MARKETING
25 Things You Didn’t Know About Baidu
In the United States, we have Google.
In China, they have Baidu.
If you’re wondering, “what does this have to do with me?” I get it. What does China’s biggest tech company have to do with you?
A lot, if you’re involved with marketing and SEO.
Take a look, for instance, at this stunning fact: 90% of online search queries done in China are done through Baidu.
This amounts to billions of searches per month!
There are tons of other fascinating facts about Baidu you might not know.
Let’s look at some of them.
What Is Baidu?
As mentioned above, Baidu is a huge Chinese tech company specializing in internet services and AI (artificial intelligence).
It is the largest internet company in China and one of the biggest in the world. Since Google is banned in mainland China, most Chinese people use Baidu as their chosen search engine.
25 Fascinating Facts About Baidu You Need to Know
Baidu has a long history of ups and downs, acquisitions, growth, and intrigue.
Here is a list of some of the facts that make Baidu what it is today.
1. What’s Behind the Name?
The name Baidu was taken from a beautiful poem called The Green Jade Table in the Lantern Festival. Written by Xin Qiji (1140-1207), this haunting poem portrays the search for one’s dreams amidst chaotic distractions.
Here are the lines that inspired the name Baidu.
“…Hundreds and thousands of times, for her I searched in chaos / Suddenly, I turned by chance, to where the lights were waning, and there she stood.” – Xin Qiji (translated)
See the connection?
Baidu allows you to achieve a constant search for the ideal.
2. How Is Baidu Pronounced?
The word Baidu is made up of two Chinese characters. Here’s what they look like.
The first character is pronounced “bai.” The second one can be pronounced “do” or “to.”
Actually, it’s a blend of “d” and “t.”
Baidu means hundreds or thousands of times.
3. Who Founded Baidu?
Although Baidu would grow to stunning heights, its creator actually started small. Born as the only son of two factory workers in Yang Quan, Robin Li didn’t have the capital to start a huge business.
Instead, he studied computer science at Beijing University. After the campus was shut down due to pro-democracy protests, Li moved to Buffalo and earned his master’s degree at the State University of New York.
After his studies, Li got his first job at a company called IDD (a Dow Jones subsidiary). It was during this time that Li created RankDex, a site-scoring algorithm.
In 1999, Li was invited back to China to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the communist regime. It was then that he met his biochemist friend Eric Wu. Together, they decided to capitalize on China’s growing internet industry by starting Baidu.
4. Baidu Started Off with Silicon Valley Funding
When Baidu came to life in 2000, it caught the attention of major venture capital firms.
With a $1.2 million funding from Integrity Partners and Peninsula Capital, Li and Wu returned to Beijing to launch their project.
It didn’t take long for other venture capital firms to notice them. A few months later, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and IDG Technology Venture invested $10 million in Baidu.
5. Baidu.com Wasn’t Always a Search Engine
Li and Wu originally intended Baidu to be a search service to other Chinese portals. However, things weren’t looking up towards the end of the year.
“The portals didn’t want to pay for (the service),” Lee told Forbes in 2009.
Luckily, they got the idea to launch Baidu as an independent site.
6. Baidu Beat Google to Making Money on Ads
Just like Google, Baidu sported a simple, no-nonsense homepage. However, there was a difference.
Unlike Google back then, Baidu allowed companies to bid on space for ads. By 2004, Li and Wu started making a profit.
7. Robin Li Is the 35th Wealthiest Person in China
With a net worth of $8.4 billion, Li surpasses wealthy Chinese businesspeople like Dang Yanbao (Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group) and Kei Hoi Pang (Logan Property Holdings).
8. The All-Time High of a Baidu Stock Share Is $284
When Baidu went public in 2005, it opened at $27 a share and closed at $112. Since then, things have gone up and down for Baidu shares.
In May 2019, Baidu’s share price reached a staggering closing price of $284. However, this declined with the onset of the trade war and the decline of the Chinese economy.
Today, a share can be bought at $117.
