Xiaohongshu search traffic is going crazy, 70% of the blue ocean entrance is here

Where will new business growth be found in 2024? Before creating content, brands must first have traffic channels to amplify their content. Therefore, before the content is exposed, how to get larger and more accurate traffic is the key, which is directly linked to your sales.

So what business shortcuts can Xiaohongshu search bring to brands or businesses? How to obtain accurate traffic? How to do it specifically?

Let’s talk about these 3 questions today.

1. Xiaohongshu Search

What inspiration can you give to brands? When we talk about search, we will think of traditional search engines such as Baidu and Google more than a decade ago. When people don’t know a professional term, a brand product, or a piece of news, they will go to Baidu.

Enter keywords or questions to search for news, web pages, encyclopedias, document libraries, Q&A, etc. Different from traditional searches, Xiaohongshu search can help users solve consumption decision-making problems.

When people are undecided about what to buy, they will search on Xiaohongshu. If your search is still based on these, you may miss out on tens of millions of items.

For example, if I want to buy a MAC lipstick, I will hesitate for an hour while looking at the color test results on a model in a certain Tmall store, and I am still confused because I can’t imagine the real effect when applying it on my own lips.

So, she would go to Xiaohongshu and search for MAC lipstick color xxx. She found that there were more than 370,000 notes about "MAC lipstick", including many color numbers, the test effects of people with different skin colors, and the experience after application, such as whether it is moisturizing, whether it sticks to cups, etc.

Through the photos posted by celebrities and amateur bloggers, she can find a group of people with similar skin color and lip color to hers, and judge whether the lipstick is suitable for her and whether to buy it through their pictures, texts and videos. For example, during the Spring Festival, she wants to buy New Year gifts for her parents. But she doesn't have time to go shopping during work, and she doesn't know what to give.

So, she searched on Xiaohongshu. She found that there were more than 70,000 notes about "New Year gifts for elders", including various practical, high-end and face-saving food, drinks, daily necessities and clothes, and their corresponding price levels to choose from.

For example, after my wife got pregnant, she wanted to buy skin care products specifically for pregnant women. I searched for "pregnant women skin care product recommendations" on Xiaohongshu and found that the notes were too complete.

A whole set of products from facial cleansers, lotions, facial masks, sunscreens, etc. are sorted out, as well as reviews of different brands, ingredients prohibited for pregnant women, to help avoid pitfalls.

Then I continued to search for different brand names, such as "Clarins, Runbaiyan", etc. In addition to sharing the product selling points and real sharing from other pregnant women, I quickly established a sense of trust and finally bought a set of Kangaroo Mom.

Search is planned in advance based on the user's search habits. For example, if I am in the home furnishing industry, we can target my audience at third-tier couples who are engaged or about to get married. They will definitely decorate their house before getting married, so I will plan for this keyword half a year or more in advance. When they are about to search, your note ranking can be quickly viewed by users.

Among Xiaohongshu’s monthly active users, 70% have search behaviors, of which 88% are initiated by users. Before shopping on other platforms, they will make purchase decisions through Xiaohongshu searches, and even convert directly on the Xiaohongshu site. Due to the effectiveness of search results, search results on Xiaohongshu have an impact on their consumption decisions.

In addition to consumer decision-making, there are also daily life issues such as buying gifts, makeup, and dressing. 70% of users will use Xiaohongshu to search and click, such as the recent 618 promotion. Next, let's take a look at which topics and keywords Xiaohongshu users are more interested in.

Taking the beauty industry as an example, according to the data of Xinhong Data-Topic Search-Beauty Industry, the total reading volume of the keyword "beauty" is 11.641 billion, and the interaction increase in the past 30 days is 990.64w; the total reading volume of the keyword "skin care" is 11.155 billion, and the total number of participants is 164.86w, and the interaction increase in the past 30 days is 790.26w;

(Data source: Xinhong Data, a subsidiary of Xinbang)

(Data source: Xinhong Data, a subsidiary of Xinbang)

According to Xinhong Data - Hot Search Word Ranking - Popularity List - Data from the beauty industry, the popularity value of the keyword "lower eyelashes" in the past 30 days is 569.44w, and the total number of comments in the past 30 days is 16.13w; the popularity value of the keyword "panda eyes" in the past 30 days is 36.65w, and the total number of comments in the past 30 days is 1.39w;

(Data source: Xinhong Data, a subsidiary of Xinbang)

Data from topic searches and hot search terms show that users have extremely high search needs. When they become interested in a product/topic, search is their most direct and simple channel to obtain content.

For example, when the promotional video of the recently popular movie "Hot and Spicy" revealed that Jia Ling lost 100 kilograms in a year because of the better effect of the movie, users were more curious about how Jia Ling looked after losing weight, so they would search for keywords such as "Hot and Spicy" and "Jia Ling" and click to read the information they wanted through the notes. The search volume of Xiaohongshu is still rising steadily.

Among them, education and training, clothing, shoes and bags, food and beverages, travel, home furnishings, beauty and personal care, medical care, technology and digital, mother and baby, and fashion have become the top 10 popular search areas of Xiaohongshu; in terms of search traffic, the 3C home appliance industry increased by 84% year-on-year, the education industry increased by 173% year-on-year, and the travel and tourism industry increased by 242% year-on-year.

