Who Should You Target on Baidu Display Ads? 2025 Audience Guide

Introduction

With more than 704 million monthly active users on Baidu alone and a display network (BDN) spanning 600,000+ partner sites, apps and channels, Baidu Ads remains the fastest route to Chinese eyeballs in 2025. But reach is only half the game; smart audience selection drives costs down and conversions up. This guide breaks down exactly who to target—and how—to make Baidu Display Ads work harder for you.

Core Targeting Options on the Baidu Display Network (BDN)

Demographic Targeting

Baidu lets you segment by age, gender, income and occupation. Men still dominate usage (≈ 74 %), while the 31-35 age bracket is the single largest cohort—ideal for B2B SaaS, auto and premium lifestyle brands.

Geo-Targeting by City Tier & Province

Users in new first-tier cities such as Chengdu, Hangzhou and Ningbo account for the biggest slice of Baidu’s logged-in audience (≈ 23 %).(Baidu Advertising) Layer province or city-tier filters when you have physical stores or region-specific promotions.

Interest & Behaviour Targeting

Baidu tracks search history, content consumption and on-site actions to build interest graphs—everything from “luxury skincare” to “EV enthusiasts”. Combine these with behavioural segments (e.g., frequent comparison-shoppers) for upper-funnel awareness. (PLTFRM)

Device & Connection Targeting

Mobile now powers 70 %+ of Baidu searches; match creative ratios (vertical video, square images) and bid modifiers to smartphone users during commute hours. (China Trading Desk)

Retargeting & Custom Audiences

Use Baidu Pixel (site-wide tag) to build viewers, cart-abandoners or membership lists, then serve personalised banners, multi-image carousels or dynamic product ads. Retargeting routinely delivers the lowest CPA across BDN

High-Value Audience Segments to Test

1. Affluent Millennial Professionals (31-35, Tier 1 & New Tier 1)

• Skew heavily male, tech-savvy and brand-conscious—perfect for fintech, SaaS and premium consumer electronics.

2. Tech-Savvy Male Users (All Ages)

• Represent roughly three-quarters of Baidu traffic; build gamer, AI-enthusiast or smartphone‐reviewer look-alike sets.

3. New First-Tier City Consumers

• Rising disposable income yet lower CPCs than Beijing/Shanghai—ideal sandbox for emerging brands.

4. In-Market Shoppers on Baidu E-commerce & Content Apps

• Layer “purchase intent” signals (product-review reads, shopping-related searches) with category interests.

5. Competitor-Site Visitors (Conquesting)

• Upload CRM or pixel data and bid aggressively on users who visited rival domains within last 7 days

Tips to Refine Targeting & Scale Performance

1. Start broad, then layer one filter at a time—watch CPM and CVR deltas before trimming reach.

2. Feed audience signals into Baidu Banfei’s Smart Bidding to let AI optimise bids in real time.

3. Audit placement reports weekly; exclude low-quality apps or spammy forums to protect brand equity.

4. Split-test creatives per segment (e.g., Mandarin slang for Gen-Z vs. formal tone for B2B).

5. Cap frequency (3-5/day) to avoid fatigue—Baidu’s ad-exposure controls sit under “Delivery Settings”.

Conclusion

Winning on Baidu Display Ads in 2025 is less about blanket reach and more about precision audience design. Start with demographics that mirror Baidu’s core users—male, 31-35, mobile-first—layer geo and interest signals, then scale with smart bidding and disciplined placement optimisation. Follow these steps, and your campaigns will resonate with the right Chinese consumers while squeezing every yuan of ROI out of the Baidu ecosystem.

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