Allen Qu's guest appearances

Allen Qu

Marketing Speak

The CMO Asia Podcast

Tim Soulo

Lily Ray

Michael E. Gerber

Cliff Ravenscraft

Cal Newport

Mike Vardy

Clint Arthur

Vanessa Van Edwards

Nir Eyal

Perry Marshall

David Burkus

Laura Roeder

Chris Voss

Dave Asprey

Ann Handley

OwlTail

In this episode recorded in December 2019 at JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen, China, Allen Qu sat down with Wayne for a deep dive conversation and shared:       * How they started out Marketing Ranking Awards and the back story of its beginning as an industry conference 9 years ago* Who their conference target audience are eg. top brands who want to do better marketing, partners, media companies like Baidu and LinkedIn* How the conference is growing in terms of attendance nos.* How the speakers were selected eg. Senior Marketers, CEOs who did well in their field * How the future edition will focus more on 5G and its impact on industry, best practices and studies, and recognising top performing brands* How their Shenzhen event is unique and feature domestic market and cross border market players from USA, Russia and how they look forward to more Singapore brands participating in the future* How marketing has changed in China since the first edition of Marketing Ranking Awards - Search was previously the dominant player especially Baidu; China Marketing Awards has incorporated with the latest trends such as   mini video content marketing topics; rise of popular apps such as Douyin (Tik Tok), Quaishou; e-commerce retail (Tmall, JD) now dominating online shopping; social media becoming the main communication and payment transaction platform (WeChat)* How they leverage innovative strategies to give optimal value to their clients especially top brands in their niche; using cartoon characters in marketing materials; adopting robot tech placement in locations such as office spaces; implementing speech, visual recognition and AI technologies for real time interaction, using data, enhancing user engagement and personalised customer experience          * Why conferences are still the best lead generator for his company in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen which are held annually, and attending global conferences to speak to audiences 30-50 times a year through content and value sharing (rather than hard sell) gain more trust and opportunities* Where he grew up, his family background and as kid, how photography, computers and Bill Gates inspired him to take up programming before moving to Japan, Australia and then New Zealand for his computer studies and marketing knowledge university studies* How his first job ie. building running an e-commerce store for electronic products from scratch; implementing infrastructure design, marketing and customer service structures, started him on this entrepreneurial path* How a conference organiser invited him to do a speech to audience and meeting his friend Charles sparked off the idea of  moving back to develop his business in China in October  (at a time when Chinese internet business was still at its infancy)* How he would advice a marketer newbie to join a decent company to experience the opportunity to work with real brands with real marketing dollars before encouraging them to be entrepreneurial in the niche that they love when they are ready to move on* Why starting his own company is not to become rich but to fulfil lifelong dreams of building something that belongs to him* Why improving internal efficiency is something he would like to change for his present company * What the challenging moments were especially during the early days of setting up his company eg. Chinese New Year clientele payment delays and having to pay employees bonuses up front and how he overcame these challenges* Why he thinks entrepreneurs who have no safety net, an unshakeable belief and hard work ethic will more likely become successful                                                        * Where and when next edition of Marketing Ranking Awards will be held ie. Nov ‪2020, Intercontinental Hotel, Shanlitun, Beijing‬

