Baidu offers several pricing models. Here's a quick breakdown of each and when to use them.
CPC
Cost Per Click — you pay when someone clicks your ad
- Default for search ads
- You control max bid per click
- Simple, predictable costs
- Requires manual optimization
Best for: New campaigns, testing, when conversion tracking is limited
CPM
Cost Per Mille — you pay per thousand impressions
- Common for display/video ads
- You pay for visibility, not action
- Useful for brand awareness
- Harder to measure ROI directly
Best for: Brand campaigns, retargeting, video views
oCPC
Optimized CPC — AI adjusts bids to hit your CPA target
- Set target cost per conversion
- AI optimizes bid strategy
- Typically 20-40% lower CPA
- Requires conversion tracking
Best for: Lead gen, e-commerce, any campaign with measurable conversions
oCPA
Optimized CPA — similar to oCPC, same AI bidding
- Same technology as oCPC
- Sometimes has different bidding pools
- Choose based on campaign type
- Usually interchangeable
Best for: When oCPC isn't available for your campaign type
🎯 Which Pricing Model Should You Use?
For most lead generation campaigns: Start with oCPC. It delivers the best results because Baidu's AI factors in conversion probability. Set a realistic CPA target (based on your historical data or industry benchmarks) and let the system optimize.
Pro Tip: Start with CPC for 2-3 weeks to gather conversion data, then switch to oCPC. The more conversion data Baidu has, the better its AI performs — typically 20+ conversions per week is the sweet spot.
For new campaigns without conversion data: Start with CPC to gather data, then switch to oCPC once you have 20+ conversions per week.
For brand awareness: CPM or video view optimization makes sense when you're not optimizing for immediate conversions.
Strategic Note: Many successful B2B campaigns use a layered approach: CPM for brand awareness, CPC for keyword testing, and oCPC for conversion optimization — all running simultaneously across different campaigns.
📋 Key Takeaways
- Start new campaigns with CPC to gather data, then switch to oCPC
- oCPC delivers 20-40% lower CPA through AI-powered bid optimization
- CPM is best for brand awareness and retargeting campaigns
- oCPC and oCPA use the same underlying AI technology
- Set realistic CPA targets to let the AI optimize effectively
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