TikTok is a popular social media site that behaves like a search engine and loves SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). This means you will need a way to add keywords and optimise your video content to rank higher on TikTok. Perhaps you’ve seen other TikTok brands whose content goes viral now and then. They are probably using SEO for TikTok to optimise their content for a given set of trending keywords or topics.
So, in this guide, we bring you several talking points around TikTok SEO and its algorithm. The tips we will share here will ultimately guide you on how to rank higher on TikTok. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the guide:
- TikTok SEO and Algorithm
- How TikTok Works
- Does the TikTok Algorithm Consider Followers?
- Key Ranking Signals for the TikTok Algorithm
- Top 5 TikTok SEO Tips: How to rank on TikTok
- Final Remarks
- Frequently Asked Questions about TikTok SEO
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TikTok: What it is and Why it’s Popular
TikTok is a free video-sharing social media app you can download from the Google play store or App Store. It was created in September 2016 by a Chinese technology company, ByteDance Ltd. However, the whole project is under Zhang Yiming, a proficient internet entrepreneur.
Today, TikTok is available in more than 150 countries and supports 40 languages. It has been able to attract over 1 billion users worldwide, which makes it one of the trending social media sites.
The App allows you to create and share short-form videos ranging from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. So, many individuals and brands have adopted it for business advertising and marketing. Why not you?
What is TikTok SEO and Algorithm?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and is commonly applicable in search engine marketing. So, TikTok SEO is a process of getting traffic for free by optimising your video content for trending keywords or topics.
An algorithm, on the other hand, is just a series of procedures on how to do things. In other words, the TikTok algorithm is a set of rules for recommending video content to users. The Algorithm is what controls TikTok SEO requirements.
The best way to know how to rank on TikTok is by first understanding how TikTok works. As a result, you can use TikTok SEO without much hustle. Don’t worry; there is not much to learn like rocket science.
TikTok Algorithm: How TikTok Works
TikTok’s popularity has attracted attention from regulators in Europe. And the main concern is how content spreads so fast on this platform. Is TikTok breaching data privacy policies? Well, this brings us to the main point of our topic today, TikTok SEO and algorithm.
TikTok, like other social media sites, uses an algorithm (For You algorithm) to determine which video content to show different users. When a video has just been posted, TikTok, through its For You algorithm, will show this video to a sample space of users based on their past behaviour.
Depending on how this sample space of users interacts with the video content, TikTok may show it to more or fewer users. For instance, if many people watch the entire video, like, share, or follow the creator at a higher rate, this is positive feedback. Hence, it’s a signal that people love that TikTok video content.
So, the algorithm will show the video to more people with similar behaviour. And the loop goes on like that. In other words, the TikTok algorithm is like a voting system that continues to push video content based on users’ vote of confidence. And this is how TikTok videos with excellent SEO go viral.
Does the TikTok Algorithm Consider Followers?
Any TikTok video can go viral regardless of how many followers the creator has. This is because the TikTok algorithm continuously shows the video to anyone interested (followers and non-followers) as long as there is positive feedback.
Obviously, accounts with many followers often get more views since their followers are always on the watch for their latest content. But it doesn’t mean the TikTok algorithm uses the number of followers as a recommendation signal.
Key Takeaway:
Create unique TikTok video content with excellent SEO that will capture user attention in the very first second. Remember, the first impression is an everlasting one.
Key Ranking Signals for the TikTok Algorithm
Having understood how the TikTok algorithm works, here are the key ranking factors it uses to make video content with good SEO go viral:
1. User interaction
TikTok algorithm behaves similarly to the Instagram algorithm. Thus, it considers user behaviour first. In other words, how does a user interact with TikTok? For instance, did he previously like a cooking video? Then, the algorithm will recommend other related TikTok videos. Other factors include:
- The creator you’ve followed, hidden or reported.
- The content you create on your account.
- Videos you’ve added to your favourites
- Videos you’ve marked as “Not Interested.”
- Videos you’ve watched, liked, commented on, or shared.
- The completion rate of a video (Videos you have watched to the end)
2. Video information
This includes the details TikTok creators attach to their content. For instance, captions, on-screen text, sounds, hashtags, effects, and trending topics. To put it in another way, how have you optimised your TikTok Video for SEO.
Such information is what describes a TikTok video. So, when users search for a video on TikTok, the algorithm will return all the videos that match the users’ query. It is some bit of SEO applied in the TikTok algorithm.