In this episode recorded in December 2019 at JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen, China, Allen Qu sat down with Wayne for a deep dive conversation and shared: * How they started out Marketing Ranking Awards and the back story of its beginning as an industry conference 9 years ago * Who their conference target audience are eg. top brands who want to do better marketing, partners, media companies like Baidu and LinkedIn * How the conference is growing in terms of attendance nos. * How the speakers were selected eg. Senior Marketers, CEOs who did well in their field * How the future edition will focus more on 5G and its impact on industry, best practices and studies, and recognising top performing brands * How their Shenzhen event is unique and feature domestic market and cross border market players from USA, Russia and how they look forward to more Singapore brands participating in the future * How marketing has changed in China since the first edition of Marketing Ranking Awards - Search was previously the dominant player especially Baidu; China Marketing Awards has incorporated with the latest trends such as mini video content marketing topics; rise of popular apps such as Douyin (Tik Tok), Quaishou; e-commerce retail (Tmall, JD) now dominating online shopping; social media becoming the main communication and payment transaction platform (WeChat) * How they leverage innovative strategies to give optimal value to their clients especially top brands in their niche; using cartoon characters in marketing materials; adopting robot tech placement in locations such as office spaces; implementing speech, visual recognition and AI technologies for real time interaction, using data, enhancing user engagement and personalised customer experience * Why conferences are still the best lead generator for his company in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen which are held annually, and attending global conferences to speak to audiences 30-50 times a year through content and value sharing (rather than hard sell) gain more trust and opportunities * Where he grew up, his family background and as kid, how photography, computers and Bill Gates inspired him to take up programming before moving to Japan, Australia and then New Zealand for his computer studies and marketing knowledge university studies * How his first job ie. building running an e-commerce store for electronic products from scratch; implementing infrastructure design, marketing and customer service structures, started him on this entrepreneurial path * How a conference organiser invited him to do a speech to audience and meeting his friend Charles sparked off the idea of moving back to develop his business in China in October (at a time when Chinese internet business was still at its infancy) * How he would advice a marketer newbie to join a decent company to experience the opportunity to work with real brands with real marketing dollars before encouraging them to be entrepreneurial in the niche that they love when they are ready to move on * Why starting his own company is not to become rich but to fulfil lifelong dreams of building something that belongs to him * Why improving internal efficiency is something he would like to change for his present company * What the challenging moments were especially during the early days of setting up his company eg. Chinese New Year clientele payment delays and having to pay employees bonuses up front and how he overcame these challenges * Why he thinks entrepreneurs who have no safety net, an unshakeable belief and hard work ethic will more likely become successful * Where and when next edition of Marketing Ranking Awards will be held ie. Nov ‪2020, Intercontinental Hotel, Shanlitun, Beijing‬

