Most ad platforms charge you for clicks. Baidu just launched an ad type that charges you only when someone becomes a lead.
Service Direct went into full rollout on June 6, 2026. It is a CPL ad format inside Baidu's feed advertising platform. Advertisers set a target cost per lead, and Baidu guarantees the actual cost will never exceed that number. No overages.
How It Works
Service Direct is fundamentally different from standard feed ads.
Instead of uploading a banner or a video, you select a product category — education, automotive, legal services, franchising — and set your target cost per lead. Baidu distributes user inquiries matching your category directly to your account. You pay when a lead arrives.
There is no creative development cycle. No A/B testing thumbnails. No optimizing title copy. You pick a category, set a budget, and leads start flowing.
The platform covers six industries at launch: education, auto (manufacturers and dealers), legal services, business services (agency and licensing), and franchising. More industries are in development.
What "100% Cost Guarantee" Actually Means
The cost guarantee works at the campaign level. You set a target cost — say RMB 200 per lead. Baidu's system delivers leads and charges you per lead. If any lead costs more than RMB 200, the difference is refunded. The guarantee is per-campaign, calculated daily, and paid monthly.
This is not a "target CPA" optimization that might overshoot. This is a hard cap.
For comparison: a typical Baidu search ad might cost RMB 5–20 per click. Getting 10 clicks before one conversion is common. That puts your actual cost per lead at RMB 50–200, with no guarantee. Service Direct removes the click lottery entirely.
| Feature | Traditional Feed Ads | Service Direct |
|---|---|---|
| Billing | CPC / oCPM (per click/impression) | CPL (per lead) |
| Creative required | Yes — banners, video, copy | No |
| Cost guarantee | Target CPA, no hard cap | 100% — never exceeds target |
| Industries | All | 6 industries at launch |
What International Brands Need to Know
Three things matter specifically for companies outside China:
1. This is a pure feed product. Service Direct runs inside Baidu's information feed — the content stream users scroll through in the Baidu app. It does not appear in search results. This means your leads come from passive browsing, not active search intent. Quality is different from search leads. Usually warmer than display but colder than search.
2. No creative means less localization cost. You do not need Chinese ad copy, video production, or landing page design to get started. This is a major cost reduction for brands testing the Chinese market. However, you still need a verified Baidu business account — which requires a Chinese business license.
3. Industries are limited to what Baidu supports. If your business falls outside the six supported categories, Service Direct is not available to you — yet. Baidu has said more industries are coming, but there is no public timeline.
The Barrier: Account Setup
Here is the reality for international brands: Service Direct offers the lowest-risk ad format on Baidu. You pay only for results. You need no creative. You control your budget precisely.
But none of this matters if you cannot open a Baidu business account.
Baidu requires a Chinese business entity for account verification. International brands without a China subsidiary face an immediate wall — not a cost wall, not a language wall, but a structural wall.
BPP solves this. We provide the Chinese business entity, handle account verification, and manage your campaigns end to end. You see the leads. We handle the platform.
Is Pay-Per-Lead Right for You?
Service Direct is not for every advertiser. It works best when:
- You sell a high-consideration product (education programs, legal services, auto sales, franchise opportunities)
- Lead quality matters more than lead volume
- You want to test the Chinese market with minimal upfront risk
- You do not have Chinese creative assets ready
It works less well when:
- You need brand awareness (no impressions, no reach)
- Your margins are thin (cost per lead is fixed, volume is variable)
- You need to control the user journey (leads come from Baidu's feed, not your funnel)
For brands in the first category, Service Direct is the lowest-barrier entry point to Baidu advertising that has ever existed.
Ready to test Baidu leads with zero creative cost?
Talk to the BPP team. We will set up your account, pick the right product categories, and start delivering leads — no ad copy, no design, no guesswork.