The profound influence on consumer decisions, the wide range of all-scenario content, and the rapid growth of traffic show that Xiaohongshu search has become a new continent for brand merchants to grow their business in 2024.

Of course, discovering the trend is the starting point, and doing it is the shortcut to getting good results.

2. Xiaohongshu Search

Did it bring accurate traffic and conversion? Especially in the current environment where there are more and more consumer choices, such as whether to buy nutritional supplements or clothes for parents during the New Year, whether to go to the movies or travel on the weekend, etc., search has become a rigid demand.

Therefore, the active search action has its own demand. There is no doubt that the traffic brought by the search will be more accurate. Can conversion be achieved if the traffic is accurate? Obviously not, there is still a long way to go.

In other words, traffic does not equal conversion. Precision traffic is to screen target users based on your general traffic, but it does not mean that it can directly guide your users to place orders. It is the system that uses the algorithm mechanism to push content to those who need it. However, no matter how accurate the algorithm is, users have subjective consciousness and observation consciousness.

After users find the answer on Xiaohongshu, there are still many problems in the conversion process. They may need to have a deeper understanding with the brand, which may be a jump between platforms or a product trial.

From the user's perspective, the smoother the consumer experience, the better. Users can make consumer decisions based on the influence of the product recommendation notes, from general search to detailed search to in-depth search, while reducing the complexity of operations.

For brands, shortening the links and optimizing the consumer experience will reduce user churn, improve conversion, and thus increase the certainty of business growth. It is precisely to solve these problems that Xiaohongshu launched the search direct tool at the Will Business Conference on December 22. As a central hub, it can link six major marketing scenarios and help brand merchants complete the final conversion link.

Scenario 1: Content seeding

Based on the content of the notes, we conduct refined keyword development and placement to seize the first-mover advantage in the market, thereby increasing exposure/clicks and helping sales conversion.

Scenario 2: E-commerce closed loop

For brand merchants that have opened Xiaohongshu stores, product notes and live broadcasts can be combined with e-commerce advertising to guide users to click on links to make purchases, thereby increasing sales conversions.

Scenario 3: Customer Information Collection

For industries that conduct offline transactions, such as education and home improvement, it can directly connect to private messages, corporate WeChat, group chats, forms and other scenarios. This avoids the previous mode of manually switching platforms and the problem of customers not being able to respond in time. Direct search enables efficient retention and fan acquisition for brand merchants.

Scenario 4: E-commerce traffic

For brand merchants that operate stores on the Xiaohongshu station, users can make purchase decisions through various searches, pictures, texts, short videos, live broadcasts, etc., and then directly jump to third-party platforms to make purchases within the Xiaohongshu search field.

Scenario 5: Trading Platform

In addition to linking brands, UG also focuses on platforms such as Tmall, JD.com, Qunar.com, etc. It can directly link to trading platforms to help increase business goals such as visitor numbers and sales.

Scenario 6: Application Download

For Internet application and game customers, it allows users to directly access the APP or mini-game trial functions, effectively increasing downloads and trial willingness. Xiaohongshu search marketing can not only bring seeding value, but also help global conversion.

In 2024, brand merchants must not only do it, but also dig deeper. What is more worth mentioning is that Xiaohongshu search also has a long-tail effect. On many platforms, no one reads the content three or five days after it is released. However, a note on Xiaohongshu is likely to be searched by new traffic three to five months or even a year after it is released. It is really a long-term effect.

3. Xiaohongshu search strategy

Keywords + spotlight + content layout How to do it specifically? It can be achieved through three dimensions, namely keywords + spotlight + content layout.

1. Keywords

Keywords are the "compass" for users to find answers, and are generally divided into brand words, product words, category words, scene words, function words, and crowd words.

According to the different search terms, user search behavior is divided into precise search and extensive search. 64% of users first search extensively, that is, first search for words other than brand, such as efficacy words and scene words, to find information and consumption inspiration.

Then search more carefully, search for brand words or products directly, learn more about them, and get accurate results. Another 46% of users search directly for brands or products under brands. For example, when "tourists" want to know where to travel, they will first search for "tourism city recommendations" in general, and after a preliminary understanding of the situation, they will further search for specific cities, costs, routes, etc.

As a brand merchant, you need to have comprehensive coverage so that no matter what keywords consumers search for, they can find content related to the brand.

Therefore, we divide keywords into the following 4 categories according to the level of operational importance:

01 Core Keywords

Generally refers to brand product words and category words. Taking home furnishing as an example, core words can be mattresses (category words), sofas (category words), tiles (category words), OPPEIN cabinets (brand product words), etc.

02 Long Tail Keywords

These are words related to the core keywords, usually in the form of core keywords + associated tags. For example, the long-tail keywords for mattresses include: mattress recommendations for home use, how to choose a mattress, top ten mattress brands recommendations, etc.

