baidu Ads
To demonstrate how Baidu presents commercial search results, let’s search for the broad term “purchased software.”
The first result is a sponsored advertisement and, unlike a traditional text ad, it takes up a large amount of screen space.
These sponsored advertisements include the page title, a description, related products, images, and several sitelinks that direct users to different sections of the advertiser’s website.
Baidu ad on Baidu Search
Although the result is labeled “广告” (advertisement), the label appears in very light gray text and can be easily overlooked. The listing also displays a Baidu guarantee badge (保) indicating that the company has been verified under Baidu’s quality assurance program.
Below the sponsored listing are several organic search results, followed by another advertisement and additional organic results. In some cases, the same advertiser may appear multiple times on the page, increasing its visibility for commercial searches.
Baidu AI Search Result
Longer search queries are more likely to trigger Baidu’s AI-generated answers than shorter keyword searches.
Instead of simply displaying a list of webpages, Baidu generates an AI answer at the top of the page. Similar to Google’s AI Overviews, it summarizes information from multiple sources and provides links to those sources below.
An AI-generated answer for “现在有多少人用百度的语音搜索功能”
(How many people use Baidu’s voice search feature?)
As a result, users can often find the information they need without clicking through to another website, a practice commonly referred to as “zero-click searches.”
eCommerce
When searching for product-related keywords on Baidu, you’ll often see links to major e-commerce platforms in the search results.
Clicking one of these takes you to JD.com, one of the largest platforms in China.
When it comes to purchasing or searching for products, Chinese consumers will usually go directly to an e-commerce platform (e.g., JD, Taobao, TMall, or Pinduoduo) rather than searching for the item on Baidu.
However, that’s only if they already have a good idea of what they want to buy.
Consumers typically use Baidu for research rather than making purchases directly. After learning about products or services, they usually complete the transaction through an e-commerce platform or the company’s website.
For anything that involves financial and/or time commitments (such as buying a house or studying abroad), Baidu helps users weigh up options and make informed decisions.
Baidu Baike
You should think of Baidu Baike as China’s Wikipedia equivalent; therefore, you should expect a Baike page featuring your search item to contain detailed information about it.
Baike remains one of the most trusted information sources on Baidu. Potential customers can easily find reliable information about a company, so a Baike page helps a business appear more credible.
Unfortunately, the downside is that it’s not easy to get a page published.
We’ve created Baidu Baike pages for many of our clients, and the process usually requires multiple authoritative references from credible sources (e.g., a government website) and can take several weeks to complete.
Baike pages can receive significant traffic, so although the process takes time, it’s well worth the effort. Once a page is published, we continue updating it over time to keep the information fresh and improve its rankings.
A Baidu Baike page we created for Saint Mary’s School
Baidu Baike is big enough and important enough to be worthy of its own blog post.
Which is exactly what we did.
For an in-depth introduction to Baidu Baike, how it works, and how to get your entries listed, read here.
Baidu Baijiahao
Another Baidu-owned platform that frequently appears in search results is Baijiahao, Baidu’s content publishing platform.
For example, when searching for “Microsoft tablet computers,” one of the results is a Baijiahao article. Like other publishing platforms, each article includes a title, author information, text, and images.
A Baijiahao article
Compared with platforms like Rednote or Zhihu, Baijiahao articles often receive relatively few comments and likes. One reason is that many people use Baidu as a search engine without logging into an account, so they’re less likely to engage with content through likes or comments.
However, that doesn’t make Baijiahao any less valuable, as its articles continue to rank prominently in Baidu Search.
For businesses, Baijiahao is an important content marketing channel. If you’ve already created content for platforms such as WeChat or Rednote, it’s often a good idea to republish it on Baijiahao as part of a broader content marketing strategy.
Zhihu
Another result for “Microsoft tablet computers” comes from Zhihu, China’s leading Q&A platform (and comparable to Quora).
Although Zhihu is not a Baidu-owned platform, Baidu has invested in it, so its content often ranks highly in Baidu Search.
A Zhihu discussion on “Which Windows tablets are worth buying in 2025?”
Users can ask questions, share answers, and upvote the most helpful responses.
Nanjing Marketing Group publishes answers and articles on Zhihu for many of our clients to improve their visibility in Baidu Search.
Baidu Maps
Baidu Maps is accessible through Baidu’s mobile app or the standalone map app.
For users in China, the app has multiple location-specific features that make getting around incredibly convenient. For example, in cities with license plate restrictions, users can enter a license plate number, and Baidu Maps will suggest routes that avoid any restricted areas.
Searching for restaurants is a good way of illustrating how Baidu Maps works; here’s one for xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) in Shanghai.
They’re amazing…🤤
Similar to Google Maps (or any other map application), the search will reveal multiple restaurant locations in Shanghai.
Remember: If you’re traveling around China, then it’s always best to use a Chinese app. You can use Google Maps with a VPN, but it won’t contain the same level of information or accuracy as a Chinese app.
