For many consumers, social media platforms are a preferred destination for searches about everything from breaking news to product recommendations. Whereas search engines like Google and Bing once reigned supreme, TikTok is now becoming a go-to destination for discovery—particularly for Gen Z and millennial users.
TikTok has around two billion global users, and, according to the social media giant, 57% of those users use the app’s search function and 23% of users conduct a query within 30 seconds of opening the app. So how, as a small business owner, can you tap into TikTok search’s growing user base? You can use TikTok search ads, a recently launched feature that lets brands place their sponsored posts in keyword search results.
What are TikTok search ads?
TikTok search ads are targeted sponsored posts that appear in front of usersactively searching for specific topics or keywords. The ads—which can be either videos or image carousels—appear in search results alongside user-generated content (UGC). As an advertiser, you select which searches will prompt TikTok to display your ads. To differentiate TikTok search ads from UGC, ads are always marked “Sponsored.”
TikTok announced this new feature in September 2024 as an extension of TikTok’s search ads toggle function, which debuted in 2023 and gave brands the ability to display their in-feed sponsored posts on the search results page. The new September 2024 extension allows brands to create content specifically designed as search ads, rather than requiring brands to repurpose existing in-feed ads.
For instance, a shop that sells bakeware might target the search term “how to make sourdough bread” on TikTok. The brand’s search ads would then appear amid the sea of user-generated videos in the results.
Why should brands use TikTok search ads?
TikTok boasts one of the most engaged user bases among social media platforms, with a median engagement rate of 2.63%. TikTok has also become a social commerce hub with its in-app TikTok Shop, but even if users don’t buy directly in the app, they’re still using TikTok with shopping top of mind.
A 2024 Pew Research study found that 62% of American adults on TikTok say product reviews and recommendations are a reason they use the platform, and around a quarter of those users counted product reviews and recommendations as a major reason they use the app. Just look at the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, which has more than 12 million posts.
There are many ways to capitalize on TikTok’s engaged and shopping-oriented audience. You can try out TikTok marketing strategies like producing organic content, partnering with influencers, and investing in TikTok ads. There are a few different types of TikTok ads, including in-feed, TopView, and Spark, all of which promise to place your content in front of relevant audiences through TikTok’s algorithm. TikTok search ads, however, let you directly specify your intended audience through keyword targeting, meaning you can make your content available to users who type in specific search terms.
How TikTok search ads work
Here are the core components of how TikTok search ads function:
Keywords
TikTok search ads function with keyword targeting. A brand selects specific keywords, topics, or phrases that relate to its product or company. When a user searches these keywords or phrases, the company’s ads might appear in their search results.
Bids
Brands partake in keyword bidding, setting budgets on keywords and ad groups (collections of ads that share common goals) in order to compete with competitors for ad placement. The platform ranks ads depending on how much a brand bids and how relevant a particular ad is to a user. Higher bids can help a brand reach more people. TikTok offers two bidding strategies:
- Cost cap. This is a goal-based approach in which TikTok optimizes delivery based on a cost per action defined by the brand.
- Maximum delivery. This is a spend-based approach focused on delivering the maximum number of conversions based on a brand’s budget.
For best results, TikTok recommends a budget-to-bid ratio of 20:1, referring to the proportion between the money you allocate to your campaign budget and the individual bid set for each ad impression.
Algorithm
TikTok’s algorithm is designed to deliver personalized content to each user, so even after a brand selects keywords and topics, its search ads will still be placed according to TikTok’s algorithm. TikTok ranks content based on factors like performance metrics, user engagement, captions and hashtags, content diversity, and device and account settings.
How to get started with TikTok search ads
- Select “Search campaign” and decide on an objective
- Choose your keywords
- Determine target bids and budgets
- Create ad groups and upload your creative assets
- Track progress and revise as needed
Follow these steps to get started with TikTok search ads:
1. Select “Search campaign” and decide on an objective
Using the TikTok Ads Manager tool, select “Search campaign” to get started with setting up either a web conversion or traffic campaign objective. A web conversion campaign is focused on driving users to your website to complete a particular action, like making a purchase or providing an email for lead generation. A traffic campaign objective aims simply to get users to your website.
Let’s say, for example, you’re the founder of a new online luggage company targeted at millennial and Gen Z TikTok users. You’re looking to increase brand awareness that helps give you an edge over popular brands, so you opt for a traffic campaign using search. On the other hand, if you’re an established luggage brand looking to advertise your holiday sale, you might opt for a web conversion campaign instead.
2. Choose your keywords
Next, select the keywords you want to target with your TikTok search ads campaign. To select the most impactful keywords, research TikTok trends and consider how you might position your brand in relation to those trends. TikTok also includes an option to include negative keywords that will restrict your ad from appearing in search results that might damage your brand image.
3. Determine target bids and budgets
Like Google ads, brands must participate in keyword bidding, in which they set a budget for each keyword in a pay-per-click (PPC) auction to compete with competitors for ad placement within TikTok search. Similar to search engines like Google, TikTok uses a mix of bid amount, quality scores, and ad ranking to place the ads.
Before you place bids, make sure to decide on a set amount you’re willing to spend on bidding and allocate accordingly based on demand and competition.
4. Create ad groups and upload your creative assets
Now that your keyword targets and budget are in place, it’s time to develop your creative assets. TikTok allows both video and image carousel assets for its search ads feature. Brands can use a mixture of both in ad groups, or collections of sponsored posts that share a theme and intended audience. Brands create ad groups to categorize posts that serve a common purpose, like search ads with the same target keywords.
You can optimize your performance and search optimization by including your keywords in video titles and captions. TikTok recommends that brands use at least 20 keywords within each ad group to ensure that they are “bundled thematically to fit with the ad creative that will be served in search results.” The platform allows up to 1,000 keywords and 10,000 negative keywords per ad group.
Once your creative is set, publish your ad group and the TikTok algorithm will automatically share your posts with the best-matched users based on your target keyword searches.
5. Track progress and revise as needed
After your TikTok search ad campaign is live, use TikTok Ads Manager to track the performance of your content by analyzing impressions, clicks, and traffic. Is your site traffic increasing, or are you seeing an increase in sales? These are indications that your TikTok search ads are working.
On the flipside, low ad performance may mean you need to deactivate a particular keyword or creative asset or experiment with a new keyword.
TikTok search ads FAQ
Where do TikTok search ads appear?
After a user inputs a search query, TikTok search ads appear in the user’s search results. The ads may appear in a section at the top of the search results titled “Shop for,” or will otherwise be marked as “Sponsored.”
Does TikTok have search ads?
Yes. TikTok launched search ads in September 2024, building upon TikTok’s search ads toggle function launched in 2023. TikTok search ads allow companies to show targeted sponsored posts to users searching topics or relevant keywords that are related to the company.
How does TikTok decide what ads to show you?
The platform also considers a user’s inputted topics and keywords. Companies select which topics and keywords they want their TikTok search ads to appear beneath.