03 High conversion words

High conversion words are words with strong purchasing intention, such as: Is Estee Lauder's Little Brown Bottle good to use?, lighting brand recommendations, how to buy affordable headphones, etc.

04 Hot search terms

Hot search terms are divided into hot search terms and industry hot search terms. We usually look for industry hot search terms, which are generally related to people, effects, and scenes. Taking essence as an example, hot search terms may include: essence over 40 years old, essence anti-aging, essence winter, etc.

(Data source: Xinhong Data, a subsidiary of Xinbang)

After knowing these keyword categories, how do you find them? You can use the keyword planning tool of the Juguang platform.

2. Focus

The Juguang platform has a keyword planning tool that is very useful. You can select keywords from dimensions such as intelligent keyword recommendation, industry keyword recommendation, keyword recommendation, and keyword word package to meet the keyword selection needs in different scenarios and help search efficiency conversion.

01 Intelligent word recommendation

It is divided into landing page promotion, note promotion, and product promotion according to different marketing demands. Landing page promotion is for customer information collection. The landing page is launched, and the system will intelligently recommend keywords related to the landing page content.

The purpose of note promotion is to increase exposure and likes. The content is a note, and the system will intelligently recommend keywords related to the note content. The purpose of product promotion is to increase product sales. The content is a product, and the system will intelligently recommend keywords related to the product.

02 Industry promotion

It is mainly aimed at brand merchants who have no ideas for word selection, or whose word selection is incomplete, and who easily miss important industry keywords, or who do not know what dimensions to use to split product attributes.

Juguang can recommend keywords related to your industry based on your industry. For example, if you are in the sports and outdoor industry, the operation steps are: keyword planning tool - industry recommendation - select sports and outdoor categories and attributes, and the keywords recommended by the system are your industry keywords.

03 Infer words by words

Enter a keyword and many related words will appear. These words are upstream and downstream words, which are the words that users searched before (after) searching for a certain word. For example, if you enter "vitamin C", many upstream and downstream words will be recommended to you. Then check "high click" to filter, or click "recommendation reason" to check "dark horse word, high click, blue ocean word" and so on.

Among them, blue ocean words and dark horse words are keywords with large search volumes and low competitiveness.

04 Keywords

The word packages are mainly some marketing nodes, such as Double 11/Chinese Valentine's Day/618/Spring Festival/National Day, etc. The platform recommends word packages to the industry. It also includes some industry blue ocean words, refined vertical words, etc. Brand merchants can select suitable word packages according to their own industry.

Solving the keyword problem is not enough. High-quality content is also very important for conversion. So how to layout it?

3. Content Strategy

01 Title

The title is very important, so write it first.

A good title has three functions:

First: It can summarize the content of the note, allowing users to quickly grasp the key points and generate interest;

Second, it can grasp user needs and attract readers to click;

Third, layout keywords well to increase the chances of your notes being searched.

The keywords of the layout title generally require at least one of the four search terms, such as: Core words: 9 popular decoration style color schemes in 2023

Long tail words: The most comprehensive probiotics review summary in history! Don’t step on the trap!

Translated words: I am very satisfied with the 2000 yuan cabinet

Hot search terms: A little red in the Year of the Dragon | Flower makeup for good fortune and prosperity

02 Cover

The text on the picture can also be detected by the system, so you must make use of it. For example, some food/beauty/health bloggers add some keywords to the cover picture to increase the chance of being searched.

03 Note Content

In terms of content, whether it is an article on my official account or a note on Xiaohongshu, I will pay attention to an "SEO layout". The title, copy, topic, and comment area are all everyone's "advertising space."

For example, if your note has a total of 330 words, but the keyword "vitamin" appears 5-6 times, or keywords directly related to your product's selling points, the note will be easier to search, but it is not recommended to have too many brand words here.

I previously promoted an account in the tourism industry, which earned 3,000 yuan from one note. Now I have created 5 more accounts and earned 300,000 yuan from Xiaohongshu. He has a good keyword layout. When he publishes a guide note, "xxx travel", "xxx accommodation", "xxx food" and so on will appear many times in the title, pictures, content, topics and comment area. By continuously optimizing and adjusting the keyword layout, he has brought good growth to offline tourism consumption.

04 Topic Sign

At the bottom of each note, you can select high-traffic topic tags, which is very important in Xiaohongshu's search. Generally, 8-10 tags are enough.

Final summary

In recent years, all brands have been seeking to reduce costs and increase efficiency, especially in 2024, when the overall economic situation has put a more severe test on brands. However, challenges bring opportunities, and targeting new marketing opportunities and getting closer to consumer needs will give you an extra chip for success.

Xiaohongshu search is a commercial gold mine with low investment and high output. As a national-level life guide, it has 300 million monthly active users, of which 70% of daily active users actively search on Xiaohongshu every day, with an average daily search volume of 300 million times.

For brand merchants, such a large search volume holds immeasurable business potential. If you lay a solid foundation of keywords and content, you will receive a steady stream of traffic and sales conversions in the future.

Although Xiaohongshu search has just started, many brands are quietly flocking to this blue ocean of traffic. The window period will be fleeting, so brands and merchants who want to enter the market must do so as soon as possible.