Allen Qu | CEO at Netconcepts China

Today’s guest, Allen Qu, is the CEO of Netconcepts China, and a professor of online marketing at Beihang University. Where the United States have Google and Facebook, China has Baidu and WeChat. In our conversation, he shares the ins and outs of how to get the most out of marketing using Baidu and China’s biggest social platform WeChat. If search rankings in China matter to you, you will want to listen. Find Out More About Allen Here: Allen Qu on LinkedInAllen Qu on TwitterNetconcepts Chinaallen@netconcepts.cn In This Episode:  [01:24] - Allen talks about what people need to know about optimizing for Baidu. [04:35] - Allen explains that Baidu has generally followed in Google’s footsteps, even in terms of naming their algorithm updates. [05:49] - Why is Baidu so important for the Asian market? In his answer, Allen explains that Baidu is mostly for China, where Google doesn’t work at all. He then lists the other major search engines in China. [07:12] - We learn about optimizing SEO for Baidu versus Sogou. [08:51] - Allen talks about the locations of his offices and the number of staff. He then digs more deeply into the agency, discussing whether he helps clients in other parts of Asia and talks about the kinds of services they offer. [12:37] - Allen discusses the agency’s content writing, then he and Stephan talk about Baidu once more following in Google’s footsteps in that it prefers original content. [14:11] - Is there a big problem with scraper sites in China? [14:27] - Stephan dives into the topic of duplicate content, bringing up the possibility of technical issues creating duplicate content on a site. Allen talks about how Baidu addresses this. [15:51] - Allen talks about the  Baidu Webmaster Center, describing what it offers and explaining that he recommends using it. [17:05] - Link building is getting less and less important on Baidu, Allen explains. [19:05] - On Baidu, do you get penalized for low-quality links, or do they just not help? Allen answers, then he talks about the role of high-quality links in ranking on Baidu. [20:34] - Allen reveals that Baidu has vertical search engines like Google does (meaning Google Images, Google Shopping, etc.). [21:31] - Baidu manually publishes lists of good and low-quality sites, Allen explains. [22:12] - Is there a spokesperson at Baidu for webmasters? [23:18] - Allen talks about some of the conferences for online marketing in China. [24:55] - Allen mentions a few of his agency’s most impressive SEO clients. [26:20] - We shift from SEO to social, with Stephan and Allen discussing WeChat, the primary social channel for people in China. Allen goes into depth in describing the various aspects of WeChat, which covers an amazing amount of uses. [30:30] - Allen talks about the sorts of campaigns he would do for clients on WeChat. [32:36] - We learn more about the HTML5 games that Allen has mentioned using in campaigns on WeChat. Stephan points out that these sound similar to some tests on Facebook. [34:50] - What does going viral look like in terms of WeChat? In his answer, Allen mentions that around 700 million people use WeChat, and 80% of those use it daily. [36:06] - Allen talks about the most successful campaign (measured in terms of the number of forwards) he’s done for a client. [36:57] - We move from WeChat to Baidu paid search. Stephan asks Allen whether Google’s structure for paid ads is replicated on Baidu, and what some strategies are for optimizing Baidu advertising. [39:32] - Baidu’s equivalent to Google AdWords is called the  Phoenix Nest. [40:14] - Allen discusses strategies and tactics for paid advertising campaigns on Baidu. [41:34] - Stephan and Allen begin discussing ad spend, in terms of how much Allen’s agency manages and how much the agency charges by percentage (which tends to be lower than in the US). [43:09] - If Allen takes over a new account that has been spending a lot on Baidu already, is he able to save them money by optimizing their campaigns? He answers, then mentions what he might adjust when taking over a new account. [44:50] - Stephan brings up the concept of dayparting, which he explains to listeners who may not be familiar with the term. [45:21] - We go back to Baidu from an SEO perspective, with Allen bringing up mobile optimization as an SEO strategy. He then addresses whether he thinks Baidu will keep treating this differently from Google. [48:14] - Stephan steps into clarify: Allen is saying that one of the most important things from an optimization standpoint on Baidu is creating a mobile-optimized website. [48:57] - Are there any other optimization tactics that Allen wants to mention? [49:22] - Stephan and Allen discuss how Baidu finds and ranks content. [50:19] - Stephan brings up the topic of reputation problems, discussing some ways of dealing with these issues on Google. Allen then talks about how  ORM (online reputation management) works on Baidu. [52:28] - Allen talks about the typical cost and length of time involved in ORM. He then shares the cost range of working with his agency for other services. [54:10] - How can listeners get in touch with Allen? On LinkedIn, by email, or on WeChat: @allenqu.  Links and Resources: Allen Qu on LinkedInAllen Qu on Twitterwww.netconcepts.cnallen@netconcepts.cnBeihang UniversityBaiduGoogle AMPGoogle Knowledge GraphPenguin   Panda BingSogouTencentWeChatYahoo!Google Search ConsoleBaidu Webmaster ToolsAlibabaGoogle ImagesGoogle Shopping Matt Cutts Search Marketing Expo (SMX)Pubcon  Louis VuittonAirbnbNew OrientalLGHuaweiiMessageWeChat MomentsWeChat PayAdSenseBaidu Phoenix NestDaypartingTitle tagsKeyword prominenceH1 tagsORM (online reputation management)Kenton Hutcherson on Marketing Speak

