3 Little-Known China Keyword Research Tools That Will Definitely Double Your Search Traffic

Recently updated on February 21st, 2024 at 07:55 pm

A strategic keyword research plan is, without a doubt, a foundation of marketing success in any market. The Chinese market isn’t an exception. However, Google is not accessible in mainland China, which means those keyword research tools that western marketers use do not function for Chinese search engines. Hence, you have to use keyword research tools specific to the Chinese market to ensure your keywords appear at the top of SERPs on Baidu.

In this post, we’ll tap into the three most valuable China keyword research tools for effective marketing.

Why Do You Need Keyword Research for the Chinese Market?

工欲善其事必先利其器 (a workman must first sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well）

Chinese proverb

Keyword research is the foundation of any SEO campaign.

Whether you are an expert with over 10 years of experience or a beginner, a thorough keyword research process with the right tools can build a foundation successful Chinese website localization.

Executing an online marketing strategy without thorough keyword research is like fishing without the bait or firing a gun with your eyes closed.

What Tools Are Useful for Keyword Search Volumes in China?

To better formulate the right SEO strategy for your marketing in China, keyword research tools are indispensable.

3 Most Valuable China Keyword Research Tools

Keyword research sounds easy, however, creating a strategic keyword research plan for your specific industry requires loads of work than merely downloading the CSV file from your keyword tool.

# 1 Baidu Index 百度指数

Similar to Google Trends, Baidu Index is a free tool used to identify search trends behind keywords, products, brands, or industries.

By entering search terms in the query box, you can view multiple tags, including historical and predicted search trends, user interests and needs, public sentiment, regional interests, and audience and industry characteristics.

The following graph is the search index for the keyword “进口化妆品 imported cosmetics” in the past 30 days.

Baidu Index has plenty of features as just Google Trends does. The following three tags are the most frequently used.

Historical & Forecast Search Trends

Historical and predicated search trends can help determine the trends of specific keywords. In addition, you can filter by time frame, region, device, etc. F

Here is the search trend of “新能源汽车 electric cars” in China in the past 30 days. (This is the data of 2022 when we first published this article)

Here’s the popularity index of the topic/keyword talked by mainstream media outlets or social media platforms in China.

User Interests & Needs

It helps you understand the search terms and the needs of users through extended and related interests. You will get a list of related queries ranked by popularity, which can help marketers understand the keyword roadmap better.

For example, search for the term “新能源汽车 electric cars”, you’ll find the following related search terms.

新能源汽车十大品牌 the top 10 electric car brands, 新能源汽车价格 electric car prices, 10万左右的新能源汽车 electric car at about 100k, 3-5万电动汽车 electric car at 30k-50k, etc.

💡 If you integrate these keywords into your Baidu marketing strategy, there is a high chance that your potential customers will find your website when searching for related terms.

Interests by Region

This search allows you to filter according to geographic region, age group, and interest. You can choose the top 10 cities that generate the most search for your marketing and target the specific age group with specific interests.

Take “新能源汽车 electric cars” as an example, the top search in the past 30 days is from Guangdong province, age group: 30-39, gender: male.

How to Use Baidu Index?

Step 1: Go to index.baidu.com, click “登录 login”

Step 2: Type the keyword and start to search

Step 3: Generate the search report

💡 We search for the keyword “新能源汽车 electric cars” again, apparently, it’s becoming more and more popular in the Chinese market compared with the period in 2022 when we first published this article.

#2 Weibo Index 微博指数

Weibo Index is also known as Wei Index (微指数). The algorithm of Weibo is quite similar to that of search engines in many ways. It’s one of the most effective marketing tools in China with an extensive range of possibilities to reach people across diverse demographics and psychographics.

As a result, it’s considered as an indispensable part of the China marketing strategy.

How to Use Weibo Index?

Step 1: Scan the following QR code, and log into Wei Index

💡 You would have to download the Weibo app and register an account if you don’t have a Weibo account)

Step 2: Go to 微指数 Wei Index, search for “新能源汽车 electric cars”

Step 3: You can check the search trends for the keyword in 1 hour, 24 hours, the past 30 days, and the past 90 days

Step 4: Click “品牌热榜 Top Ranking Brands”

Take the keyword “新能源汽车” as an example, it lists all the popular electric car brands.

The top 10 electric car brands in China are:

1. Tesla
2. Porche
3. Xiaomi
4. XPENG
5. NIO
6. Toyota
7. Volkswagen
8. BYD
9. Leading Idea
10. Zeekr

You can also click a specific brand, and check the detailed data.

Let’s check Tesla.

It gives you a detailed report of the keyword “Tesla”.

#3 WeChat Index 微信指数

WeChat Index is a tool to measure the search trends and popularity of designated keywords within the WeChat ecosystem.

WeChat Index is based on the following three sources:

• The search volume of the keyword in WeChat
• The presence of the keyword in WeChat articles
• The presence of the keyword in articles shared publicly by WeChat users on their Moments pages

How to Use WeChat Index?

Step 1: Launch Wechat Index either through Wechat Mini Program or via the WeChat search function.

Mini Program

WeChat Search

You can also access WeChat Index by typing “微信指数 + Keyword” in the search result bar for direct results.

Step 2: Search for the keyword “新能源汽车 electric cars” on WeChat Index, and generate the report

As you can see, you can check the data in the past 7 days, 30 days, and all the data available.

It also list the sources of the data. WeChat Index analyzes the data from 6 sources:

• Official Account
• Video Account
• Search
• Live Stream
• Website
• Others

It’s apparent that a great majority of the data is from the Video Account.

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