Bilibili Search Ads 2026: Complete Advertising Guide

Bilibili Search Ads 2026: Complete Advertising Guide

Bilibili has emerged as one of China's most important advertising platforms, and its search advertising ecosystem is at the forefront of that growth. With 340 million monthly active users — 65 percent under the age of 30 — Bilibili offers advertisers access to the most concentrated Gen-Z audience in the Chinese digital landscape. In 2026, Bilibili's search ad products have expanded significantly, introducing new formats, enhanced targeting capabilities, and improved measurement tools that make search advertising on the platform more powerful and accessible than ever before.

This comprehensive guide covers everything brand advertisers need to know about Bilibili search ads in 2026 — from available formats and targeting options to optimization strategies and performance measurement.

🔍 The State of Bilibili Search Advertising in 2026

Bilibili's search advertising revenue has grown substantially over the past two years, reflecting both increased advertiser demand and platform investment in search products. In Q1 2026, Bilibili reported that search ad revenue accounted for 18 percent of total advertising revenue — up from 12 percent in Q1 2024. This growth trajectory signals that search is becoming an increasingly central pillar of Bilibili's monetization strategy.

Several macro trends are driving this growth:

• Search behavior is expanding: Total search queries on Bilibili grew 31 percent year-over-year in Q1 2026, with users increasingly turning to the platform as a primary search destination for video content, product research, and entertainment discovery.
• Advertiser adoption is accelerating: The number of active search advertisers on Bilibili increased 47 percent year-over-year, as brands across verticals recognize the platform's unique ability to reach young consumers at the moment of intent.
• New formats are emerging: Bilibili has introduced several new search ad formats in 2026, expanding beyond traditional search result placements to include pause ads, in-feed search ads, and contextual placements that blur the line between organic and paid content.

🔍 Bilibili Search Ad Formats: A Complete Overview

Understanding the full range of search ad formats available on Bilibili is essential for building an effective advertising strategy. Here is a detailed breakdown of each format.

Standard Search Result Ads

Standard Search Result Ads appear within the organic search results feed, clearly labeled as sponsored content. These ads support video thumbnails, text descriptions, and call-to-action buttons. They are the foundation of Bilibili's search advertising offering and are suitable for virtually any campaign objective — from brand awareness to direct conversion.

Key specifications:
- Appears in positions 1 through 5 within search results
- Supports video, image, and text creative
- Minimum bid starts at 0.5 RMB per click
- Average click-through rate: 5.2 percent

Brand Zone

The Brand Zone is Bilibili's premium search placement, occupying the top of the search results page when users search for a specific brand keyword. It supports rich media including video, interactive elements, and direct links to brand channels or product pages.

Key specifications:
- Exclusive top-of-page placement
- Supports video up to 60 seconds
- Includes interactive elements and mini-program integration
- Average click-through rate: 12.4 percent
- Sold on a cost-per-day basis with keyword exclusivity

Pause Ads (New in 2026)

One of Bilibili's most innovative search ad formats introduced in 2026 is the Pause Ad. When a user pauses a video that was discovered through search results, a contextual ad overlay appears on the paused frame. This format captures attention at a moment of high engagement — when the user is actively focused on the content — and delivers brand messages in a non-intrusive manner.

TMG's early testing data shows that Pause Ads achieve a 7.3 percent click-through rate and generate 2.1 times higher brand recall compared to standard search result ads. This format is particularly effective for brand awareness campaigns targeting content-heavy search queries.

In-Feed Search Ads (New in 2026)

In-Feed Search Ads blend seamlessly into the content feed that appears after a user clicks on a search result. Rather than appearing as a separate search placement, these ads are woven into the related content recommendations that Bilibili displays alongside the selected video. This native integration makes In-Feed Search Ads one of the least disruptive and most engaging ad formats on the platform.

According to Bilibili's advertising team, In-Feed Search Ads achieve an average engagement rate of 6.8 percent — higher than any other in-feed ad format on the platform.

Search Suggestion Ads

Search Suggestion Ads appear in Bilibili's autocomplete dropdown when users begin typing a query. These ads intercept users at the earliest stage of their search journey, offering brands the opportunity to redirect search behavior before the user completes their query. This format is particularly effective for capturing competitor traffic and driving awareness for new product launches.

Key specifications:
- Appears in autocomplete suggestions
- Supports brand name and short tagline
- Average click-through rate: 9.1 percent
- Cost-per-click model with daily budget caps

Contextual Content Ads

Contextual Content Ads appear alongside search results that match specific content themes or categories. Rather than targeting individual keywords, these ads target the contextual meaning of the search query, ensuring that brand messages appear in relevant content environments. This format leverages Bilibili's advanced natural language processing capabilities to match ads with the semantic intent of user queries.

🔍 Targeting Options for Bilibili Search Ads

Bilibili's advertising platform provides a comprehensive suite of targeting options that allow advertisers to reach the right audience through search. Here is a detailed look at each targeting capability.

Interest-Based Targeting

Bilibili categorizes users into over 200 interest segments based on their content consumption patterns, engagement behaviors, and expressed preferences. Advertisers can align search ads with these interest segments to ensure that their messages reach users whose demonstrated interests match the advertised product or service.

TMG recommends using interest-based targeting as a broad filter to refine search ad delivery, particularly for campaigns with wide keyword portfolios that risk attracting irrelevant traffic.

