Platform maintenance announcements rarely make the news. But when Baidu announces it is purging keywords from dormant accounts, there is a lesson worth paying attention to β especially if your Baidu campaigns have been on pause.
The Announcement
Starting December 10, 2025, Baidu will systematically delete all keywords from accounts that have had zero ad consumption in the past two years.
This affects:
Who Is Affected β And Who Is Not
| Account Status | Impact |
|---|---|
| Active accounts (any spend in last 2 years) | β No impact. All keywords remain untouched. |
| Inactive accounts (zero spend in last 2 years) | β οΈ All keywords will be deleted. |
| Abandoned accounts (no longer in use) | No practical impact unless you want to reuse old keywords. |
Why Baidu Is Doing This
The official reason is platform performance. Inactive data clutters the backend and slows down account operations for everyone. This is routine system maintenance β not a policy shift.
But here is the subtext: Baidu is signaling that dormant accounts are not worth keeping warm indefinitely. If you opened an account, got it approved, and then did nothing with it, the system is cleaning house.
What This Means for Overseas Advertisers
If your Baidu account is active and spending, this announcement has zero impact on you. Stop reading and go optimize your campaigns.
If your Baidu account has been inactive for two years, you have three options:
- Do nothing. Let the keywords be deleted. If you restart later, you will build new keyword lists from scratch.
- Download a backup. Export your keywords before December 10 so you can re-upload them later.
- Restart the account. Run a campaign with real spend. Even a small campaign with daily budget keeps the account active.
The Bigger Picture
This cleanup reveals something about Baidu's platform philosophy: it prioritizes active advertisers over dormant ones. The people getting their keywords deleted are not Baidu's priority β and that is actually good news for active advertisers. A cleaner platform means faster operations, fewer system quirks, and more attention from Baidu's support team.
For overseas brands, the takeaway is simple: an open Baidu account is not a Baidu strategy. You need to actually use it, or the platform will stop waiting for you.
How BPP Helps
π― Key Takeaways
- β Active accounts are completely unaffected
- β Download backups before December 10 if you need to preserve old keywords
- β BPP keeps your Baidu account active with managed campaigns
If you opened a Baidu account and let it go dormant β or if you are thinking about starting but want to make sure it stays active β BPP can help.
- β We manage your Baidu PPC account so it never goes dormant
- β We track platform updates like this cleanup and handle the action items
- β We build and maintain your keyword lists β no manual backup drills needed
- β No Chinese entity required to get started
An idle Baidu account collects dust. An active one collects leads.