TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create and share original videos that are up to 3 minutes long. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, the same company that owns Musical.ly, which was acquired by ByteDance in 2017.
What was considered a fun app for the Gen-Zs has quickly become the number one search engine for the same audience group with more than 90% using it for their daily searches. And with it, the demand for TikTok advertising has also gone up. All this means that businesses need to be on the platform, promoting their brand, and taking advantage of the potential audience exposure they are positioned to receive.
Just like Google, TikTok’s algorithm also works on both organic and paid marketing. And that’s where TikTok SEO comes in! It gives you the opportunity to promote your business using organic marketing. Because it does not require any investment, it is perfect for small businesses with limited resources. Here’s what you need to know!
What is TikTok SEO?
TikTok SEO is a way to improve your organic ranking on the platform. The app has a built-in content creation tool as well as an algorithm that provides its users with better visibility for content. This is done by analyzing your account’s performance to find new keywords or key terms that are relevant to your preferred audience base.
As a small business, you can use TikTok SEO to get more followers on your account as well as get yourself in front of an audience that is or could potentially be interested in your offerings.
How to perform TikTok SEO to improve your organic ranking
Optimize the length of your videos
TikTok allows you to upload video content ranging between 5 seconds to 3 minutes in length. But even though the platform accepts content longer than 1 minute, the audience appreciates shorter content that does not exceed 60 seconds. 10-second videos or 10-seconders are also extremely popular among the viewers on the platform, so you could benefit from making shorter content if your creativity allows you.
Ideally, you want to keep your content as brief as possible while ensuring that people get the most value out of them. So, depending on your industry and audience preference, you could go to any length to get rewarded by TikTok’s SEO algorithm.
Hashtags are meant to improve your discoverability. If you are not using them, just like Instagram, you won’t profit from the potentially free brand exposure that your business stands to receive from the platform.
You could use social media management tools to explore trending hashtags that are relevant to your content and industry. But you must ensure that whatever you use aligns with the content that you are putting out.
As a business, you can experiment with both short-tail and long-tail keywords in your hashtags to improve your visibility. There is no one strategy that works for all, so you must try to experiment with all the strategies at your disposal.
Learn to make your videos interesting
Content is king, even on TikTok. And the best part about TikTok as a social media platform is that it has its own built-in content creation studio, which beats every other platform’s studio due to its features and efficiency.
The studio provides you with professional-level of editing features, which allow you to make high-quality content at your fingertips. Add to that realistic filters and trending audio and you have the recipe for engaging content that is worthy of ranking higher on the app’s “For You” page.
TikTok offers analytics; use them to create your content
As with any other social media platform, TikTok also provides you with audience insights on your content. You can use the data to learn more about your audience’s content preferences and align your future content based on the analytics. This also means that you don’t have to shoot in the dark. You can use data to test different types of content on your viewers, making it a tad easier for you to up your organic ranking on the platform.
TikTok SEO’s main function is to help you find keywords that will help you rank higher in the app’s search results. But if you are struggling to fully utilize the platform’s algorithms, our TikTok marketing experts can help you design your content and strategy to fit your audience’s expectations. Get in touch to get started!
