Bilibili Gaming Search Ads: Reaching China's Gamers

Bilibili Gaming Search Ads: Reaching China's Gamers

Bilibili is the undisputed home of gaming content in China. With a user base of 340 million monthly active users — 65 percent under the age of 30 — the platform has become the primary destination for game discovery, reviews, strategy discussions, and esports content. For game publishers and developers, Bilibili's gaming search ads represent the most direct path to reaching China's most engaged gaming audience at the exact moment they are actively seeking game-related content.

🎮 Bilibili's Dominance in Gaming Content

Gaming content has been at the core of Bilibili's identity since its founding. The platform's unique combination of long-form video content, live streaming, community bullet comments (danmaku), and gaming-specific interest groups creates an ecosystem where gaming culture thrives. In 2026, Bilibili's gaming vertical continues to expand, with several key metrics underscoring its dominance:

• Gaming content accounts for over 30 percent of total platform watch time, making it the single largest content category on Bilibili.
• Over 85 million users actively engage with gaming content monthly, searching for game reviews, walkthroughs, tier lists, and meta discussions.
• Gaming-related search queries grew 42 percent year-over-year in Q1 2026, outpacing the platform's overall search growth rate.
• Average gaming video watch time is 12.3 minutes — significantly longer than the platform average of 8.7 minutes — indicating deep, intentional engagement.

These statistics make Bilibili the single most important platform for game publishers seeking visibility in the Chinese market. TMG's gaming practice has managed over 150 game search campaigns on Bilibili, and our data consistently shows that search ads deliver the highest-quality user acquisition among all Bilibili ad formats for gaming clients.

🔍 Understanding the Gamer Search Journey on Bilibili

Gaming search behavior on Bilibili follows a distinct lifecycle pattern that mirrors the stages of game discovery, evaluation, and engagement. Understanding this journey is essential for designing effective search ad campaigns.

Pre-Release Phase: Anticipation and Hype

Before a game launches, potential players search for trailers, gameplay previews, developer interviews, and community discussions. Search queries during this phase tend to be broad and exploratory: "upcoming mobile RPG 2026," "new open world game," or "best gacha games releasing soon." Brands that establish search presence during this phase build early mindshare and can capture high-intent users before competitors.

Launch Phase: Active Evaluation

During the first two to four weeks after launch, search volume spikes dramatically as players actively research the game. Queries become more specific: game title searches, "is [game name] worth playing," "[game name] beginner guide," and "[game name] tier list." This is the critical window where search ads can drive the highest volume of installs and pre-registrations.

Post-Launch Phase: Retention and Community

After the initial launch period, search behavior shifts toward community content: strategy guides, character builds, event information, and competitive gameplay. Search ads during this phase support player retention, event promotion, and monetization through in-app purchase visibility.

TMG's analysis shows that gaming search campaigns spanning all three phases generate 3.7 times the lifetime value per user compared to campaigns that only target the launch phase.

🎯 Gaming Search Ad Formats on Bilibili

Bilibili offers several search ad formats specifically tailored for gaming advertisers. Each format serves a different purpose within the gaming search funnel.

Game Search Brand Zone

The Game Search Brand Zone is a premium format that dominates the top of search results when users search for a specific game title. It supports immersive media including game trailers, playable mini-games, character showcases, and direct download links. In 2026, Bilibili has introduced animated character integrations within the Brand Zone, allowing game publishers to feature their most popular characters as interactive elements that respond to user actions.

Bilibili's gaming-specific benchmarks show that Game Search Brand Zone placements achieve an average click-through rate of 15.8 percent — the highest among all gaming ad formats on the platform.

Pre-Registration Search Cards

For games that have not yet launched, Pre-Registration Search Cards appear in search results and allow users to pre-register with a single tap. These cards display the game's release window, current pre-registration numbers (creating social proof), and reward previews for pre-registered players. TMG data indicates that pre-registration search cards achieve a 22.4 percent conversion rate from search impression to pre-registration — making them one of the most efficient user acquisition tools available to game publishers.