Here’s a look at Baidu stock share prices from 2005 to 2019 f rom Macrotrends.
9. Baidu Launched AI-Powered Cameras That Can Spot Ocular Fundus
Baidu isn’t all about giving internet users the best way to find what they’re looking for. In fact, the company is concerned about the general health and welfare of the Chinese people as well.
In 2018, Baidu revealed high-tech AI-powered cameras that did the work of ophthalmologists in spotting eye conditions that lead to blindness. These include glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy.
In 2019, hospitals began using Baidu’s cameras to run eye screenings on patients.
10. Before the AI-Powered Cameras, Baidu Launched a Chatbot for Doctors and Patients
Baidu is a huge player in China’s health market. In fact, two years before it launched the AI cameras for spotting ocular fundus, it introduced Melody to hospitals.
Melody is a chatbot that allows patients to give their health information to doctors. With it, doctors and patients can communicate in a faster, simpler way.
11. Baidu’s Total Revenues Reached $3.93 Billion in the Third Quarter of 2019
Baidu’s revenues rise 7% quarter over quarter, and 3% year over year.
12. Baidu Has Over a Billion Active Mobile Users
By March 2019, Baidu had 1.1 billion mobile users. Its DuerOS voice assistant generated 2.37 billion voice queries per month!
13. You Need a Mandarin Website to Rank on Baidu
This is not only because most of Baidu’s users are Chinese. It’s also because English words won’t rank on the search engine at all.
14. Baidu Ranks Sites Based on Their Home Page
If you want better rankings on Baidu, put all your energy into your site’s home page.
15. Baidu Is the 4th Most Popular Website in the World
Baidu currently ranks at #4 on Alexa.
This puts Baidu above both Facebook and Wikipedia!
16. Ads Are Given Priority on Baidu
While Google prioritizes organic results, Baidu’s first search pages are packed with ads.
This resonates with the fact that Chinese users believe that if a company can pay for ads, it must be reliable.
17. 90% of Internet Users in China Use Baidu
That’s over 700 million people!
18. Baidu Analytics Is Used by More Than 7 Million Websites
Here are some sites using Baidu Analytics today according to BuiltWith.
19. Baidu is the First Chinese Company to Join the Partnership on AI (PAI)
Joining companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google, Baidu is on a mission towards exploring the benefits of AI for society.
20. The Most Popular Keywords on Baidu
Baidu’s top keywords reflect the interests of the Chinese people. As of December 2018, the most popular keywords were: “World Cup,” “trade war,” and “Yanxi Palace.”
21. Baidu Gives Priority to Websites Hosted in China
Chinese websites end with .cn. If you’re thinking of getting a 100% Chinese website, you first need to register your company in the country.
22. Robert Li Warned Google of Stiff Competition if Ever It Returned to China
Google is mulling on returning to China with modifications that fit the country’s strict censorship laws.
Baidu’s response? Google should expect stiff, all-out competition.
23. Baidu Is More Than a Search Engine
Baidu users can access news, maps, government searches, internet TV, anti-virus products, and more!
24. Baidu Is Part of the Biggest Autonomous Driving Program in the World
It partners with huge companies like Ford, Intel, Grab, and Honda to provide AI technology for driverless cars.
25. Baidu’s Reach Is Expanding Beyond China
Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (called BAT) are three of China’s biggest companies.
As of today, BAT is extending its influence far beyond China. It’s hiring US talent and investing in US AI startups.
Baidu: The Search Engine of the Future?
Baidu is huge, and it is determined to grow even more.
As a marketer, this could affect your overall goals.
Should you be content with Google or seek an audience in China as well with Baidu?
Image Credits
All screenshots taken by author, November 2019
MARKETING
Will Google Buy HubSpot? | Content Marketing Institute
Google + HubSpot. Is it a thing?
This week, a flurry of news came down about Google’s consideration of purchasing HubSpot.
The prospect dismayed some. It delighted others.
But is it likely? Is it even possible? What would it mean for marketers? What does the consideration even mean for marketers?
