Baidu regularly retires underperforming or outdated creative components. The latest retirement: the Custom Form creative component, phased out in July 2024.
For most advertisers, this is a non-event — these components had low conversion rates and were hurting user experience. But if you were using them, here is what to do.
📋 What Is Being Retired
The Custom Form creative component allowed advertisers to embed a form directly in their search ad. Users could fill and submit it without leaving the Baidu search results page.
Baidu found these forms:
- Had low conversion value compared to landing page forms
- Created inconsistent user experiences on the search results page
- Underperformed against other creative types
📅 The Timeline
July 26, 2024: Cannot create new Custom Form or Form components
July 31, 2024: Existing Custom Form components stop displaying. Management portal closes.
📊 What the Retirement Covers
| Component | New Creation | Existing Display | Data Reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Form | ❌ Stopped Jul 26 | ❌ Stops Jul 31 | ✅ 27 months retained |
| Form | ❌ Stopped Jul 26 | Already inactive | ✅ 27 months retained |
🤔 Does This Affect Me?
Probably not. This retirement specifically targets:
- The "Custom Form" creative component type
- The "Form" creative component type
It does NOT affect:
- Landing page forms (the form on your actual website)
- Lead form extensions
- Other creative components (images, video, call extensions, etc.)
- Your keywords, ad copy, budgets, or bidding
No action required for the vast majority of advertisers.
✅ If You Were Using Custom Forms
🎯 Quick Checklist
- Check if you have active Custom Form components (most advertisers do not)
- If yes, export your historical data before July 31
- Set up a proper landing page with a form — better conversion quality
- Data reports remain available for 27 months after retirement
💡 Why This Is Good News
Component retirements like this are a platform health signal. Baidu is actively removing low-performing ad formats to improve:
- User experience on search results pages
- Conversion prediction accuracy (fewer irrelevant signals)
- Overall platform quality for remaining ad formats
A platform that never cleans up is a platform that stagnates. This retirement shows Baidu is actively maintaining its ad ecosystem.
🌏 What Overseas Advertisers Should Know
For international brands, platform changes like this can go unnoticed. You might not read Chinese product announcements covering component retirements that affect 1% of accounts.
But if you were relying on Custom Forms — perhaps because building a Chinese landing page felt too complex — this retirement means you need a proper landing page.
🤝 How BPP Handles This
BPP-managed accounts already use landing pages with forms, not in-ad form components. This retirement has zero impact on our clients.
If you are running Baidu ads yourself and relied on Custom Forms as a workaround to avoid building a Chinese landing page — now is the time to build one. Or talk to us.
🚀 Talk to the BPP team
We handle Baidu advertising for international brands so you can focus on your business.
Talk to the BPP team →