Baidu Testing New Keyword Ad Feature
Marbridge Consulting, 10/26/10
Chinese online search firm Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) has begun testing a new ad product called Xijing, similar to Google's Sitelinks product, which allows the first keyword ad on the left-hand side of the results page to feature up to four separate sub-links to specific product pages on the advertiser's website. According to a Baidu representative, Baidu is not currently charging any extra fee for this functionality; participating advertisers whose combined keyword bid price and ad quality are high enough to win the first left-hand spot are able to enjoy this extra feature for free. Advertisers wishing to participate in the current trials must submit their sub-links to Baidu for upload, as presently Baidu's back-end ad system does not yet offer advertisers any option to upload sub-links on their own. However, in the future, Baidu will look to automate the process.
Two keywords for which the feature appeared yesterday, but no longer appears today, are "computer" (the Chinese character "diannao") and "online top-up" ("wangshang chongzhi"). "Computer" yesterday featured an ad for HP, with both the usual link to HP's website, as well as sub-links to four of HP's product pages, but because HP's add has dropped to the second slot today (behind Lenovo), HP's ad no longer displays the sub-links.
Keywords: Internet online search Baidu BIDU online advertising
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