Well, we asked CMI’s chief strategy advisor, Robert Rose, for his take. Watch this video or read on:
Why Alphabet may want HubSpot
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, apparently is contemplating the acquisition of inbound marketing giant HubSpot.
The potential price could be in the range of $30 billion to $40 billion. That would make Alphabet’s largest acquisition by far. The current deal holding that title happened in 2011 when it acquired Motorola Mobility for more than $12 billion. It later sold it to Lenovo for less than $3 billion.
If the HubSpot deal happens, it would not be in character with what the classic evil villain has been doing for the past 20 years.
At first glance, you might think the deal would make no sense. Why would Google want to spend three times as much as it’s ever spent to get into the inbound marketing — the CRM and marketing automation business?
At a second glance, it makes a ton of sense.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I and others at CMI spend a lot of time discussing privacy, owned media, and the deprecation of the third-party cookie. I just talked about it two weeks ago. It’s really happening.
All that oxygen being sucked out of the ad tech space presents a compelling case that Alphabet should diversify from third-party data and classic surveillance-based marketing.
Yes, this potential acquisition is about data. HubSpot would give Alphabet the keys to the kingdom of 205,000 business customers — and their customers’ data that almost certainly numbers in the tens of millions. Alphabet would also gain access to the content, marketing, and sales information those customers consumed.
Conversely, the deal would provide an immediate tip of the spear for HubSpot clients to create more targeted programs in the Alphabet ecosystem and upload their data to drive even more personalized experiences on their own properties and connect them to the Google Workspace infrastructure.
When you add in the idea of Gemini, you can start to see how Google might monetize its generative AI tool beyond figuring out how to use it on ads on search results pages.
What acquisition could mean for HubSpot customers
I may be stretching here but imagine this world. As a Hubspoogle customer, you can access an interface that prioritizes your owned media data (e.g., your website, your e-commerce catalog, blog) when Google’s Gemini answers a question).
Recent reports also say Google may put up a paywall around the new premium features of its artificial intelligence-powered Search Generative Experience. Imagine this as the new gating for marketing. In other words, users can subscribe to Google’s AI for free, but Hubspoogle customers can access that data and use it to create targeted offers.
The acquisition of HubSpot would immediately make Google Workspace a more robust competitor to Microsoft 365 Office for small- and medium-sized businesses as they would receive the ADDED capability of inbound marketing.
But in the world of rented land where Google is the landlord, the government will take notice of the acquisition. But — and it’s a big but, I cannot lie (yes, I just did that). The big but is whether this acquisition dance can happen without going afoul of regulatory issues.
Some analysts say it should be no problem. Others say, “Yeah, it wouldn’t go.” Either way, would anybody touch it in an election year? That’s a whole other story.
What marketers should realize
So, what’s my takeaway?
It’s a remote chance that Google will jump on this hard, but stranger things have happened. It would be an exciting disruption in the market.
The sure bet is this. The acquisition conversation — as if you needed more data points — says getting good at owned media to attract and build audiences and using that first-party data to provide better communication and collaboration with your customers are a must.
It’s just a matter of time until Google makes a move. They might just be testing the waters now, but they will move here. But no matter what they do, if you have your customer data house in order, you’ll be primed for success.
HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:
Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
MARKETING
5 Psychological Tactics to Write Better Emails
Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.
I’ve tested 100s of psychological tactics on my email subscribers. In this blog, I reveal the five tactics that actually work.
You’ll learn about the email tactic that got one marketer a job at the White House.
You’ll learn how I doubled my 5 star reviews with one email, and why one strange email from Barack Obama broke all records for donations.
5 Psychological Tactics to Write Better Emails
Imagine writing an email that’s so effective it lands you a job at the White House.
Well, that’s what happened to Maya Shankar, a PhD cognitive neuroscientist. In 2014, the Department of Veterans Affairs asked her to help increase signups in their veteran benefit scheme.