3. Device and account settings
Here, TikTok will consider a user’s language preference, device type, and country settings. That is to say, TikTok wants to know its users based on their location and the languages they speak. Then, it will recommend video content based on these factors.
However, this ranking factor is of lower priority than user interaction and video information. If a TikTok video matches the first two ranking factors, users might view videos from creators of different locations.
Top 5 TikTok SEO Tips: How to rank on TikTok
Now you know the key ranking factors TikTok considers. So, here are the 5 TikTok SEO tips to help your content rank in organic traffic:
1. Know your target audience
TikTok marketing isn’t any different from other SEO content marketing strategies. Hence, it requires you first to understand your target audience. Who do you want to view your videos? What might be his search intent? And probably what are his needs?
Put yourself in your target audience’s shoes. What could be your interests while searching for information on TikTok? This step will guide you on what is suitable for your audience. As a result, you will create the right TikTok video content that answers your users’ questions.
2. Research your keywords
TikTok behaves like a search engine, and search engines love keywords. That’s the relationship between SEO and TikTok. So if you thought you would run away from SEO, here we are with it on TikTok.
TikTok Keywords are phrases users input in the search bar while looking for video content or accounts on TikTok. So, having the right keywords for your video content will improve your brand’s visibility.
Likely, the trending topics in Google will also trend in TikTok. So, capitalize on the keyword research tools like Semrush to find the correct phrases to target. We created a guide that can help you learn how to use the Semrush topic research tool.
3. Use trending Hashtags
TikTok and other social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram utilize hashtags. It is a way of organizing content based on topics. So, by using TikTok hashtags, you describe the content of your video, what it is about and for who.
As a result, TikTok will quickly know which sample space of users to recommend this video to and increase your content and account discoverability. Find trending Hashtags from the “Discover” section. However, only use trending hashtags relevant to your niche or content type.
4. Create engaging content
Quality has no substitute! Create high-quality, engaging SEO content or don’t create any TikTok content at all. What I mean is put in some creativity to awe your audience and make the video shorter (60 seconds)
Additionally, optimise your TikTok videos for SEO. That means including a title for your video, on-screen text, speech, caption, and Hashtags. All these are areas to add Keywords and optimise your TikTok video for SEO.
5. Share your video
Lastly, its always good to share your TikTok videos elsewhere. Apart from TikTok organic traffic, sharing your video on other social media apps like WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook would be helpful. This TikTok SEO strategy will increase your video views and discoverability on other sites.
Final Remark
TikTok uses an algorithmic feed to push users’ short-form videos to reach more audiences. It is the number one factor that has inspired many social media marketers to adopt this trending app. And without a doubt, TikTok has emerged as an excellent marketing tool every brand should use.
We hope this guide has helped you learn how to add and target trending keywords and topics for your brand to rank on TikTok. Remember, TikTok is all about consistency, and your SEO strategy will grow over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
To rank for TikTok search results, you must target a relevant keyword or trending Topic to target. Use Hashtags, on-screen text, captions, sound effects, nd don’t forget to implement TikTok SEO.
Yes. Many brands have now switched to TikTok due to the platform’s growth over the year. TikTok now has over 1 billion active users, which makes it greener for business marketing and advertisement.
TikTok for Business comes packed with various tools to support marketers and advertisements. Not like a personal account, TikTok supports business accounts with campaign creation, setting up advertisement budgets and more.
With a TikTok business account, you can create in-feed ads, brand takeover ads, branded effects and branded hashtag challenges, which will definitely help you reach more people and earn followers. Additionall, TikTok SEO can help boost your business visibility.
TikTok is now a proven business marketing tool any company can adopt. TikTok boasts an audience of more than 1 billion users and is growing daily. Also, it’s easier for a brand to rank on TikTok than on other social media platforms since there some bit of SEO.
It’s easy to get more viewers to stream your video content on TikTok. You have to create engaging content that interest your target audience. Optimise your content for TikTok SEO, and stay consistent.
If you want a brand to go viral on TikTok, observe TikTok video creation best practices. That is, continuously optimise your TikTok Videos for SEO by using Hashtags, on-screen text, captions, and sound effects.
TikTok says you must have over 50,000 likes on a post to get paid. Additionally, it would help if you had a consistent posting scheme where your content continuously ranks with high views and interactions every month on TikTok.
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