Behavioral Targeting

Behavioral targeting on Bilibili goes beyond simple interest categories to consider users' recent actions on the platform. This includes:

• Search history: Target users who have recently searched for related terms.
• Viewing patterns: Reach users whose video consumption indicates purchase consideration.
• Engagement signals: Target users who have liked, shared, coin-tossed, or bookmarked related content.
• Purchase behavior: For e-commerce advertisers, target users who have previously purchased products in the same category.

Demographic Targeting

Bilibili allows advertisers to filter search ad delivery by demographic parameters including:

• Age: Target specific age ranges, with particularly granular options for the 18-to-25 and 25-to-35 cohorts.
• Gender: Filter by male, female, or all genders.
• Location: Target by province, city, or city tier (tier-1, tier-2, tier-3+).
• Device: Filter by device type (mobile, tablet, desktop) and specific device brands.

Lookalike Audience Expansion

For advertisers with existing customer data or Bilibili follower bases, lookalike audience targeting allows expansion beyond known audiences. Bilibili's algorithm identifies users whose profiles and behaviors resemble those of a seed audience, enabling brands to reach new potential customers who share characteristics with their best existing customers.

TMG's testing shows that lookalike audiences for search campaigns achieve 35 percent lower cost-per-acquisition compared to broad interest targeting, while maintaining comparable conversion quality.

Content Context Targeting

A unique targeting capability on Bilibili is content context targeting, which allows advertisers to place search ads in the context of specific content types. For example, a skincare brand can target search ads to appear only when users are searching within beauty and skincare content categories, ensuring maximum relevance between the ad message and the user's content consumption context.

🔍 Optimization Strategies for Bilibili Search Ads

Launching search ads is only the beginning. Achieving strong performance requires ongoing optimization across several dimensions.

Keyword Strategy

A well-structured keyword strategy is the foundation of successful search advertising on Bilibili. TMG recommends:

• Start broad, then narrow: Begin with a wide range of relevant keywords and use search query reports to identify which terms drive the best performance.
• Layer match types: Use a combination of exact match, phrase match, and broad match to balance reach and precision.
• Monitor negative keywords: Regularly review search query reports to identify irrelevant queries and add them as negative keywords to prevent wasted spend.
• Track keyword trends: Bilibili's search landscape evolves rapidly with content trends. Monitor emerging keywords weekly and adjust bids accordingly.

Creative Optimization

Search ad creative on Bilibili must capture attention quickly and communicate value clearly. TMG's creative optimization guidelines include:

• Lead with the strongest visual: Bilibili is a video-first platform. Search ads that feature compelling video thumbnails outperform static image ads by 43 percent on average.
• Incorporate danmaku culture: Ads that reference Bilibili's unique community culture — including danmaku references, popular memes, and platform-specific language — achieve 28 percent higher engagement rates.
• Test multiple variants: Run at least three creative variants per ad group and rotate based on performance data.
• Update creative regularly: Bilibili users are highly sensitive to ad fatigue. Refresh creative assets every two to three weeks to maintain performance.

Bid and Budget Management

Effective bid management on Bilibili requires balancing visibility with cost efficiency. TMG recommends:

• Set competitive bids for high-intent keywords: Brand terms and product-specific queries should command higher bids due to their strong conversion potential.
• Use dayparting: Analyze when your target audience is most active on Bilibili and concentrate budget during peak hours.
• Implement bid adjustments: Increase bids during key shopping events, product launches, and seasonal peaks when search volume and conversion rates are highest.
• Monitor competitor activity: Track competitor bidding patterns and adjust your strategy to maintain competitive positioning.

Landing Page Optimization

The destination page that search ad clicks lead to is as important as the ad itself. TMG recommends:

• Ensure fast load times: Bilibili users expect instant experiences. Pages that load in under 2 seconds achieve 60 percent higher conversion rates.
• Match landing page content to search intent: If a user searches for "summer skincare routine," the landing page should feature summer-specific content, not a generic brand homepage.
• Include social proof: Bilibili users trust community validation. Include user reviews, danmaku highlights, and community ratings on landing pages.
• Optimize for mobile: Over 80 percent of Bilibili search traffic comes from mobile devices. Ensure landing pages are fully responsive and mobile-optimized.

🔍 Measuring Bilibili Search Ad Performance

Bilibili provides a robust set of measurement tools for search advertisers. TMG recommends tracking the following metrics to evaluate campaign effectiveness:

• Impressions: The total number of times search ads were displayed.
• Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks.
• Cost per click (CPC): The average cost paid for each click.
• Conversion rate: The percentage of clicks that resulted in a desired action (purchase, registration, download, etc.).
• Cost per acquisition (CPA): The total cost divided by the number of conversions.
• Return on ad spend (ROAS): Revenue generated per RMB spent on search advertising.
• Search impression share: The percentage of total available impressions that your ads captured.
• Quality score: Bilibili's internal metric that evaluates ad relevance, expected click-through rate, and landing page experience.

🔍 TMG: Your Bilibili Search Advertising Partner

Navigating Bilibili's rapidly evolving search advertising ecosystem requires deep platform expertise, continuous optimization, and data-driven decision-making. TMG has managed over 200 Bilibili search campaigns across gaming, e-commerce, beauty, technology, and entertainment verticals, delivering consistent results for both international and domestic brands.

Our team of Bilibili specialists provides end-to-end campaign management — from initial keyword research and creative development through to real-time optimization and comprehensive performance reporting.

Ready to unlock the full potential of Bilibili search advertising? Contact TMG today to schedule a consultation and discover how our data-driven approach can help your brand reach 340 million young consumers through the power of search.