Maya had a plan. She was well aware of a cognitive bias that affects us all—the endowment effect. This bias suggests that people value items higher if they own them. So, she changed the subject line in the Veterans’ enrollment email.
Previously it read:
- Veterans, you’re eligible for the benefit program. Sign up today.
She tweaked one word, changing it to:
- Veterans, you’ve earned the benefits program. Sign up today.
This tiny tweak had a big impact. The amount of veterans enrolling in the program went up by 9%. And Maya landed a job working at the White House
Inspired by these psychological tweaks to emails, I started to run my own tests.
Alongside my podcast Nudge, I’ve run 100s of email tests on my 1,000s of newsletter subscribers.
Here are the five best tactics I’ve uncovered.
1. Show readers what they’re missing.
Nobel prize winning behavioral scientists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky uncovered a principle called loss aversion.
Loss aversion means that losses feel more painful than equivalent gains. In real-world terms, losing $10 feels worse than how gaining $10 feels good. And I wondered if this simple nudge could help increase the number of my podcast listeners.
For my test, I tweaked the subject line of the email announcing an episode. The control read:
“Listen to this one”
In the loss aversion variant it read:
“Don’t miss this one”
It is very subtle loss aversion. Rather than asking someone to listen, I’m saying they shouldn’t miss out. And it worked. It increased the open rate by 13.3% and the click rate by 12.5%. Plus, it was a small change that cost me nothing at all.
2. People follow the crowd.
In general, humans like to follow the masses. When picking a dish, we’ll often opt for the most popular. When choosing a movie to watch, we tend to pick the box office hit. It’s a well-known psychological bias called social proof.
I’ve always wondered if it works for emails. So, I set up an A/B experiment with two subject lines. Both promoted my show, but one contained social proof.
The control read: New Nudge: Why Brands Should Flaunt Their Flaws
The social proof variant read: New Nudge: Why Brands Should Flaunt Their Flaws (100,000 Downloads)
I hoped that by highlighting the episode’s high number of downloads, I’d encourage more people to listen. Fortunately, it worked.
The open rate went from 22% to 28% for the social proof version, and the click rate, (the number of people actually listening to the episode), doubled.
3. Praise loyal subscribers.
The consistency principle suggests that people are likely to stick to behaviours they’ve previously taken. A retired taxi driver won’t swap his car for a bike. A hairdresser won’t change to a cheap shampoo. We like to stay consistent with our past behaviors.
I decided to test this in an email.
For my test, I attempted to encourage my subscribers to leave a review for my podcast. I sent emails to 400 subscribers who had been following the show for a year.
The control read: “Could you leave a review for Nudge?”
The consistency variant read: “You’ve been following Nudge for 12 months, could you leave a review?”
My hypothesis was simple. If I remind people that they’ve consistently supported the show they’ll be more likely to leave a review.
It worked.
The open rate on the consistency version of the email was 7% higher.
But more importantly, the click rate, (the number of people who actually left a review), was almost 2x higher for the consistency version. Merely telling people they’d been a fan for a while doubled my reviews.
4. Showcase scarcity.
We prefer scarce resources. Taylor Swift gigs sell out in seconds not just because she’s popular, but because her tickets are hard to come by.
Swifties aren’t the first to experience this. Back in 1975, three researchers proved how powerful scarcity is. For the study, the researchers occupied a cafe. On alternating weeks they’d make one small change in the cafe.
On some weeks they’d ensure the cookie jar was full.
On other weeks they’d ensure the cookie jar only contained two cookies (never more or less).
In other words, sometimes the cookies looked abundantly available. Sometimes they looked like they were almost out.
This changed behaviour. Customers who saw the two cookie jar bought 43% more cookies than those who saw the full jar.
It sounds too good to be true, so I tested it for myself.
I sent an email to 260 subscribers offering free access to my Science of Marketing course for one day only.
In the control, the subject line read: “Free access to the Science of Marketing course”
For the scarcity variant it read: “Only Today: Get free access to the Science of Marketing Course | Only one enrol per person.”