Install Search Ads

For launched games, Install Search Ads appear within search results and provide a direct download button that routes users to the appropriate app store. These ads can be configured to show real-time player counts, current event information, and limited-time offers to create urgency. Install search ads on Bilibili achieve an average cost-per-install that is 28 percent lower than comparable campaigns on other Chinese advertising platforms, according to TMG's cross-platform benchmarking data.

Gameplay Search Companion Ads

A newer format introduced in 2026, Gameplay Search Companion Ads appear alongside gameplay videos and strategy content in search results. These ads are contextually matched to the content being viewed, showing game download prompts that are highly relevant to the video topic. For example, a user watching a "best team composition" video for a specific game might see a companion ad for that same game, creating a seamless path from content consumption to game installation.

🚀 Strategies for Gaming Search Campaign Success

Based on TMG's extensive experience managing gaming search campaigns on Bilibili, we recommend the following strategic approaches:

Keyword Portfolio Strategy

Build a comprehensive keyword portfolio that covers all phases of the gamer search journey. This includes:

• Brand terms: The game title, developer name, and publisher name.
• Genre terms: Category-level searches like "mobile RPG," "gacha game," "FPS mobile," and "strategy game."
• Competitor terms: Names of competing games in the same genre, allowing you to capture users considering alternatives.
• Content terms: Searches related to gameplay content such as "tier list," "beginner guide," "reroll guide," and "best characters."

TMG recommends allocating 40 percent of search ad budget to brand terms, 30 percent to genre terms, 20 percent to content terms, and 10 percent to competitor terms for optimal coverage and efficiency.

Creator Synergy Campaigns

Combine search ads with KOL partnerships to create a unified visibility strategy. When a popular gaming UP主 releases a video about your game, search ads can capture the incremental search volume generated by that content. TMG data shows that gaming search campaigns coordinated with creator content releases see 52 percent higher click-through rates compared to standalone search campaigns.

Regional and Device Targeting

China's gaming market is diverse, with significant regional variation in game preferences and device usage. Bilibili's targeting allows gaming advertisers to:

• Target by city tier: Adjust messaging and bidding based on whether users are in tier-1, tier-2, or lower-tier cities.
• Device-specific optimization: Customize ads for users on specific device brands and models, which is particularly important for games with hardware requirements.
• Network condition targeting: Adapt creative quality and messaging based on users' network conditions, ensuring smooth ad experiences even on slower connections.

Event-Driven Search Surges

Gaming search volume spikes predictably around in-game events, version updates, esports tournaments, and seasonal content drops. TMG recommends building a search ad calendar that aligns with these events, increasing bids and budgets during peak search periods to capture maximum visibility.

📈 Measuring Gaming Search Campaign Performance

Effective measurement of gaming search campaigns requires tracking metrics that align with game marketing objectives:

• Cost per install (CPI): The average cost of acquiring a new game installation through search ads.
• Cost per pre-registration: For pre-launch campaigns, the cost of each pre-registration generated.
• Day-1 and Day-7 retention rates: The percentage of users acquired through search ads who return to the game after 1 and 7 days.
• Search-to-install conversion rate: The percentage of search ad impressions that result in game installations.
• In-app purchase attribution: Revenue from in-app purchases attributed to users acquired through search ads.

🤝 Launch Your Game in China with TMG

Bilibili's gaming search ecosystem offers unparalleled access to China's most passionate and engaged gaming audience. Whether you are launching a new title, promoting a major update, or running a pre-registration campaign, search ads on Bilibili deliver measurable, high-quality user acquisition that outperforms alternative channels.

Ready to reach 85 million active gamers on Bilibili? Contact TMG today to design a gaming search ad strategy that drives installs, builds community, and maximizes your game's success in the Chinese market.