A Complete Guide on TikTok SEO: Best SEO Tips & Practices

Today, we simply cannot imagine a solid marketing plan without considering social media SEO.

It surely is a time-consuming social media platform to succeed on: you need a social media manager who really gets the network, what are the right videos, and on top of all of that, you have to stay consistent.

Applying TikTok SEO tips in your TikTok marketing strategy helps you achieve a better reach for your content, get viral more often, and increase engagement for your TikTok profile.

Today, we will discover what is SEO on TikTok and tips for SEO optimization to deliver your businesses a new level of engagement and social media reach.

TikTok SEO guide for marketers and creators

What is TikTok SEO?
Why does SEO for TikTok matter?
What’s the difference between Google and TikTok SEO?
What are TikTok’s ranking factors?
How to do SEO on TikTok: a step-by-step guide
SEO tools for TikTok

FAQs about TikTok SEO

What is TikTok SEO?

TikTok SEO involves optimizing your content on TikTok to improve its ranking and make it easier for your target audience to find it. Although we traditionally look only at Google as a search engine, using SEO as a part of your TikTok strategy will only benefit your brand's reach.

Using keywords and other strategic tactics for your TikTok content ensures higher engagement and views on TikTok itself and, if done right, can also help you land this content on Google’s SERP.

And don’t forget that younger audiences prefer social media (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube) as a search engine. Over 30% of Gen Zs will choose social networks to find answers to their questions.

We can even feel the tension coming from Google's side, feeling that younger audiences are ditching Google Search and Google Maps as part of their search rituals.

TikTok is perceived as a video search engine. These days, it seems easier to watch a 30-second video on TikTok versus googling for an answer.

One of Google's latest features, which the company has been testing, is a Short Video tab in the search menu that will aggregate content from YouTube, Instagram, and, of course, the star of this article—TikTok.

This move just shows that SEO for TikTok content is more important than ever.

Why does SEO for TikTok matter?

TikTok has evolved beyond being just a social network; it has become a platform where trends are born and creators take the spotlight. Using TikTok SEO discovery tactics helps your business stay ahead of the algorithms faster.

Since Google has started indexing more video content (mainly from Instagram and TikTok), TikTok has seen a 133% growth in visibility, according to Search Engine Journal.
Once you learn how to do TikTok SEO, you can help your business to:

• Diversify your content distribution channels

Search is more fragmented than ever before.

Even when your target audience is not searching, they learn about problems and solutions, opportunities, and challenges within social media.

Make sure you diversify your content and create more traction channels.

• Increase your chances to go viral on TikTok

TikTok SEO might be just the answer you’ve been looking for to get more views on TikTok.

In fact, SEO practices on TikTok increase the chances for your content to be foundable by your target audience. It helps the social media algorithms put your piece of content in the correct “box” and allows the TikTok users to see your content.

• Build a community on TikTok

SEO in TikTok helps you narrow your niche, find the right topics, and make it easier for people behind screens to find the content they seek.

If your content is not going to be easy to find — it’s just not going to be discovered by your audience. If you do a TikTok audit through the lens of TikTok SEO tips, you gain a new perspective for growth.

You can utilize TikTok hashtags that fit your concept and format, create your own trends using hashtags for TikTok SEO, and gain even more visibility for your brand.

• Increase your TikTok following

And a logical outcome of the previous factors is a growing audience.

A clear structure of your content and wise usage of SEO tactics will help you gain followers day by day. Once TikTok's SEO process is established, growing your following will turn into a natural result that can be set into an objective rather than be a game of guessing.

What’s the difference between Google and TikTok SEO?

The main differences between Google SEO and TikTok SEO lie in their platforms, strategies, and goals. Here’s a detailed comparison:

Platform and content type

Google SEO: Optimizes web pages and content to rank higher on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). It primarily focuses on text-based content, images, videos, and other multimedia on websites.

TikTok SEO: Optimizes short-form video content to increase visibility and discoverability within the TikTok app. It focuses on video content and user engagement metrics within the platform.

Algorithms and ranking factors

Google SEO: Uses complex algorithms to rank content based on factors like keyword relevance, content quality, backlinks, page speed, mobile-friendliness, and user experience.

TikTok SEO: Uses an algorithm that prioritizes engagement metrics such as likes, comments, shares, watch time, and user interactions. It also considers video completion rates and the relevance of hashtags and descriptions.

Keywords and hashtags

Google SEO: Keywords are critical. They should be strategically placed in titles, headers, meta descriptions, URLs, and throughout the content. Keyword research is essential to understand what users are searching for.

TikTok SEO: Hashtags play a significant role. Using trending and relevant hashtags increases the chances of content being discovered. Keywords in video descriptions and captions also help with discoverability, but hashtags are more prominent.

