TikTok Levels Up with Search Ads
Storming its way to the heart of social apps with an algorithm that keeps users coming back, now TikTok has established itself as a search engine too. Looking for recipes or book reviews? Go to TikTok.
Building on this impact, now TikTok offers search ads as another tool which advertisers can use to maximise the impact of their advertising campaigns on the platform. This is big news because it gives advertisers a pathway to reach the digitally native Gen-Z where their intent and interest is most concentrated.
How big is the take up of TikTok search amongst its core audience? Well, a Google senior vice president Brabhaka Raghavan commented on this at a tech conference last year: “In our studies, almost 40 percent of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram.” It’s not just memes, videos, photos: TikTok is fast becoming a popular search engine alternative for younger demographics.
Search ads on TikTok are posts which appear in the search results when users search for specific keywords or hashtags. They are marked ‘ad’ or ‘sponsored’. With the new search ad toggle feature, advertisers can choose whether to include search ads as part of their overall advertising strategy or exclude them entirely.
By utilising the new search toggle feature, advertisers can tap into TikTok's search traffic and reach new audiences who are actively exploring relevant content related to the advertisers’ brand. This not only provides a great opportunity for advertisers to expand their reach, but also offers increased control and customisation over ad campaigns, which could result in better targeting and improved performance.
Currently, TikTok decides which keywords are most relevant. While advertisers can see popular TikTok search keywords, they cannot directly target them in their advertising campaigns, although TikTok does offer the option to use negative keywords in ad campaigns. This means that advertisers can exclude certain search terms to ensure that their ads are not shown to users who are not interested in their services whilst improving the relevance of their ads and increasing the likelihood of reaching their target audience.
What will be key is how TikTok develops their search ad proposition, potentially with new targeting methods on the horizon. While a new feature for the moment, search ads on TikTok do quietly herald a new ‘search results’ page to optimise for and an important new strand in search that can’t be ignored for brands looking to stay relevant and continue growing.
By Amy Swanwick, Paid Social Specialist
