Baidu Analytics, also known as Baidu Tongji, is China's leading web analytics platform. It offers businesses insights into user behavior, website performance, and marketing campaign effectiveness specifically for the Chinese market. 

Baidu Analytics is similar to Google Analytics but optimized for Baidu's ecosystem, so it’s a useful tool for businesses looking to enhance their website performance in China.

TL;DR: Baidu Analytics (Baidu Tongji) is China’s leading web analytics tool, designed for businesses targeting Chinese users. It offers insights into user behavior, campaign effectiveness, and website performance. With strong integration into Baidu’s ecosystem, it’s a must-have for marketers in China.

In this article, we’ll dive into what Baidu Analytics is, how it compares to other analytics tools, and how you can leverage it to optimize your website’s performance for the Chinese audience.

What is Baidu Analytics?

Baidu Analytics (Baidu Tongji - 百度统计) is a comprehensive web analytics tool developed by Baidu, China’s largest search engine. It allows businesses to track website traffic, monitor user engagement, and measure the success of digital campaigns. Baidu Analytics provides insights tailored to the Chinese market, including data on user demographics, geographic distribution, and device preferences.

Key features of Baidu Analytics

Baidu Analytics offers a variety of features that make it a powerful tool for businesses targeting Chinese users:

Traffic analysis: See an overview of traffic coming to your website, including number of visitors, bounce rate, session duration, and average number of pages visited.

Image source: Baidu Tongji Demo

User demographics: Learn more detailed information about your users, including the age and location of site visitors.

Image source: Baidu Tongji Demo

Page performance: See volume and trends in page views as well as top entrance and exit pages.

Search performance: View your top performing search terms and user preferences that are driving traffic to your site.

User behavior insights: Run A/B tests, track events like clicks and purchases and analyze click paths to understand what drives engagement.

Campaign tracking: Measure the ROI of your marketing campaigns, including Baidu Ads and other channels.

Mobile and app analytics: Track performance across mobile websites and apps, reflecting the mobile-first behavior of Chinese users.

Baidu Analytics vs. Google Analytics

Baidu Analytics

Localization - Fully localized for the Chinese market

SEO integration - Integration with Baidu Ads and SEO tools

Data compliance - Adheres to Chinese data regulations

Accessibility in China - Seamless access and faster loading

Google Analytics

Localization - Global audience focus

SEO integration - Integration with Google Ads and Search Console

Data compliance - Adheres to global and GDPR standards

Accessibility in China - Domain is blocked in China

Google Analytics remains the front-leader globally, although Baidu Analytics offers a competitive edge in understanding and optimizing performance in China.

How to set up Baidu Analytics

There are two key steps to setting up Baidu Analytics:

Register on Baidu Tongji: Create an account at tongji.baidu.com using a Baidu account.

Image source: u.baidu.com

Install the tracking code: Place the provided JavaScript tracking code on your website’s pages. If you use a specific CMS, there may be ways to do this within the CMS settings.

You will then be able to customize the dashboard to gain visibility of the metrics that matter most for your business objectives.

Using Baidu Analytics for website optimization

Baidu Analytics can help you identify opportunities to improve conversion rates, marketing efforts, user experience and more.

Here’s how to leverage Baidu Analytics to get the most out of the tools:

Analyze traffic sources: Understand where your visitors are coming from (e.g., Baidu search, social media, direct traffic) to refine your marketing efforts.

Monitor bounce rates: Identify pages with high bounce rates and optimize content, layout, or loading speeds.

Track user paths: Use heatmaps and user journey data to improve navigation and conversion rates.

Optimize for mobile: Leverage mobile analytics to ensure your site performs well on smartphones, which dominate internet usage in China.

Evaluate campaign performance: Measure the effectiveness of your Baidu Ads campaigns and adjust budgets or strategies accordingly.

Common challenges and tips

Language barrier: Baidu Analytics is primarily in Chinese, although a lot of the data is visualised as graphs or numbers. If you’re using it as a non-Chinese speaker, you could use translation tools or work with a local agency for better understanding.

Data inaccuracies: It’s possible to install the Baidu Analytics code incorrectly (for example, in the wrong part of your website’s code), and this could cause inaccuracies. Misinterpretation of data due to unfamiliarity with the platform’s metrics can also hinder effective analysis. Chinafy can refer you to our partners if you’re looking for Baidu expertise.

Web performance issues: Over 90% of global websites face web performance challenges when accessed from China due to compatibility issues including infrastructure and third-party resources. This may result in slow-loading or poorly-functioning pages, leading to high bounce rates and low conversion rates. Chinafy helps make websites run faster and fully in China by optimizing for China without impacting your existing site. See how your site performs in China with our Visual Speed Test.

With over a billion internet users in China, understanding your audience’s behavior can be the difference between a successful marketing machine and a wasted budget. Baidu Analytics provides the granular, localized data needed to optimize websites for Chinese users, improve user experience, and maximize marketing ROI.

Baidu Analytics is a useful tool for localized insights, demographic analysis, conversion rate optimization and integration with Baidu’s ecosystem.

It’s important to note, however, that you need to address challenges like compatibility and performance if you want to get the most out of your China marketing strategy, including the ability to effectively leverage Baidu Analytics. You can learn more about Chinafy for that here.