Link an external Baidu account to a new client account

After 14 August 2023, you will no longer be able to create advertiser accounts, or create and link client accounts, in the previous Search Ads 360.

A client account connects Search Ads 360 with one of the supported search advertising platforms. Each client account specifies the ID or number of the account that it's connecting to, a daily sync schedule, and other settings that are specific to the type of advertising platform. 

Special permissions required

Only a manager administrator or sub-manager administrator can link a client account. 

Link an external Baidu account to a new client account

To link an external Baidu account to a new client account, do the following:

1. Contact Baidu and register an account with API access.
2. Link an external Baidu account in Search Ads 360.
3. Run your first sync to import existing campaigns from Baidu. 
4. If you're copying or uploading keywords into your new account, review the keyword landing page URLs to make sure they're valid on Baidu. 

1. Register an account with Baidu

Before you link a Baidu account in Search Ads 360, you'll need to contact Baidu and register for an external Baidu account. When registering for a Baidu account, we strongly recommend that you partner with an agency or reseller that is either located in China or that has experience with setting up external Baidu accounts. 

Use the following information as a reference for the agency or reseller who sets up your external Baidu account.

To register for a Baidu account with API access, do the following:

You'll need a Chinese mobile phone that can receive SMS messages

1. Visit the Baidu Account Registration page.
2. Enter a username and password.
3. Enter a Chinese mobile phone number to receive a verification code, which will be sent using SMS. 
4. Enter the verification that Baidu sends to the phone.
5. Enter your contact name, business name, website name, website URL or domain, and business address and phone number.
   • The website URL or domain you enter is the only domain that will be accepted for your keyword and ad landing pages.
   • The business address you enter determines how you pay for activity in the account. For example, if you enter a US address, Baidu may direct you to use a Chinese reseller or agency instead of using your own Chinese credit card.
6. Request Baidu approval for the domain in Search Ads 360 clickserver URLs.

Request Baidu approval for the domain in Search Ads 360 clickserver URLs

Contact your Baidu Account Manager to have clickserve.dartsearch.net added to your authorized tracking domains list. clickserve.dartsearch.net is the domain named in Search Ads 360 clickserver URLs, which Search Ads 360 generates and writes to Baidu to track performance metrics for your keywords.

2. Link an external Baidu account in Search Ads 360

After Baidu approves your request and creates an external account, you can link it to a Baidu client account in Search Ads 360. 

To link an external Baidu account to a new sub-manager client account in Search Ads 360, do the following:

1. Sign in to your new Search Ads 360.
2. Navigate to a sub-manager account. (one that will contain the Baidu account).
3. From the left page menu, click Settings, then click Sub-account settings in the expanded menu.
4. Click the plus button and select Baidu.
5. Enter an account name and username and click Authorize account.
6. Sign in to the Baidu account in the pop-up window.
7. Select the external account username, and grant Search Ads 360 permission to access and update information in your external Baidu account.
8. Select when you want your daily account sync to happen.
9. Click Link account.

The new client account displays in the "Sub-account settings" table and will be available under "Client account" in the navigation menu. 

3. Run your first sync

To import existing campaigns from the advertising platform, run your first sync. 

4. Define valid landing page URLs for each keyword

In Baidu, keywords are required to specify two URLs. One URL for non-mobile devices and another URL for mobile devices. When you create keywords in your Baidu client account, make sure that the keywords' landing page URLs specify a page on your site. They should not contain any third-party tracking redirects. If the keyword landing page URLs specify a third-party tracking service, make sure you register the tracking URL's domain with Baidu. Only domains registered with Baidu will be accepted for your keyword or ad landing pages.