With a population of over 1.4 billion, China is home to millions of travelers eager to explore the world. If you want to attract Chinese tourists or business travelers to your hotel, resort, or hospitality service, visibility on Baidu is essential. Often seen as China’s equivalent to Google, Baidu dominates the country’s search engine market. 

But with Google blocked in mainland China, travelers rely on Baidu search and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Ctrip to research accommodations, travel packages, and destination information, making Baidu SEO a crucial tool for reaching this audience.

TL;DR

Your hospitality business can rank on Baidu whether it is hosted in or outside of China. .

Focus on page speed, localized content, and user experience to meet Baidu’s ranking criteria.

Use Baidu Webmaster Tools to index your site, monitor performance, and enhance discoverability.

Chinafy optimizes your site speed and functionality in China whether it is hosted on or offshore.

Why Baidu matters for the hospitality industry

Chinese travelers can be extremely diligent when it comes to researching accommodations, especially if they’re traveling abroad.

By optimizing your site for Baidu, you position your hotel or resort as a credible, discoverable option for Chinese guests.

Audience reach: Over 600 million monthly active users rely on Baidu.

Visibility: If you don’t appear on Baidu, you effectively miss out on a massive pool of potential guests.

Competition: Many international hotels are already investing in Baidu SEO to stay competitive and appeal to outbound Chinese tourists.

Can our hospitality website rank on Baidu from outside of China?

Short answer - yes. If your site meets Baidu’s requirements for speed, relevant content, and user experience, you can rank even if you’re hosted outside of China.

Wherever your site is hosted, two key factors to consider are:

Load speed: A primary challenge for foreign sites is slow load times in China, which hinders their Baidu SEO efforts.

Localization: Show Baidu (and potential guests) you’re committed to serving Chinese visitors by providing Chinese-language pages and user-friendly booking options.

Key differences between Baidu and Google

Some SEO fundamentals remain the same as Google, like focusing on content quality and user experience, but here are a few key differences:

Language & localization

Baidu favors Simplified Chinese content, including meta titles, descriptions, and alt tags. Google, by contrast, supports a multitude of languages more equitably.

Emphasis on site speed

Although both Google and Baidu value fast websites, Baidu’s focus on site speed is more pronounced due to China’s internet infrastructure. Baidu’s Lightning Algorithm rewards mobile web pages that load within two seconds on mobile devices, penalizing those that take over three seconds. On the other hand, Google’s 2018 “Speed Update” introduced page speed as a ranking factor for mobile searches but stated that “a slow page may still rank highly if it has great, relevant content”.

Test your site speed on our Global Speed Test.

Backlinks

Quality backlinks from Chinese-hosted, reputable sites are useful for Baidu SEO. For the hospitality sector, local Chinese travel directories, blogs, or news sites can be valuable link sources.

Censorship & content policies

Baidu aligns with Chinese regulations. Content that violates local rules may be penalized or removed from search results, so ensure your site remains compliant.

Indexing & webmaster tools

Baidu Webmaster Tools differs from Google Search Console. You can submit sitemaps, monitor rankings, and check site health, but features may be more limited.

7 Baidu SEO tips for hotels and resorts

Even with differences compared to Google, there are several proven strategies to improve your Baidu rankings:

Localize key pages in Simplified Chinese

Translate essential pages such as room descriptions, facilities, booking forms, and special offers.

Consider professional translation or partial localization if full Chinese content is not feasible.

Don’t forget metadata and URLs for Chinese-translated pages.

Improve site speed and functionality

Run a site speed test tailored to China (e.g., Chinafy’s Global Speed Test) to identify bottlenecks.

Resolving these issues goes beyond solely hosting your site in China or using a CDN (Read more on Optimizing Your Hospitality Website for China)

Mobile-first design

A large share of Chinese internet traffic comes from mobile devices.

Use responsive layouts, simplified booking forms, and mobile-friendly images.

Update content regularly

Baidu values “freshness,” and your audience will likely also prefer up-to-date content, so keep your site updated with travel guides, local events, or seasonal promotions.