130 people received the first email, 130 received the second. And the result was almost as good as the cookie finding. The scarcity version had a 15.1% higher open rate.
5. Spark curiosity.
All of the email tips I’ve shared have only been tested on my relatively small audience. So, I thought I’d end with a tip that was tested on the masses.
Back in 2012, Barack Obama and his campaign team sent hundreds of emails to raise funds for his campaign.
Of the $690 million he raised, most came from direct email appeals. But there was one email, according to ABC news, that was far more effective than the rest. And it was an odd one.
The email that drew in the most cash, had a strange subject line. It simply said “Hey.”
The actual email asked the reader to donate, sharing all the expected reasons, but the subject line was different.
It sparked curiosity, it got people wondering, is Obama saying Hey just to me?
Readers were curious and couldn’t help but open the email. According to ABC it was “the most effective pitch of all.”
Because more people opened, it raised more money than any other email. The bias Obama used here is the curiosity gap. We’re more likely to act on something when our curiosity is piqued.
Loss aversion, social proof, consistency, scarcity and curiosity—all these nudges have helped me improve my emails. And I reckon they’ll work for you.
It’s not guaranteed of course. Many might fail. But running some simple a/b tests for your emails is cost free, so why not try it out?
This blog is part of Phill Agnew’s Marketing Cheat Sheet series where he reveals the scientifically proven tips to help you improve your marketing. To learn more, listen to his podcast Nudge, a proud member of the Hubspot Podcast Network.
MARKETING
The power of program management in martech
As a supporter of the program perspective for initiatives, I recognize the value of managing related projects, products and activities as a unified entity.
While one-off projects have their place, they often involve numerous moving parts and in my experience, using a project-based approach can lead to crucial elements being overlooked. This is particularly true when building a martech stack or developing content, for example, where a program-based approach can ensure that all aspects are considered and properly integrated.
For many CMOs and marketing organizations, programs are becoming powerful tools for aligning diverse initiatives and driving strategic objectives. Let’s explore the essential role of programs in product management, project management and marketing operations, bridging technical details with business priorities.
Programs in product management
Product management is a fascinating domain where programs operate as a strategic framework, coordinating related products or product lines to meet specific business objectives.
Product managers are responsible for defining a product or product line’s strategy, roadmap and features. They work closely with program managers, who ensure alignment with market demands, customer needs and the company’s overall vision by managing offerings at a program level.
Program managers optimize the product portfolio, make strategic decisions about resource allocation and ensure that each product contributes to the program’s goals. One key aspect of program management in product management is identifying synergies between products.
Program managers can drive innovation and efficiency across the portfolio by leveraging shared technologies, customer insights, or market trends. This approach enables organizations to respond quickly to changing market conditions, seize emerging opportunities and maintain a competitive advantage. Product managers, in turn, use these insights to shape the direction of individual products.
Moreover, programs in product management facilitate cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing. Program managers foster a holistic understanding of customer needs and market dynamics by bringing together teams from various departments, such as engineering, marketing and sales.
Product managers also play a crucial role in this collaborative approach, ensuring that all stakeholders work towards common goals, ultimately leading to more successful product launches and enhanced customer satisfaction.
Dig deeper: Understanding different product roles in marketing technology acquisition
Programs in project management
In project management, programs provide a structured approach for managing related projects as a unified entity, supporting broader strategic objectives. Project managers are responsible for planning, executing and closing individual projects within a program. They focus on specific deliverables, timelines and budgets.
On the other hand, program managers oversee these projects’ coordination, dependencies and outcomes, ensuring they collectively deliver the desired benefits and align with the organization’s strategic goals.
A typical example of a program in project management is a martech stack optimization initiative. Such a program may involve integrating marketing technology tools and platforms, implementing customer data management systems and training employees on the updated technologies. Project managers would be responsible for the day-to-day management of each project.
In contrast, the program manager ensures a cohesive approach, minimizes disruptions and realizes the full potential of the martech investments to improve marketing efficiency, personalization and ROI.
