SEO Top Tips To Help You Get Discovered On TikTok

If you thought SEO, or search engine optimisation, was just for Google, you're wrong. There are many other search engines out there that you can optimise content for, notably on social media platforms.

Whether it's your professional profile on LinkedIn or your business's Facebook page, social media SEO is a great way of boosting your reach and increasing the number of people who discover you and your brand.

Changing Search Habits

The fact is, search habits are changing. Google isn't always the first port of call when users are searching for information. Google listings can be generic and dominated by the big players, whereas searches on social media platforms can unearth hidden gems and smaller, more exclusive brands. If a user is interested in a niche, it's often social media they'll turn to before Google.

Take leather shoes, for example. Search on Google and you'll get results from the usual suspects: Office, Clarks and the rest. But start searching on Instagram and you'll come across smaller brands selling handcrafted shoes. Just what an enthusiast would be after.

TikTok SEO

If you want to reach customers born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, aka Gen Z, then TikTok is your place. It's the most popular platform among 'zoomers'. And according to data from Google, 40% of them would prefer to use TikTok to search for information than a traditional search engine.

TikTok is big. It's the most downloaded app on Apple's app store, and over one billion videos are viewed on the platform every day. To get your content found by the right people, you need to get effective at SEO. It's no good posting a video with a random description and hoping for the best.

TikTok has recently increased their video description field from a measly 300 characters to a whopping 2,200 characters. That's much more copy to play with, and a much bigger opportunity to target search-friendly keywords and phrases. TikTok uses the information in the description to work out what the video is about and connect it with users its algorithms think will find it interesting.

TikTok's Algorithm

Search engine algorithms are notoriously complex, but it's still possible to optimise your content so that it gets picked up by the main signals the algorithms use. On TikTok, the principle signals are video information, user interaction, and device settings.

1. Video information: TikTok wants to show users content that's most relevant to them. It scans video information to determine who it should reach. Video information includes the caption, description, hashtags, sounds and effects, and video transcripts. It's an important one to pay attention to, because it's the one you can have the most influence over. Include the right keywords and you'll increase your chances of getting found by the people most likely to buy from you significantly.

2. Interaction: One of the reasons content goes viral online is that the more engagement it gets, the more people the algorithm shows it to. A good piece of content can quickly snowball and get shown to millions of users. TikTok is no different. Views and engagements are an important ranking signal. If a video is getting a lot of attention, the algorithm basically says "more people should see this". Interactions can include likes, comments, shares, account follows and views.

The take-home here is to make engaging content and encourage interaction. Posing questions, asking people to like and share, and commenting on other creators' posts are all good approaches to encourage engagement with your own content.

3. Device and location: Users typically don't want to see content in other languages, so algorithms also take into account language and location of the user. They'll also factor in device type.

Increasing Your Discoverability

If you want to increase your TikTok search performance, your focus should be on working out what keywords your audience is searching, and including them in your video information.

Keyword research: To get started, search words that relate to your product or service. For example, a shoemaker could search "best shoes". You'll likely notice that the top results have that keyword in the in-video text and the video caption. Getting the keywords that your audience is using into these locations will help you rank well.

Generic vs specific keywords: It will probably be difficult to rank well for a generic term such as "best shoes". Lots of business will go for this, and the bigger brands will be able to dominate as they'll have a larger following and get more interaction. But the more specific you are, the easier it usually becomes. Specificity also helps ensure you're attracting users who are interested in your exact product.

For example, the shoemaker could look at keywords such as leather shoes, dress shoes and smart shoes. Or go even more specific with terms such as brown leather brogues, brown leather wingtips or brown leather chelsea boots.

Jump on trends and take inspiration from others: TikTok has a Trend Discovery Tool that shows you what content is trending at any given time. It's a great way to get real-time information about what's going viral, and what keywords are being used. If something's trending that's relevant to your industry, you could jump on it by using related keywords in your video descriptions.

You can also look at what other content creators in your industry are doing. What keywords are they using and where are they putting them? Are they ranking well and are their posts getting engagement?

Don't Forget Hashtags

Hashtags might seem old hat, but they're still highly effective. TikTok uses them to categorise content and users search for them. Take insight from your keyword research and what's trending, as well as the hashtags popular creators in your niche are using.

If It's Worth Doing, It's Worth Doing Well

If you're going to invest marketing budget into posting on social media, it's worth doing well and maximising your returns. Social media SEO is an often overlooked strategy, but it's a great way to boost the effectiveness of your posts and increase your reach.