TikTok SEO – How to optimise your videos for search

TikTok has evolved from a video-posting platform to one of the world’s most popular search engines.

It has been revealed that 40% of younger users would rather search on TikTok than Google.

TikTok now has over 1 billion active monthly users across the world.

The most viewed video on the app has been viewed over 2.3 billion times.

Content creators go to extreme lengths to get views on their videos in the hope of going viral.

Let’s not forget TikTok star ‘Beavo’ who went viral on TikTok for swallowing potatoes without chewing.

Or ‘Chris Colditz’ who has posts endless videos of himself being hit in the shins by a scooter.

But there’s no need to put yourself in danger in a desperate to attempt to go viral on social media.

Instead, you just need to implement an SEO strategy to guarantee views on your videos.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation – which is commonly considered to be just about Google.

But times have changed and now TikTok has emerged as one of the biggest search engines on the planet.

The graph below, from Sistrix, shows the huge increase in TikTok’s online visibility since 2019.

Particularity with Gen Z, it is becoming the go-to app for almost everything.

TikTok uses an algorithm to populate the ForYou page with videos they think the user will have an interest in.

This is where users spend most of their time.

It is a similar concept to Google Discover – but in video format.

Each user’s For You Page will be different as it is a personalised feed.

The amount of followers an account has is not a direct factor in the algorithm.

Even if you are a new account, if you are posting optimised content, you can get views.

But what is optimised content on TikTok?

TRAFCK’s team of experts have come up with several ways to optimise content to ensure you reach your target audience.

1. Video captions

Keywords are one of the most important elements to your TikTok strategy.

You need to work out what search terms you want your content to appear for.

For example, let’s pretend you are an online personal trainer.

If you are posting a video about weight loss, you need to chose the correct related keywords.

The easiest way to do this is to consider what your consumers will be searching.

For example:

• weight loss
• ab exercises
• home workout
• arm exercises
• how to burn body fat

TikTok looks for videos that contain relevant keywords in the titles, descriptions and hashtags.

The TikTok caption character count was previously limited to 300 words – but these can now be 2,200.

This caption needs to be keyword rich – crammed with the words you care about and want to appear for.

But do not waffle. Get to the point with your captions and do not make it seem computer generated.

It is also a good idea to use these keywords in the text within your videos.

2. Hashtags

Hashtags play a huge role in helping other users find your content on TikTok.

You should use the keywords you want to target as part of your hashtag strategy.

It is easy to fall into the trap of using the most popular hashtags on the app.

For example:

• #fyp – Has been used 55.2T times
• #foryou – Has been used 31.6T times
• #viral – Has been used 21.5T times
• #foryoupage – Has been used 19.4T times
• #tiktok – Has been used 7.2T times

TRAFCK do not believe this is the best approach. Your hashtags should be niche to your video.

TikTok will also suggest hashtags when you insert ‘#’ in the caption. As seen below.

3. Trends

Content creators need to be aware of the current trends that are going viral on TikTok.

These regularly surface on the ForYou page and are a great way to get your video to viral.

TikTok’s algorithm favours content that is related to current trending topics.

Leveraging these trends can boost your brand’s visibility and audience engagement.

You can use the Trend Discovery tool within TikTok’s Creative Center to find current trends.

The Explore page is another great way to identify trends on the app.

Adding trending filters and songs to your content will boost your chances of surfacing on the ForYou page.

A huge 88% of TikTok users have said the audio on a video is essential to their experience.

TRAFCK consider these three points as the key areas to master if you want to optimise your content.

We are working with brands around the world to grow their visibility on TikTok – and we are taking on more clients.

If you are interested in growing your TikTok profile through search, do not hesitate to reach out.

Contact us at hi@trafck.co.uk