Can I use different domains in my Baidu PPC account?

Here, we look at the three scenarios in which you can use a different domain for your Baidu PPC account.

Baidu PPC Domain Option 1: Tracking URL

Some analytics tools use a tracking URL that contains parameters to monitor keyword performance. For example, say a.com is your destination URL. Analytics tools can add parameters to that URL (b.com as an example) to track which keywords generate your ad and lead to a click. Once a user clicks on your ad, the user is redirected from b.com (tracking URL) to a.com (destination URL).

You can add a tracking URL to your Baidu PPC account. However, you must first create the tracking URL and apply to Baidu for approval to use it. It will take a couple of days for Baidu to review.

After approval, you can sync your Baidu PPC account to your analytics tool and implement the tracking URL. Note that your tracking URL cannot redirect to domains other than the registered destination URL, because that would violate Baidu policy.

Here is an Adobe tracking URL example:

http://pixel.everesttech.net/5232/cq?ev_sid=88&ev_lx={keywordid}&ev_crx={creative}&ev_pl={placement}&url=https%3A//www.baidu.com/

The domain is everesttech.net, and it redirects to baidu.com (registered destination URL).

And here’s an example of a Google 360 tracking URL:

http://clickserve.dartsearch.net/link/click?lid=437000520415462&ds_s_kwgid=587000057089100&ds_e_adid={creative}&ds_e_device=c&ds_url_v=2&ds_dest_url=https://www.baidu.com/

The domain is dartsearch.net, and it redirects to baidu.com (registered destination URL).

Baidu PPC Domain Option 2: Domain Change

You can also use a different domain when you want to switch the registered domain. Baidu allows a domain change with your account. The condition is that the new domain must belong to the entity (brand, company, organization) with which you registered your Baidu account.

The process is:

• Request a domain change from your Baidu customer service representative or the agency you work with.
• Get the new domain ready for launch. Most importantly, you must include your entity information on the site. Baidu will verify the site belongs to the registered entity.

Baidu PPC Domain Option 3: New Domain Registration

The third option is registering a new account. Baidu does allow multiple accounts from same entity for some industries. Please check with your Baidu customer representative or the agency you work with before preceding with this option.

If you are eligible to create multiple accounts, you will need to go through the account creation process again. Baidu will verify your documentation as well as your new domain. This usually takes 1 – 2 weeks. After, you can advertise using your new domain.

The advantage is that you can promote your different domains at the same time.

The disadvantage is that you have to check your Baidu data separately.