Baidu P4P (Paid Search) API

1. About BPFPAPI

1.1 What it is

Baidu P4P Application Programming Interface (BPFPAPI) provides users with an array of standard web services, which allows developers to create clients to interact directly with the Baidu Search Engine P4P (BSEPFP) Server, and to obtain one or more P4P API services. With the client, users are able to more effectively manage their P4P accounts and advertisements.

1.2 Who may use it

The BPFPAPI is designed for major users and third parties of Baidu P4P Service, including SEM (Search Engine Marketers), agents, and online marketing experts who maintain multiple customer accounts and/or large series of advertisements.

Since technical expertise and programming skills are needed for using BPFPAPI to develop clients, users or third parties should have programming competence or hire programmers.

To access the BPFPAPI services, you need a BSEPFP Management System (BSEPFPMS) account, which is used to register with the BPFPAPI. For BPFPAPI registration, please see "2.2: How to Register with BPFPAPI".

1.3 Why BPFPAPI

BPFPAPI provides the high flexibility and complete features you need to manage your BESPFP system accounts and advertisements in an innovative way. Its major benefits include:

• Large transactions: over 1,000 keywords can be handled in one sitting, enabling powerful reporting;
• Local clients can be used offline to edit and manage data except for loading, which not only simplifies operations, but also mitigates risks of data loss;
• Users are allowed to customize clients to realize a compelling spectrum of features previously impossible on webpages.

2. How to use BPFPAPI

2.1 Services provided by BPFPAPI

BPFPAPI provides a full range of web services that give users the programmable access to BESPFP accounts. To do this, you need to set up web clients that can be linked to one or more BPFPAPI services.

BPFPAPI delivers the following API web services:

• Keyword set listing: to list all the keyword sets in an account
• Keyword listing: to list all the keywords in a keyword set
• Keyword addition: to add keywords to a keyword set in batches
• Keyword deletion: to delete keywords from a keyword set in batches
• Keyword alteration: to modify the titles, descriptions and url of the specific keyword and the P4P prices in batches
• Keyword transfer: to move specific keywords to a designated keyword set in batches
• Keyword set addition: to add a keyword set
• Keyword set deletion: to delete a keyword set

Statistics: to obtain the daily statistics of a specific account, including the keyword-specific clicks, amount of consumption, average click price

2.2 How to register with BPFPAPI

To register with BPFPAPI, you need a BSEPFP system account. The registration procedures are as follows:

The BPFPAPI token you have received is a unique combination of numbers, produced according to the information of your BSEPFP system account, and is your key to access BPFPAPI. This key, together with the user name and password of your BSEPFP system account, is the identifier of your privilege to access BPFPAPI services. You need to add the token to the header of all your requests for BPFPAPI services. Be sure to keep your BPFPAPI token secure (just like your user name and password for logging in the BSEPFP system account).

With the BPFPAPI token, you can compile programs to obtain the services provided by BPFPAPI. To compile effective programs, please refer to the BPFPAPI User Guideline and Developer Kit, etc.

After your API access is granted, you can also apply to use the API test environment. For any questions, please log into the BSEPFPMS and check for related information.

2.3 How to get help

If you need help during your test and application of BPFPAPI, please send an email to api@baidu.com. We will try our best to help you.

2.4 BPFPAPI quotas

You need to understand the assignments and usage rules of BPFPAPI quota units before use. The BPFPAPI system sets the permitted transactions for every account on a daily basis (one transaction means any request sent to API. For example, a request for adding a keyword set will be regarded as one transaction. And modifying the titles of 100 keywords will be counted as 100 transactions.)

Your quota units depend on the number of keywords, and the total consumption of your account on the last day ("last day" is unclear ¡­ yesterday? Last day of usage?). The system calculates and updates the daily transaction quotas every day, and the unused quotas cannot be carried forward to the next day.

When you operate the keywords in an account through BPFPAPI, the system will deduce the corresponding amount from your daily transaction quotas. When the daily quotas drop to zero or less than the number of transactions you apply for, the system will not execute your requests any more.