Content optimization

Google SEO: Emphasizes optimizing on-page elements like meta tags, headings, images (with alt text), and structured data. Content should be informative, valuable, and regularly updated.

TikTok SEO: Focuses on creating engaging and high-quality videos. Video descriptions, captions, and the use of relevant hashtags are crucial. The content should be engaging from the start to ensure high completion rates.

User engagement

Google SEO: While user engagement (like time on site and bounce rate) impacts rankings, it is not as direct a factor as in TikTok SEO. Social signals can indirectly influence rankings.

TikTok SEO: Directly influenced by user engagement. High engagement rates (likes, shares, comments) and video completion rates significantly boost the visibility of videos on the For You Page (FYP).

Goal and intent

Google SEO: Aims to drive organic traffic to websites, increase visibility in search results, and ultimately convert visitors into customers or clients.

TikTok SEO: It aims to increase video views, followers, and overall engagement within the TikTok platform. The goal is to create viral content that appears on the FYP and attracts a large audience.

Tools and analytics

Google SEO: Utilizes tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz for keyword research, performance tracking, and optimization insights.

TikTok SEO: Uses TikTok’s built-in analytics to track video performance, engagement metrics, and audience insights. Third-party tools like Socialinsider can help identify top performing videos and history posts data.

Updates and Trends

Google SEO: Subject to frequent algorithm updates (like Google Panda, Penguin, and Core updates) that can significantly impact rankings. Staying updated with SEO best practices and changes is essential.

TikTok SEO: Trends and viral content change rapidly. Staying current with trending hashtags, challenges, and sounds is crucial for maintaining visibility and engagement.

In summary, while both Google SEO and TikTok SEO aim to increase visibility and engagement, they do so within very different ecosystems, using distinct strategies and focusing on different types of content. Understanding these differences is key to effectively optimizing content for each platform.

What are TikTok’s ranking factors?

Now, it’s time to dive deeper into using TikTok SEO for the growth of the audience. Let’s discover the main factors that will help your content on TikTok get discovered.

• User interactions

As mentioned above, user interactions are the most important step you have to consider. TikTok's SEO algorithm recommends each user very specific content tailored to their interests and needs.

The more traction your content gets, the more it will be recommended to other people.

• Video information

Another important point for TikTok’s growth is all the information you saturate your content with. Here, we talk about trending sounds, captions, video descriptions, and, of course, hashtags you are using.

All of these actions help the algorithm recognize what niche you are in and what kind of people will enjoy your content. And voila — you have TikTok recommending your content to FYP (For You Page).

• Devices and account settings

This includes your chosen language, the location you are in, and device settings. TikTok also gives content recommendations according to where you are in the world and what language you speak.

PS: You are more likely to get content recommendations from around you. But don’t be discouraged by that. With the right use of TikTok SEO tactics, you can go viral worldwide!

How to do SEO on TikTok: a step-by-step guide

If you are staying for the TIkTok SEO game, let’s break it down step by step. What exactly do you have to do to rank higher and gain viewers’ attention?

We put together these top TikTok tips for you. Here’s everything you have to know on how to use SEO on TikTok.

#1. Start with keyword research for TikTok

Use the power of keywords to get inspired with video ideas and content formats.

You can go ahead and use all the familiar tools for TikTok keyword research, as you are used for all SEO tasks. The common keyword research tools are Semrush, Ahrefs, and Google Trends. You can also cross-check with your marketing team which keywords they are using for the content.

This step aims to identify the right keywords for your TikTok content strategy.

NOTE: These keywords should be relevant to your audience and have sufficient search volume.

All the above-mentioned tools can help you identify search trends across Google platforms and discover TikTok video ideas. However, if you want to view search intents directly from TikTok, start by conducting keyword research within TikTok itself.

Keyword Insights on TikTok is a great tool to find valuable keywords or hashtags you will use for your content.

Using this tool, you can find trending keywords, analyze search volume growth, and find similar hashtags related to the topic you are researching!

You can also simply use the TikTok video search bar — once you type any word, it gives you suggested top TikTok searches. Use these TikTok search suggestions for your content plan!

#2. Analyze TikTok videos of your competitors and collect hashtags

Next, analyze existing content under your keywords and see what other businesses are doing! It’s an easy and fast way to understand what’s missing and find new angles.

A simpler way to find insights about hashtags is using Socialinsider’s TikTok analytics tool. It can help you identify the top hashtags (for your brand or for your competitors) and rank them by count or engagement.

This way, you can make TikTok competitor analysis a simple process with just a few clicks!

Don’t forget that each keyword you have collected for your TikTok SEO strategy can have dozens of hashtags related to the topic.