In short: Use Google outside of China and Baidu inside. However, if you’re searching for a sensitive topic or nothing’s really showing up on Baidu, it’s time to activate the VPN and switch to Google.
Baidu Maps search result (left) and Google Maps (right)
As you can see in the right-hand map (Google), there are fewer search results and less information.
There’s a lot more going on in the Baidu Maps result on the left, which contains user reviews and comments that are extremely helpful when choosing a place to eat or a business for a particular service.
Searching for restaurants in Nanjing using Baidu Maps
Restaurant ratings and user reviews on Baidu Maps
User-uploaded restaurant photos on Baidu Maps
If you ever find yourself travelling in China, I highly recommend using Baidu Maps.
Huge Splash Pages
Baidu sometimes displays large custom splash pages for high-profile searches. For example, searching for “World Cup” brings up a dedicated page with scores, fixtures, news, and other useful information before the regular search results.
Brands can also purchase this premium placement in Baidu’s Brand Zone. Brand Zone is a premium branded advertising format that occupies a large, highly visible area at the top of the search results page.
In the example below, Adidas has a Brand Zone ad that dominates the top of the page for searches related to its brand.
For a more detailed explanation of Baidu Brand Zone and the available verification options, see our guide: The Guide to Baidu Verifications and Baidu Brand Zone.
For a more detailed explanation of Baidu Brand Zone and the available verification options, see our guide: The Guide to Baidu Verifications and Baidu Brand Zone.
Videos
Video search results include content from multiple platforms.
In the example above, many of the videos come from Bilibili and Haokan Video, Baidu’s own video platform. While Haokan Video naturally has strong visibility on Baidu Search due to its connection with Baidu, Bilibili is an independent platform and is not part of the Baidu ecosystem.
However, Bilibili videos are widely indexed across major Chinese search engines, including Baidu, 360 Search, Bing, and Sogou, which is why they frequently appear in search results.
Baidu was reportedly an early investor in Bilibili, although it is unclear whether there is still any ongoing relationship between the two companies.
Baidu Tieba
Baidu Tieba is one of Baidu’s oldest online communities and functions as a discussion forum. Users can post questions, share opinions, and reply to one another on topics ranging from hobbies and entertainment to brands and products.
The Baidu Tieba interface
We don’t often use Tieba for marketing, but your potential customers will be discussing brands on it.
Baidu Loves Baidu
Have you noticed any patterns forming?
The majority of the sites or platforms listed in the search results are either owned or partly owned by Baidu.
This is something that happens across (almost) all verticals, but remember: No two search results are really ever the same. You’ll see different results depending on the vertical.
In the image below, I searched for “Housing in the UK,” and within those results, I have a separate search box to filter and refine the search.
Baidu’s Mobile App
The Baidu mobile app now has over 679 million active users. However, the actual number is probably much higher, as many people still use Baidu Search without logging in.
Compared with the desktop experience, the mobile app is much more visual, with a personalized feed of images and short videos appearing on the home screen.
Selecting a video opens a swipeable feed similar to TikTok, and AI-generated videos are clearly labeled in accordance with Chinese regulations.
Again, like the main website, search is the most important feature; however, there’s a little more to it.
Like the desktop version, search remains the app’s core feature. In addition to search, users can easily access other Baidu services, including Tieba, Baidu Zhidao, and Wenxin AI, directly in the app.
Searching for “Beijing Zoo hippos” returns many of the same elements as the desktop version, including advertisements, AI-generated answers, and organic search results, but in a more visual, mobile-friendly layout.
Baidu prioritizes local search results, which is great if you’re in China and searching for local products, news, services, etc.
The app also has a newsfeed.
This does not make the app unique, as many other Chinese apps have this feature. These apps tend to copy each other, so their newsfeeds can seem very similar, although they all have different strengths and weaknesses.
Baidu News Feed’s strength is definitely its search capabilities.
The newsfeed contains videos, but unlike many other platforms in China that support video, it’s not our go-to for marketing purposes. We’re currently having the best results with Bilibili, Rednote, and Zhihu.
All the usual things that you can find on other apps are also here:
- News categorized by topics
- Hot searches
- Customizable profiles
- And more
Baidu From a Marketing Perspective
In 2026, Baidu’s greatest asset is still its search function.
Unlike platforms such as Douyin, Rednote, or WeChat, Baidu doesn’t have a particularly strong social culture of its own.
Baidu enables users to make informed decisions by thoroughly researching products and services and comparing their options. These purchases, however, are made elsewhere.
And, from a marketing point of view, this is what we focus on.
When we publish content across multiple channels and platforms, we want to ensure it’s optimized so there’s a greater chance of it appearing on Baidu.
And that concludes today’s tour of Baidu.
If anything caught your attention along the way, you can learn more about the other platforms mentioned in this post on our China Digital Marketing 101 guide.
Regardless of whether you’re a complete newbie or a seasoned Baidu SEOer, we’d love to hear any questions you may have or your own experiences with anything Baidu-related.