TikTok SEO: Influencing Factors and How to Optimize It

As a business owner, what marketing methods have you used so far? Promotion through social media is a powerful way to bring in consumers, one of which is using the TikTok application. Unlike ordinary social media, you can perform TikTok SEO like you would on a search engine.

Because TikTok can be optimized like a search engine, your chances of profiting are increased if you develop a good TikTok SEO strategy. So how do you optimize it? Here is the full explanation.

What is TikTok SEO?

TikTok SEO is a strategy to optimize video search on the TikTok application. If you type certain keywords in the TikTok search field, you will find some content that is relevant to the search query.

Not only that, if you type a certain topic by adding the word 'TikTok' such as 'artist videos on TikTok' in the search engine, you will also find several videos that are relevant to these keywords.

This TikTok SEO strategy is certainly a new opportunity for content creators to expand their audience reach. When you use the strategy, you indirectly intend to attract an audience from Gen-Z. This is because most TikTok users are from the younger generation known as Gen Z.

The Importance of TikTok SEO

TikTok introduces itself as an entertainment medium, not a search engine. However, TikTok can also be optimized and used like a search engine.

The platform now has search engine-like features, such as suggested keywords in the search field and a comment section. This ultimately makes TikTok appear to be competing with Google.

With the same potential and opportunities as this search engine, more and more businesses are turning to TikTok as an alternative way to connect with their audience more effectively. This is where SEO plays a role in introducing businesses to a wider audience.

Currently, there are more and more TikTok users. Around 40% of Gen-Z users use TikTok rather than Google's search engine. About 79% of users also stated that user-generated content made them more interested in buying products.

That means, you must have a good strategy to expand your audience reach if you have a business that has the potential to make big profits when promoted via social media. If you understand how to optimize content on TikTok, its visibility will also increase.

Factors Influencing TikTok SEO

After knowing what TikTok SEO is, you can find out the following factors that influence it:

1. User Interaction

To have a good SEO strategy for TikTok, you must consider the form of interaction between you and users. To induce interaction with users, you as a business owner need to provide a variety of engaging and out-of-the box content.

Create interactive content to elicit opinions and comments from users. If you have good content, it will be easier for that content to enter users' FYP (For You Page).

FYP usually contains content recommended by the TikTok app itself. It's not uncommon for content creators to include #fyp to increase their content's visibility and get more views.

2. Video Information

All information contained in a video can affect its ranking on TikTok. This includes the text, hashtags, and background sound. TikTok looks for videos that contain relevant keywords in their title and description, as well as videos that cover trending topics.

If you want to have a video with a high level of visibility on TikTok, use relevant keywords in the title and caption. This is necessary because TikTok users can search for certain topics by simply typing in keywords, just like in a search engine.

3. Creator Location

If you know local SEO for search engines, then a similar strategy can also be implemented on TikTok. In fact, TikTok has an algorithm to provide users with FYP content according to the country they come from. Perhaps those of you who have traveled abroad and your FYP TikTok automatically contains content from creators in that country will find this more relatable.

You can do some local SEO optimization for TikTok, and make TikTok able to recognize where you are coming from.

How to Optimize Videos for TikTok SEO

After knowing the factors that influence TikTok SEO, now is the time for you to know how to optimize videos properly.

1. Understand Audience and Search Intent

Before creating content, you must understand the target audience and the search intent of the keyword you use. Knowing the target audience is one of the most important things. If you just create content without understanding the target audience, then the business strategy you run through TikTok will fail.

In addition, it is important for you to study search intent to find out the context of the content that you will produce to support future promotions.

2. Use Relevant Keywords for Captions

The second way to optimize SEO for TikTok is to use relevant keywords in your post captions. This is important to do because TikTok has the ability to search based on keywords, like a search engine in a browser. By typing a keyword, users can immediately find several videos that are relevant to that keyword.

As with SEO on Google, you can do keyword research to find some keywords that are relevant to your business. This can make it easier for you to reach new audiences who have the potential to need the products or services you offer.

3. Enter Keywords Into the Video

Maximizing the use of keywords in videos is also one way to optimize your content because this can show that it is relevant to the search queries.

The more you mention keywords, this will make TikTok detect that the content you create is indeed relevant to those keywords. However, keep in mind that keywords are entered according to the needs of the content so that keyword stuffing does not occur.

These keywords should appear in the first 3 seconds of the video. Don't forget to create a thumbnail that also mentions the target keywords. This is done not only to make TikTok aware of the topic of your video but also to allow your video to be easily recognized by users who are looking for information with those keywords.

4. Evaluate Previous Videos to Optimize SEO Strategy

Evaluating previous videos can improve your next content preparation strategy. Learn what made the previous video have high views, whether it's from the use of keywords or hashtags. Also, evaluate videos with low views to find out why the results are not satisfactory.

Based on the results of this evaluation, you will be able to conclude what needs to be done to improve the SEO strategy for your business on TikTok.

5. Presenting High-Quality and Interesting Content

You don't need to use a sophisticated camera or expensive microphone to present interesting content. Present the ideas you have and convey the concept with clear images and audio. The audience will also be able to receive the information contained in the video properly.

That was an explanation of TikTok SEO that you needed to know. To expedite your business, you can use SEO services provided by digital marketing agencies. This is because SEO services can help you develop a marketing strategy efficiently and in detail.