A new search trend is growing—using TikTok as a search engine. According to a 2024 survey by Statista, 64% of Gen Zers in the United States had used TikTok as an online search engine.

This proves that social search habits are especially popular among Gen Z, who now ignore traditional search engines. In this article, we will review why Gen Zs turn to TikTok for their searches and how your brand can position itself to go viral organically.

Why Gen Zs Prefer TikTok Search

Google's senior vice president, Prahbhakar Raghavan, shared the news that Gen Z preferred to search on TikTok in July 2022. He stated that 40% of young people preferred to search on TikTok and Instagram rather than Google, which was attributed to the visual nature of these platforms.

According to Raghavan, Gen Z has different search habits than older generations, and the app is tailored to the search needs of younger users, who prefer to use everyday search queries. This is one area where TikTok has kept up better than Google.

Search Queries Where TikTok Excels

Here are the reasons that are drawing Gen Z searchers to TikTok:

Visual Search Results

We have already mentioned that TikTok users love the platform's visual nature. Google search results also include videos and images, and the options are combined with blog posts. This is unlike TikTok, where the searchers' experience is entirely visual. These visual search results can prove helpful in certain situations. 

For instance, when Gen Zers want to buy a product, they can find more value in a video showing the product in use than in a blog post reviewing it. That means in such a situation, a TikTok search is more useful to the searcher than Google.

Short-form Content

Most TikTok videos are short, enabling users to get answers to their search queries in a few seconds. With Gen Zs having a short attention span, getting their answers in a few seconds seems favorable to them than reading large walls of text.

Additional Context

An essential element of the TikTok search is that each TikTok video provides users with additional context. When viewing context on TikTok, you can get more cues from the body language and tone of the content creator. There are also comments from other viewers that can give you additional context on the topics.

For instance, if a Gen Z user is searching for restaurant recommendations, they can get suggestions from viewers. By reading the comments section, they can get additional context on the best dishes to enjoy and the best times of the day to visit. Digesting this level of crowd-sourced information is quite efficient and also helps to add depth to the original video.

Personalized Answer

Hearing the answer you're searching for directly from a person also feels more personalized than getting the results from an anonymous source on Google. Even when the content author is listed, people might still not feel that direct connection with the source. 

On the other hand, TikTok videos gain some legitimacy as the information is delivered directly by another human being. Studies show that Gen Zers love recommendations from their peers and feel more represented on TikTok, where they can get answers from others.

TikTok SEO: Optimizing for the Search and “For You” Page

TikTok SEO optimizes your account, posts, and content to make them more discoverable to people searching on the platform or simply visiting the app. This works in the same way as other forms of optimization, as it helps people discover your content by searching for keywords in your niche. Here are a few tips to help you optimize for TikTok SEO: 

Understand the Ranking Factors

The first step toward optimizing for TikTok SEO is understanding the ranking factors. The TikTok algorithm analyzes thousands of factors to determine the content that appears in search results and on the For You page. These include: 

User Interaction

TikTok will show you more content of the kind you've interacted with in the past. By doing that, the platform ensures that you only see videos that are likely to keep you on the platform longer. Some of the user actions that TikTok considers are:

• Whether you fully watch the video or not
• Content you follow or hide
• Liking, commenting, or sharing of videos
• Accounts followed or hidden
• Reporting inappropriate videos
• Favoriting videos

Video Information

TikTok will also consider the information in a video, such as sounds, captions, and hashtags—factors that affect you directly. 

Device Setting

The setup of your TikTok account and device also determines the content you view on the platform. These include the country setting, language setting, and division types. This is understandable, as people don't want to view content in a language they don't understand.

Use Relevant Keywords

The basics of any search engine are usually to match the content to the search query. That means that when someone searches for “how to make chocolate”, TikTok will show videos using that keyword. For your videos to appear in the search results, you need to use the relevant keywords in them. You can find the relevant keywords by: 

• Typing a related keyword in your niche to see the results you get.
• Using keyword research tools.

Once you have found the relevant keywords, use them in the captions, bio, hashtags, video, video caption, and thumbnail. TikTok will examine these areas to determine the keyword to rank your video for.

Use the Relevant Hashtags

The content on TikTok is usually organized by hashtags, so users can easily find what they're searching for. This also helps the TikTok algorithm to match the content to the search query. Just like keywords, you can easily find the hashtags in your niche by using the search bar. But after getting results, tap on hashtags at the top. You can also go through your competitors' videos to see the kind of hashtags they use.

Use Trending Sound

Many creators on TikTok don’t know this. The sound they use also categorizes their videos, just like keywords or hashtags. When a TikTok user keeps listening to videos with a trending sound, TikTok will serve them more videos with the same sound. 

Additionally, users can search for videos using sound. That means using the right sound can help you get more views. Therefore, visit the TikTok Creative Center to find out the trending sounds. 

Encourage Engagement

The number of likes, shares, and comments a video receives helps its ranking. While you can't force people to engage with the content, you can encourage them. Ensure that you use the right thumbnail that elicits curiosity. Also, use a hook that prevents people from scrolling past your video. 

Final thoughts

With Gen Z moving toward TikTok search, it is clear that many brands that want to reach this generation must optimize for TikTok SEO. From using the right keywords to encouraging engagement, brands must ensure their videos are optimized on the platform. By reading our guide and understanding how to go viral on TikTok, they should be able to do so easily.