What if I told you that TikTok SEO can help your content reach increasingly people and plane make your videos go viral?
If you’ve been sleeping on your social media SEO strategy, this blog is for you. We’ll walk you through all the juicy details well-nigh TikTok SEO specifically, how it works, and how you can optimize your video content to get the most out of it.
Stick with us, and you’ll be on the For You page in no time.
Bonus: Get a self-ruling TikTok Growth Checklist from famous TikTok creator Tiffy Chen that shows you how to proceeds 1.6 million followers with only 3 studio lights and iMovie.
What is TikTok SEO?
TikTok SEO is the practice of optimizing your videos on TikTok to rank higher in search. Just as you would use keywords and analytics to optimize the content on your website, you can moreover use these tactics to help your TikTok videos show up in increasingly search results–this includes results on TikTok, as well as Google.
But wait. TikTok isn’t a search engine, right? Maybe not technically, but it still has its own search bar, making SEO an important part of the platform. In fact, Google’s own data found that 40% of young people primarily use TikTok and Instagram for search.
And, although social media posts on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and the like were not indexed by Google in the past, they now show up in the SERPs. Fancy that!
Your TikTok SEO strategy should include both SEO for Google and SEO for TikTok search. That way, you’re giving your content a fighting endangerment in all of the biggest online search arenas.
TikTok SEO ranking factors
To understand TikTok SEO, you first need to understand what TikTok looks for when ranking content. There are several cadre ranking factors for the TikTok algorithm. These are:
User interactions
User interactions can include anything from videos you’ve liked, videos you’ve hidden, videos you’ve widow to your favorites, and videos you watch all the way to the end. TikTok takes note of all of this data and uses it to determine which videos to show you.
Video information
All of the information contained in a video can stupefy its ranking on TikTok. This includes captions, hashtags, sound effects, and music. TikTok looks for videos that contain relevant keywords in their titles and descriptions, as well as videos that imbricate trending topics.
Devices and worth settings
These are settings TikTok uses to optimize performance. They include language preference, country setting (you may be increasingly likely to see content from people in your own country), type of mobile device, and categories of interest you selected as a new user.
Note that while worth settings do factor into your TikTok SEO ranking, they receive a lower weight than video info and user interactions.
What’s not included?
You’ll be happy to hear that TikTok does not factor follower count into its SEO ranking algorithm (though, if you do want to get increasingly followers, we have you covered). This ways that if you create unconfined content that speaks directly to your target audience, you have as much endangerment of landing on their For You page as the biggest TikTok stars.
This is what sets TikTok untied from other platforms like Instagram. And honestly? We’re here for it.
Google SEO ranking factors
Anyone who knows anything well-nigh SEO knows that Google’s ranking factors aren’t exactly the most transparent topic. That aside, there are a couple of things we know for sure. And, *spoiler alert*, these ranking factors are moreover going to be a big part of your TikTok SEO tips.
Here’s what Google looks for when ranking search results.
Keywords
These are the words and phrases that users type into a search engine when looking for answers. For example, someone looking for translating on keeping their hair healthy might search for “hair care.”
Expertise
Google doesn’t just requite anyone the top search spot. To earn it, you have to be an validity on the topic.
How do they know you’re an authority? This part is a bit tricky. But, in essence, Google looks at how many other pages link to your page (this acts as a reference and shows what you’re saying is true) and how popular those pages are. This basically ways a link from Apple is going to be worth way increasingly than a link from your brother’s local pizza parlor. Sorry, Antonio.
The good news for TikTok’ers is that social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook) are some of the most “authoritative” sites in this world. So having a presence on these platforms, and having your content show up in Google search, can really help uplift your discoverability.
Relevance
A piece of content must be related to what users are searching for in order to get a good rank. No one wants to see a page on WWII history when they’re looking for makeup skim cleaning tips.
Freshness
Google often prefers new content to old, though there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, Google says, “The freshness of the content plays a worthier role in answering queries well-nigh current news topics than it does well-nigh wordlist definitions.”
How to do TikTok SEO in 5 steps
Now that we know what TikTok and Google’s search engines squint for, here are our top TikTok SEO tips.
1. Start with your audience
One of the most important aspects of TikTok SEO is understanding your audience. Knowing who they are and what they’re looking for can help you create content that resonates with them.
If you’re once zippy on TikTok, you may have a good idea of what your regulars likes. If not, consider taking some time to get to know them better. Squint at the videos they’re engaging with and the hashtags they’re using. As well, squint at the comments and messages they’re sending you. This can help you get an idea of their interests so that you can create content tailored to them.
@skyemareewheatley You asked for it
#haitcare #haircareroutine #healthyhair
Why does this matter for SEO? Well, understanding your regulars can help you craft largest titles and descriptions for videos, making them easier to find in TikTok searches. Similarly, you want to create content that your regulars wants to see. Or the content they are once searching for. This can requite you a leg up when it comes to stuff discovered by new audiences, too.