Another way to collect complementary hashtags and keywords is to check the “others searched for” section. It shows up when you scroll down the TikTok videos under a specific search intent.

For example, if you search on TikTok for “makeup,” once you press the desired keyword (“makeup tutorial”) on a TikTok search page, it will show you the content with this keyword, and once you scroll down, you will see all the recommended similar queries.

As with keywords, the key is to find the balance between generic and niche hashtags.

High-volume, popular hashtags might sound insanely appealing, but they are very competitive and ranking for them will take a lot of time and effort.

#3. Make SEO-optimized TikTok videos

The most important advice here is to optimize your short videos, both in-text and in the video. Here’s what you can do:

• Say your target keyword out loud: TikTok’s algorithm considers sound when ranking videos and recommending them to other users.
  
  
• Add your target keyword or keywords as on-screen text: create a simple and minimalistic description of what your video is talking about, include a target keyword, and add it as on-screen text!
  
  
• Add your keyword and supporting hashtags in the video description: Create a description of your video, including all the needed keywords for the topic, and insert all of the hashtags you collected to support a specific topic and keyword at the end.

When it comes to captions and video descriptions, try to be very specific about what your video is about. This will help the TikTok algorithm categorize your content correctly.

#4. Embed your TikTok on your blog

You can support your reach on TikTok with traditional SEO. If you have a blog, a newsletter, or any other social page, go ahead and embed your TikTok there.

This way, you can nicely blend your TikTok and Google SEO efforts and contribute to your new TikToks' being even more searchable on the web.

Create a post about a relevant topic and add your TikTok there.

#5. Leverage trending challenges and hashtags

A big part of TikTok virality comes from trends and challenges. You can use this as a super fuel for your social media growth.

Find challenges and trends that help you reveal your brand identity. They will support you in your pursuit to make your brand more personal and open!

Don’t forget about trending sounds: it is a simple way to increase the reach of your TikTok content.

What’s more, according to our most recent TikTok benchmarks study, using trending songs serves to boost engagement by 20% for small accounts.

To access trending sounds, you just have to click “Add Sound”, here you can view “TikTok viral” playlist, as well as see all the fresh sounds that has been added lately.

You can also use the search bar at the top of the screen, type in “viral sounds,” and navigate to the “Sounds” tab.

#6. Track your TikTok analytics

And lastly, invest your time in TikTok analytics to understand which of your efforts bring the most fruits. Whether it’s engagement, follower count, or direct sales for your brand.

Yes, TikTok, seen as a search engine, is a relatively new phenomenon. Nevertheless, you don’t have to stay in the dark when analyzing your performance.

There are a couple of TikTok analytics tools on the market, like Socialinsider. Adding your TikToks, you have all the data you need at a glance: key TikTok metrics, top-performing posts, total views, followers' growth rate, engagement metrics, and much more.

Socialinsider can also unlock other analytical abilities: you can compare your brand's social media performance with that of other competitors and do benchmark analyses.

SEO tools for TikTok

To perform TikTok SEO optimization, you can use all the same tools you are used to when doing Google’s SEO. Here is a list of TikTok SEO tools you might find useful:

• TikTok Keyword Insights — a simple tool from TikTok that will guide you around keyword usage on TikTok.
• Google Trends — easy to use tool from Google Inc. that can help you see what users are searching for on the web and see instant trends.
• Semrush — versatile tool for SEO tasks that will for sure make your content marketing efficient.
• Ahrefs — another useful tool for those who need to understand search traffic and SEO better.

Final words

Leveraging TikTok SEO tips, combined with social media analytics, is a crucial step for your social media goals in the era of short videos.

Be sure to optimize your existent content using this TikTok SEO guide, and find new content ideas using keyword research tactics.

FAQs about TikTok SEO

How does TikTok’s algorithm work as a search engine?

Even though TikTok is not a search engine per se, its algorithm makes its content searchable, categorizable, and easy to find, as it would work with ranking on Google. TikTok is sort of a video-specific search engine.

The approach for TikTok search engine optimization would include optimizing your TikTok videos in-text and visually to help TikTok recommend it to more viewers.

The common ranking factors for TikTok would be:

• user engagement (likes, shares, comments)
• visual, sound, and text optimization for your target keywords
• account settings and location
  

If leveraged right, the TikTok algorithm will help recommend your content to users with your target interests based on their previous interactions with the app. Read this article to find out how does TikTok SEO work!

How do keywords and hashtags work on TikTok?

Keywords and hashtags for TikTok are pretty much the same thing. Keywords work just as it would for any other platform — it’s a single word or combination of words commonly searched for on the web. An easy way to integrate keywords in your TikTok content is by putting those keywords after # sign. This way, you will add hashtags to your TikTok and help the algorithm better categorize your video.