There is no responsible universal Baidu cost
Media pricing varies by keyword demand, match, geography, device, quality and competition. Account-opening arrangements can also vary. A CPC copied from another industry or date is not a reliable budget for your business.
Separate the cost components
- Media spend: budget consumed by clicks or the applicable platform objective
- Account and route costs: any verified setup, funding or service requirements
- Campaign work: research, structure, copy, optimization and reporting
- Landing experience: Chinese copy, design, development and tracking
- Content or assets: supporting material required to explain the offer
Media spend should not be presented as agency revenue. A proposal should show which amount funds the platform and which amount pays for professional work.
Plan a pilot around learning
A useful pilot has enough budget and time to test a defined group of high-intent searches, observe search terms, collect real enquiries and receive sales feedback. Spreading the same budget over too many regions or services can prevent any one hypothesis from being evaluated.
Estimate using your economics
Start with acceptable customer-acquisition cost, close rate and contribution margin. Then work backward to the enquiry volume and quality needed. Early estimates are hypotheses; update them with actual search-term, conversion and qualification data.
Ask potential providers what is included, how media is funded, who owns the account and data, which landing-page work is required, and how qualified leads will be distinguished from raw form submissions.