The benefits of program management in project management are numerous. Program managers help organizations prioritize initiatives that deliver the greatest value by aligning projects with strategic objectives. They also identify and mitigate risks that span multiple projects, ensuring that issues in one area don’t derail the entire program. Project managers, in turn, benefit from this oversight and guidance, as they can focus on successfully executing their projects.
Additionally, program management enables efficient resource allocation, as skills and expertise can be shared across projects, reducing duplication of effort and maximizing value. Project managers can leverage these resources and collaborate with other project teams to achieve their objectives more effectively.
Dig deeper: Combining martech projects: 5 questions to ask
Programs in marketing operations
In marketing operations, programs play a vital role in integrating and managing various marketing activities to achieve overarching goals. Marketing programs encompass multiple initiatives, such as advertising, content marketing, social media and event planning. Organizations ensure consistent messaging, strategic alignment, and measurable results by managing these activities as a cohesive program.
In marketing operations, various roles, such as MOps managers, campaign managers, content managers, digital marketing managers and analytics managers, collaborate to develop and execute comprehensive marketing plans that support the organization’s business objectives.
These professionals work closely with cross-functional teams, including creative, analytics and sales, to ensure that all marketing efforts are coordinated and optimized for maximum impact. This involves setting clear goals, defining key performance indicators (KPIs) and continuously monitoring and adjusting strategies based on data-driven insights.
One of the primary benefits of a programmatic approach in marketing operations is maintaining a consistent brand voice and message across all channels. By establishing guidelines and standards for content creation, visual design and customer interactions, marketing teams ensure that the brand’s identity remains cohesive and recognizable. This consistency builds customer trust, reinforces brand loyalty and drives business growth.
Programs in marketing operations enable organizations to take a holistic approach to customer engagement. By analyzing customer data and feedback across various touchpoints, marketing professionals can identify opportunities for improvement and develop targeted strategies to enhance the customer experience. This customer-centric approach leads to increased satisfaction, higher retention rates and more effective marketing investments.
Dig deeper: Mastering the art of goal setting in marketing operations
Embracing the power of programs for long-term success
We’ve explored how programs enable marketing organizations to drive strategic success and create lasting impact by aligning diverse initiatives across product management, project management and marketing operations.
- Product management programs facilitate cross-functional collaboration and ensure alignment with market demands.
- In project management, they provide a structured approach for managing related projects and mitigating risks.
- In marketing operations, programs enable consistent messaging and a customer-centric approach to engagement.
Program managers play a vital role in maintaining strategic alignment, continuously assessing progress and adapting to changes in the business environment. Keeping programs aligned with long-term objectives maximizes ROI and drives sustainable growth.
Organizations that invest in developing strong program management capabilities will be better positioned to optimize resources, foster innovation and achieve their long-term goals.
As a CMO or marketing leader, it is important to recognize the strategic value of programs and champion their adoption across your organization. By aligning efforts across various domains, you can unlock the full potential of your initiatives and drive meaningful results. Try it, you’ll like it.
Fuel for your marketing strategy.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.
-
WORDPRESS6 days ago
Turkish startup ikas attracts $20M for its e-commerce platform designed for small businesses
-
PPC7 days ago
31 Ready-to-Go Mother’s Day Messages for Social Media, Email, & More
-
PPC6 days ago
A History of Google AdWords and Google Ads: Revolutionizing Digital Advertising & Marketing Since 2000
-
MARKETING5 days ago
Roundel Media Studio: What to Expect From Target’s New Self-Service Platform
-
SEO5 days ago
Google Limits News Links In California Over Proposed ‘Link Tax’ Law
-
MARKETING6 days ago
Unlocking the Power of AI Transcription for Enhanced Content Marketing Strategies
-
SEARCHENGINES6 days ago
Google Search Results Can Be Harmful & Dangerous In Some Cases
-
SEARCHENGINES5 days ago
Daily Search Forum Recap: April 12, 2024