In late 2021, Baidu made a quiet change that hit foreign advertisers harder than most. Domain names stopped appearing in PPC ad display areas. Instead, Baidu began showing each advertiser's business registration name — the name officially filed with Chinese authorities.
For Chinese domestic brands, this was no big deal. Their company name and brand name are usually the same thing. But for international companies running Baidu campaigns, this created a real problem: your Chinese business registration name might be long, awkward, or completely different from the brand your audience knows.
"Before this update, a foreign brand could show 'www.brand.com' as their display name — clean, short, recognizable. After the update, Baidu replaced that with the full Chinese legal name, which could be 15+ characters long and include characters like 'limited' or 'company' that add no marketing value."
— Baidu PPC Pro Team
The Old Way vs. The New Way
Here is what changed at a glance:
| Element | Before Update | After Update |
|---|---|---|
| Default display name | Domain name (e.g., brand.com) | Business registration name |
| Customization | Manual entry in ad settings | Account-level brand info setup |
| Ad group override | Not available | Per ad group brand customization |
| Trademark required | No | Only if brand info is rejected |
| Impact on foreign brands | Minor | Significant |
Why This Matters for International Advertisers
When you register a company in China to run Baidu ads, the local authorities assign you a Chinese legal name. It is usually structured like this:
"Shanghai [Brand Name] Information Technology Co., Ltd."
That is 20+ characters. It is long. It does not fit neatly in an ad display area. And it certainly does not look like a recognizable brand to Chinese consumers searching for your product.
Before the update, you could simply show "brand.com" or your English brand name. After the update, the default switched to that full legal name. If your company works with a Chinese partner or uses a proxy registration, the name shown might not even include your brand at all.
If your business registration name is longer than 15 Chinese characters, Baidu will truncate it in the ad display. A truncated legal name looks unprofessional and can confuse potential customers. Always check how your name appears before launching campaigns.
What Baidu Actually Changed
The update has three parts:
- Default behavior — Baidu stopped showing domain names entirely. Every ad now shows the business registration name by default. This is not optional.
- Brand information customization — Account holders can set up custom brand information. This can be either a brand name alone or a brand name plus a logo. If your submission gets rejected, you will need to provide a trademark certification to proceed.
- Ad group level control — Brand information is set at the account level but can be overridden per ad group. This means you can show different brand names for different campaigns, which is useful if your company operates multiple brands under one account.
How to Update Your Brand Display
You can fix this. Here is how:
Step 1: Check Your Current Display Name
Log into your Baidu PPC account and look at a live ad. If you see a long, clunky business registration name, you need to update it. The brand information settings are in the account tools section.
Step 2: Set Up Brand Information
Navigate to the brand information settings in your Baidu PPC account. You can upload either a brand name or a brand name plus your logo. If Baidu rejects the submission, prepare your trademark certification documents and resubmit.
Step 3: Optimize by Ad Group
Take advantage of the ad group level override. If you advertise multiple products or brands under one account, set the correct brand display name for each ad group. A mismatch between the ad text and the display name hurts click-through rates.
Long Names: Baidu's Recommendation
Baidu's own guidance on this is simple: if your business registration name is too long, use a shorter alternative. But how? Your legal name is your legal name — you cannot just shorten it on a whim.
This is where the brand information feature becomes essential. By setting up a custom brand name (and having it approved), you can replace the registration name with something shorter and more recognizable. The trade-off is that you may need trademark documentation to prove you own the brand.
We have seen the best results when clients use a 4-8 character Chinese brand name as their display name. Short enough to fit cleanly in the ad, long enough to be meaningful to Chinese consumers. If your English brand can be translated directly, that often works best.
Ad Group Level Control: A Hidden Advantage
One thing people miss: Baidu lets you set different brand information for different ad groups. This is useful in several scenarios:
- Multi-brand companies — If your company runs ads for multiple brands, each ad group can display the correct brand name
- Product vs. corporate campaigns — A product campaign might show the product brand, while a corporate campaign shows the company name
- A/B testing — Run two ad groups with different brand display names and see which drives better CTR
Baidu's ad display name update changes how foreign brands appear in Chinese search results. Here is what to do about it:
- Check your live ads — if a long registration name shows up, fix it now
- Set up custom brand information at the account level
- Optimize display names per ad group for best results
- Prepare trademark documents in case your brand submission gets rejected
Need Help Fixing Your Baidu Ad Display?
We manage Baidu accounts for international brands and can help you set up clean, professional brand display names. Our team handles the trademark documentation and ad group setup so your ads look right from day one.
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