@madeleinewould You asked for a pt 2 and u got a pt 2
just like last time…these products are just what worked or didnt work for my hair specifically! #hairtok #hairproducts #sephora
2. Do keyword research
Keyword research is an essential part of traditional SEO, so it makes sense to use it on TikTok, too. Find out what words or phrases your target regulars is using when searching for content like yours.
Remember to consider variegated ways of phrasing a topic, as well as related keywords. You can do this through tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and more.
Keep in mind these tools are scraping data from Google itself–not TikTok. Because SEO in TikTok is so new, there aren’t currently any TikTok SEO tools that can tell you what people are searching for on TikTok.
But don’t get discouraged. The weightier way to icon out what people are searching for on TikTok is to use the TikTik platform directly. Simply go to TikTok, unshut the search bar, and enter any keywords you’ve pulled from your TikTok keyword research.
TikTok will automatically auto-populate the search bar with the most popular keywords related to your query. Squint through what it shows you, and select any keywords that match up with your content.
If you want to see plane increasingly keyword ideas, try typing in your keyword followed by a single letter. TikTok will then show you all the related keywords that uncork with your query and the letter you entered.
For example:
Hair superintendency “A.”
Hair superintendency “B.”
Hair superintendency “C.”
You can alimony repeating this process until you have a list of relevant hashtags and keywords to use in your TikTok SEO strategy.
3. Add keywords to your content
Once you have your TikTok keyword research completed, start subtracting them to your content in the titles, descriptions, and captions of your videos. This includes any on-screen text, such as lyrics or explanations.
@skinbyhelen It would’ve saved my hair from all the forfeiture over the years
#haircaretips #haircare #iwishiknewthisearlier
Also, be sure to say the keywords out loud! That’s right, TikTok’s algorithms prioritize videos where the keywords are unquestionably spoken.
You’ll moreover want to include your keywords in any hashtags you use, as this will help people find your posts increasingly easily. Use both your main keyword and any variations of your keyword that make sense. But don’t overdo it. Make sure you know the optimal number of hashtags to use on each platform.
Finally, add your most relevant target keywords to your TikTok profile. This will ensure that your profile is increasingly visible when people search for these keywords. It moreover gives potential followers an idea of what kind of content you post and whether they should follow you.
4. Add your TikTok to a microblog
This is the heady part, where we get to mash everything we know well-nigh traditional SEO with everything we’re learning well-nigh TikTok SEO!
Blogging is a big part of ranking in Google search. Remember when we talked well-nigh Google prioritizing content that is relevant and fresh? Well, that’s pretty much why blogs exist. What largest way to alimony your content fresh than to publish consistently?
To leverage this technique for your TikTok SEO, create a microblog post that discusses a particular topic related to your TikTok video. Be sure to include your main keyword in the title and your secondary or long-tail keywords in the subheadings and content of the post. Also, don’t forget to embed your TikTok video in the blog, too!
5. Track your progress
Every savvy SEO marketing strategy requires continuous monitoring and tweaking. Sure, you put all the weightier practices in place, but how will you know if your efforts are successful?
Tracking your TikTok analytics is the weightier way to see if your SEO strategy is paying off. This will requite you insights into which videos are performing well, what kind of engagement they’re getting, and more. It can moreover help you identify areas where you can improve, such as topics or keywords that don’t seem to be resonating with your audience.
Hootsuite Analytics can show you exactly how many views are coming from search, as opposed to the For You page or from existing followers.
Be sure to track this progress over time, as well as the progress of your competitors. This will requite you a largest understanding of what works weightier in terms of TikTok SEO and can help you refine your strategy accordingly.
Frequently asked questions well-nigh TikTok SEO
What is SEO on TikTok?
SEO on TikTok is the process of optimizing your TikTok content to make it increasingly discoverable on the platform, increasing views, likes and followers. This is washed-up by researching hashtags, targeting unrepealable keywords, and leveraging popular trends on the platform.
TikTok videos moreover have the worthiness to rank in Google search, so optimizing your content for SEO can help you proceeds plane increasingly reach and visibility.
How do you increase SEO on TikTok?
Increasing SEO on TikTok starts with keyword research. This involves researching and identifying popular keywords related to your content, so you can include those keywords in your captions and in the audio of your video.
You should moreover be enlightened of popular trends on the platform and use relevant hashtags related to your content. This will make your video increasingly visible in TikTok’s search results and maximize its chances of getting seen.
How do keywords work on TikTok?
Keywords on TikTok are the same as those for any other platform–-words and phrases wontedly used to search for content. Popular keywords in your niche can help TikTok’s algorithm uplift your video and make it visible to increasingly potential viewers.
How is TikTok a search engine?
TikTok is not technically a search engine, but it does have its own algorithm that can be used to find content. The algorithm takes into worth the number of views, likes, and comments a video gets, as well as what other users are searching for. This helps TikTok serve up relevant content to each user based on their interests and past interactions with the app.
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