Chinese Keyword Research

Difficulties of Chinese Keyword Research

Beware of relying solely on tools for Keyword Research in SEO and SEA. While tools like Searchmetrics, Conductor, and Dragon Metrics may seem like a quick fix, they only provide a limited, pre-selected list of keywords. This means you may miss out on important search terms that real Chinese people in mainland China are actually using. By relying solely on these tools, you risk limiting the reach and effectiveness of your search engine strategy. It's important to understand that while tools can be useful, they should not be relied upon as the sole source of keyword research.

So maybe go with Chinese translation tools for the rescue? Steer clear of relying solely on translation tools for your keyword research in China. While using tools like Google Translate, Deepl AI, or Baidu Translate to convert your English keywords into Simplified Chinese may seem like a convenient solution, the accuracy of these tools should not be taken for granted. Between languages as similar as English and Dutch, these tools often fail to produce proper translations. And the gap between English and Chinese is even wider, leading to an even higher risk of failure. It's important to remember that these tools cannot take cultural nuances into consideration, and relying solely on them may result in a limited and inaccurate understanding of the keywords used by Chinese people in Mainland China.

Even native speakers may not always be the solution to accurate Chinese keyword research. Even if they are working within your company, if they are not residing in Mainland China, they may not be fully immersed in the ever-evolving language used by the local population. Differences in language usage can also occur between regions, such as Mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. To ensure a thorough and up-to-date understanding of Chinese keywords, it's best to have a native speaker who is actually living in Mainland China conduct the research. This way, you can be confident that the language and cultural nuances are being taken into consideration for a successful search engine strategy.

And even after you have managed to overcome all the language-related and cultural difficulties, you will hold a list fo keywords in your excel spreadsheet with not much more information, than Baidu search volume. It will be hard building an educated guess on not existing data, if it is possible to rank for a certain keyword and if one can expect any visitors from a ranking within Baidu's SERP.