Submit to Baidu Webmaster Tools

Verify your domain, submit sitemaps, and monitor crawl status.

Track how your pages perform on Baidu and optimize based on insights.

Note: if you use Chinafy, we automatically submit your URLs to the Baidu Spider.

Consider a .cn domain for websites serving only China

If attracting Chinese guests is a main priority, a .cn domain could be beneficial, as Baidu appears to favor websites that are clearly supporting a Chinese audience - of which .cn is an indicator. However, a .cn domain typically requires a Chinese business entity and other prerequisites.

Fortunately, if your site is accessible from China and optimized for speed and functionality, it can still rank effectively on Baidu, even without a .cn domain.

Note: Chinafy can help you achieve near-onshore web performance even if you choose to keep your hosting outside China. If you have a website hosted in China, Chinafy can optimize your website for improved functionality and performance under a different configuration.

Engage with Chinese platforms

Baidu also has platforms like Baidu Zhidao (Q&A forums) and Baidu Baike (a Wikipedia equivalent). By participating in these forums or contributing to Baidu Baike, you can increase your site’s visibility and credibility, ultimately aiding your Baidu SEO efforts.

Encourage satisfied Chinese guests to leave reviews on local platforms. Positive reviews can indirectly support your Baidu SEO by driving brand queries and backlinks.

Baidu keyword research tips for schools

Here’s how to find keywords for your Baidu SEO strategy:

Start with core keywords

Identify terms that directly relate to your business, such as “酒店” (hotel) or “旅游胜地” (popular holiday destination).

Use Baidu auto-complete

Discover trending terms with Baidu’s autocomplete feature. For example, inputting “酒店” (hotel) might generate related terms like “酒店预订” (hotel reservation) or “酒店英文” (English hotel).

Explore related searches

You can also explore “related searches” (相关搜索) on Baidu to discover searches that users commonly pair with your initial query.

Localized keywords

In the Chinese market, localization also involves cultural alignment and search habits. For example:

春节旅游 (Chinese New Year travel)

亲子游酒店推荐 (Family-friendly hotel recommendations)

机票+酒店套餐 (flight + hotel package)

Work with local partners to properly localize keywords or reach out to work with some of our partners.

Baidu keyword planner

Accessible through a Baidu PPC account, Baidu Keyword Planner provides insights into search volumes and related keywords in a similar way to Google’s keyword planner in Google Ads.

Optimize your school’s website for China with Chinafy

Improving your site’s speed and functionality in China can be complex and resource-intensive. Using Chinafy offers an all-in-one solution to help hotels, travel resorts and other hospitality businesses:

Accelerate load times: We resolve both infrastructure and code-based barriers that slow down your site in China.

Treat blocked or slow-performing resources: Our platform identifies and optimizes for any resources (like Google APIs) that may be blocked or non-performant.

Auto-push URLs to Baidu: We make your indexing process easy, so your latest pages reach Baidu’s search engine faster.

Expert support & partner network: If you need local marketing expertise or Baidu Ads help, we can connect you with specialists to build a complete China strategy.

With Chinafy, your school can achieve a faster, more functional, experience with its existing website and tech stack.

Key takeaways

Baidu puts your hotel or travel business in front of China’s population

If you’re aiming to attract Chinese travelers and diners, your business should be visible in Baidu search results.

Localization is important

Translate or partially localize content in Simplified Chinese, especially high-traffic pages like reservations or facilities.

Website speed is a priority

Baidu’s Lightning Algorithm penalizes slow sites. See how your site currently performs in China and contact Chinafy to get started with optimizations.

Use Baidu Webmaster tools

Monitor performance, index your pages, and gain insights into how Chinese users interact with your site.

You can rank outside of China

Hosting outside of China doesn’t have to block your Baidu visibility, if you optimize for speed, user experience, and compliance.

Slow load times or non-performant resources keep your website hidden from Chinese travelers and consumers. Chinafy can help you optimize your existing site for China and connect you with our Baidu partners to bolster your China marketing efforts.

Get started with Chinafy and open your doors to new opportunities in China.