Last time we talked about “why your website has no customers,” and many people get stuck at the very first link — your website isn’t indexed by search engines at all. It can’t even be found in search, so no amount of later optimization will help. Today we’ll cover this single step thoroughly: how to check for yourself whether your website is indexed, and how to submit it, step by step, to the three major platforms — Baidu, Shenma, and Bing. Once this step is done, not only will Baidu be able to find you, but AI tools like DeepSeek, Doubao, and Tongyi will also have a chance to find and recommend you — because the web search of domestic AI models is backed by these very Chinese search backends.
First, check for yourself: is your website indexed or not
The quickest self-test: type site:your domain into the Baidu search box (for example, site:siwenlide.com). A list of your website’s pages showing up = indexed; nothing at all = not indexed in the slightest. The same goes for Shenma and Bing — run this command on all three engines and you’ll know whether each of the three backends has picked you up. This is the starting point for everything, so get a clear picture of where you stand first.
Why handle all three platforms in one go
- Baidu: the largest search engine in China and the foundation of SEO — a must-do.
- Shenma: Alibaba’s search engine (Quark runs on the same backend), a key backend for domestic AI tools such as Tongyi Qianwen and Quark. You can’t do GEO without it, yet it’s the one most people overlook.
- Bing: many AI assistants (including some domestic ones) mix in its index, and submission is simple with fast indexing — excellent value for effort.
All three platforms offer a free “webmaster platform,” and the submission process is much the same: register → add your website → verify ownership → submit your sitemap. Below are the key points for each.
The universal first step: have a sitemap ready
A sitemap is simply a file listing the addresses of all your website’s pages, letting search engines see at a glance what content you have. If you built your site with WordPress, installing an SEO plugin (such as Rank Math or Yoast) will generate one automatically, usually at your domain/sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml; most other website builders have similar features or plugins. Open this address in your browser first to confirm it’s accessible — all three platforms below will need it.
Key points for submitting to each platform
- Baidu Search Resource Platform (ziyuan.baidu.com): register and log in → add your website in the user center → verify (“file verification” or “HTML tag verification” recommended) → submit your sitemap under “Resource Submission.” Baidu also offers an “active push” API that pushes new pages the moment they’re published for faster indexing — your technical staff can integrate it.
- Shenma Search Webmaster Platform (zhanzhang.sm.cn): a similar process — add site → verify → submit sitemap. This is the key lever for getting indexed by domestic AI, so don’t skip it just because it’s a hassle.
- Bing Webmaster Tools (bing.com/webmasters): supports one-click import from Google Search Console, the least effort of all; if you don’t have one, just add and verify your site manually. After submitting your sitemap, remember to come back and confirm it’s actually “indexed,” not just submitted.
A small reminder: there’s a handy one-click push protocol called IndexNow, but it only covers the likes of Bing and no Chinese search engine at all. So don’t count on it for Baidu or Shenma — you still have to submit through their respective webmaster platforms. This is a pitfall many people have fallen into.
Don’t rush after submitting — indexing takes time
- Submission doesn’t mean instant indexing: it can take as little as a few days or as long as two to three weeks, and new sites are especially slow. Be patient and don’t submit over and over.
- Continuously publishing content speeds things up: post articles related to your business on a regular basis, and search engines will crawl more often and index more.
- Make sure your pages can be crawled: pages that are all images, rendered purely with JS, or blocked by robots.txt can’t be indexed; you need real text content.
- Check the data in your webmaster platform regularly: indexed pages, crawl anomalies, and any errors are all shown in the backend, so you can spot problems in time.
Common questions
Q: I’m not technical — what if I can’t get the website verification step done?
A: There are several verification methods (uploading a file, adding an HTML tag, or changing DNS). If you use WordPress, just install an SEO plugin and fill in the verification code — that’s the easiest. If all else fails, ask the person who built your site or your IT service provider to click through it; it takes only a few minutes.
Q: It’s been a long time since I submitted and I still can’t find it — did the submission fail?
A: First recheck your indexing status with site:domain. Common reasons for not being indexed: the site is too new, there’s too little content, the pages are pure images with no extractable text, or they’re blocked by robots. Go through them one by one instead of just resubmitting.
Q: Can I just do Baidu — are Shenma and Bing really necessary?
A: Doing only Baidu is the traditional SEO mindset. But more and more people now use AI to find services, and most domestic AI tools are backed by Shenma and Bing. Missing these two means giving up AI recommendation as a new entry point — better to do all of them at once.
Q: Do these platforms charge a fee?
A: The webmaster platforms of Baidu, Shenma, and Bing are all free; submitting for indexing costs nothing. The only cost is the effort of configuration and maintenance.
Can’t be found in search, can’t get indexing sorted, and no energy to figure all this out?
Siwenlide builds websites and runs search acquisition operations for small and medium-sized businesses in Beijing and the surrounding area: we submit your website for indexing on Baidu, Shenma, and Bing, set up your sitemap and active push, and continuously produce content that can be cited by search and AI — so your company truly becomes “findable and recommended by AI.” We’ve already proven this out on our own site. Visit siwenlide.com or call 400-686-2011 to talk about where your website stands.