Today’s guest, Allen Qu, is the CEO of Netconcepts China, and a professor of online marketing at Beihang University. Where the United States have Google and Facebook, China has Baidu and WeChat. In our conversation, he shares the ins and outs of how to get the most out of marketing using Baidu and China’s biggest social platform WeChat. If search rankings in China matter to you, you will want to listen. Find Out More About Allen Here: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenqu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Allen Qu on LinkedIn</a><a href="https://twitter.com/allenqu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Allen Qu on Twitter</a><a href="http://www.netconcepts.cn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Netconcepts China</a><a href="mailto:allen@netconcepts.cn">allen@netconcepts.cn</a> In This Episode: <ul> <li>[01:24] - Allen talks about what people need to know about optimizing for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Baidu</a>.</li> <li>[04:35] - Allen explains that Baidu has generally followed in Google’s footsteps, even in terms of naming their algorithm updates.</li> <li>[05:49] - Why is Baidu so important for the Asian market? In his answer, Allen explains that Baidu is mostly for China, where Google doesn’t work at all. He then lists the other major search engines in China.</li> <li>[07:12] - We learn about optimizing SEO for Baidu versus <a href="http://Sogou" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sogou</a>.</li> <li>[08:51] - Allen talks about the locations of his offices and the number of staff. He then digs more deeply into the agency, discussing whether he helps clients in other parts of Asia and talks about the kinds of services they offer.</li> <li>[12:37] - Allen discusses the agency’s content writing, then he and Stephan talk about Baidu once more following in Google’s footsteps in that it prefers original content.</li> <li>[14:11] - Is there a big problem with scraper sites in China?</li> <li>[14:27] - Stephan dives into the topic of duplicate content, bringing up the possibility of technical issues creating duplicate content on a site. Allen talks about how Baidu addresses this.</li> <li>[15:51] - Allen talks about the <a href="http://www.dragonmetrics.com/how-to-optimize-your-site-with-baidu-webmaster-tools/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Baidu Webmaster Center</a>, describing what it offers and explaining that he recommends using it.</li> <li>[17:05] - Link building is getting less and less important on Baidu, Allen explains.</li> <li>[19:05] - On Baidu, do you get penalized for low-quality links, or do they just not help? Allen answers, then he talks about the role of high-quality links in ranking on Baidu.</li> <li>[20:34] - Allen reveals that Baidu has vertical search engines like Google does (meaning <a href="https://images.google.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Images</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/shopping?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Shopping</a>, etc.).</li> <li>[21:31] - Baidu manually publishes lists of good and low-quality sites, Allen explains.</li> <li>[22:12] - Is there a spokesperson at Baidu for webmasters?</li> <li>[23:18] - Allen talks about some of the conferences for online marketing in China.</li> <li>[24:55] - Allen mentions a few of his agency’s most impressive SEO clients.</li> <li>[26:20] - We shift from SEO to social, with Stephan and Allen discussing <a href="https://web.wechat.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WeChat</a>, the primary social channel for people in China. Allen goes into depth in describing the various aspects of WeChat, which covers an amazing amount of uses.</li> <li>[30:30] - Allen talks about the sorts of campaigns he would do for clients on WeChat.</li> <li>[32:36] - We learn more about the HTML5 games that Allen has mentioned using in campaigns on WeChat. Stephan points out that these sound similar to some tests on Facebook.</li> <li>[34:50] - What does going viral look like in terms of WeChat? In his answer, Allen mentions that around 700 million people use WeChat, and 80% of those use it daily.</li> <li>[36:06] - Allen talks about the most successful campaign (measured in terms of the number of forwards) he’s done for a client.</li> <li>[36:57] - We move from WeChat to Baidu paid search. Stephan asks Allen whether Google’s structure for paid ads is replicated on Baidu, and what some strategies are for optimizing Baidu advertising.</li> <li>[39:32] - Baidu’s equivalent to Google AdWords is called the <a href="https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/1146/baidus-phoenix-nest-looks-much-better-now/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Phoenix Nest</a>.</li> <li>[40:14] - Allen discusses strategies and tactics for paid advertising campaigns on Baidu.</li> <li>[41:34] - Stephan and Allen begin discussing ad spend, in terms of how much Allen’s agency manages and how much the agency charges by percentage (which tends to be lower than in the US).</li> <li>[43:09] - If Allen takes over a new account that has been spending a lot on Baidu already, is he able to save them money by optimizing their campaigns? He answers, then mentions what he might adjust when taking over a new account.</li> <li>[44:50] - Stephan brings up the concept of dayparting, which he explains to listeners who may not be familiar with the term.</li> <li>[45:21] - We go back to Baidu from an SEO perspective, with Allen bringing up mobile optimization as an SEO strategy. He then addresses whether he thinks Baidu will keep treating this differently from Google.</li> <li>[48:14] - Stephan steps into clarify: Allen is saying that one of the most important things from an optimization standpoint on Baidu is creating a mobile-optimized website.</li> <li>[48:57] - Are there any other optimization tactics that Allen wants to mention?</li> <li>[49:22] - Stephan and Allen discuss how Baidu finds and ranks content.</li> <li>[50:19] - Stephan brings up the topic of reputation problems, discussing some ways of dealing with these issues on Google. Allen then talks about how <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2013/11/20/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-online-reputation-management/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> ORM (online reputation management)</a> works on Baidu.</li> <li>[52:28] - Allen talks about the typical cost and length of time involved in ORM. He then shares the cost range of working with his agency for other services.</li> <li>[54:10] - How can listeners get in touch with Allen? On <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenqu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>, by <a href="mailto:allen@netconcepts.cn">email</a>, or on WeChat: @allenqu.</li> </ul> Links and Resources: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenqu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Allen Qu on LinkedIn</a><a href="https://twitter.com/allenqu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Allen Qu on Twitter</a><a href="http://www.netconcepts.cn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.netconcepts.cn</a><a href="mailto:allen@netconcepts.cn">allen@netconcepts.cn</a><a href="http://ev.buaa.edu.cn/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beihang University</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Baidu</a><a href="https://www.ampproject.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google AMP</a><a href="https://www.google.com/intl/es419/insidesearch/features/search/knowledge.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Knowledge Graph</a><a href="http://searchengineland.com/library/google/google-penguin-update" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Penguin </a> <a href="http://searchengineland.com/library/google/google-panda-update" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Panda</a> <a href="https://www.bing.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bing</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sogou" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sogou</a><a href="https://www.tencent.com/en-us/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tencent</a><a href="https://web.wechat.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WeChat</a><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Yahoo!</a><a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en&amp;pli=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Search Console</a><a href="http://www.dragonmetrics.com/how-to-optimize-your-site-with-baidu-webmaster-tools/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Baidu Webmaster Tools</a><a href="https://www.alibaba.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alibaba</a><a href="https://images.google.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Images</a><a href="https://www.google.com/shopping?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Shopping Matt Cutts</a> <a href="http://marketinglandevents.com/smx/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Search Marketing Expo (SMX)</a><a href="https://www.pubcon.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pubcon </a> <a href="http://www.louisvuitton.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Louis Vuitton</a><a href="https://www.airbnb.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Airbnb</a><a href="http://www.neworiental.org/english/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Oriental</a><a href="http://www.lg.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LG</a><a href="http://www.huawei.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Huawei</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMessage" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iMessage</a><a href="http://blog.wechat.com/2015/06/12/tech-tip-your-guide-to-wechat-moments/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WeChat Moments</a><a href="https://pay.weixin.qq.com/index.php/public/wechatpay" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WeChat Pay</a><a href="https://www.google.com/adsense/login" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AdSense</a><a href="https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/1146/baidus-phoenix-nest-looks-much-better-now/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Baidu Phoenix Nest</a><a href="http://www.wordstream.com/dayparting" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dayparting</a><a href="https://moz.com/learn/seo/title-tag" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Title tags</a><a href="http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/K/keyword_prominence.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Keyword prominence</a><a href="https://pearanalytics.com/blog/2014/how-to-write-a-header-tag-h1-for-seo/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">H1 tags</a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2013/11/20/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-online-reputation-management/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ORM (online reputation management)</a><a href="http://www.marketingspeak.com/protect-online-reputation-kenton-hutcherson/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kenton Hutcherson on Marketing Speak</a>

84. The Essential Primer to Chinese SEO and Content Marketing with Allen Qu