TikTok is fast becoming the search engine of choice among internet users, and in Gen Z’s case - it already is. To beat your competitors, it is essential that your SEO strategy extends to this monumental video medium.
The following six tricks will help you rank higher, increase your views and engagement.
Optimize video titles and descriptions to reflect user's search intent
Your video's title is a make-or-break factor for discoverability on TikTok. It needs to instantly grab attention while clearly conveying what the content covers. An eye-catching but misleading title will lead to high bounce rates as viewers feel misled - tanking your video's ranking.
To maximize SEO performance, titles must strike a balance between intrigue and accurate representation of the subject matter. Leverage trending phrases and relatable language that resonates with TikTok's youthful user base. For example, instead of a vague title like "The Technology Behind AI", try something more specific and enticing like "How ChatGPT Works in 5 Minutes".
The key is providing just enough compelling information to pique interest, while managing expectations about the video's content and format. Succinct titles of around 5-9 words tend to perform best on TikTok.
Crafting clickable thumbnails for TikTok
Thumbnails are just as critical as titles for stopping endless TikTok scrolling in its tracks. An optimized thumbnail gives viewers a compelling visual preview and reason to click on your video.
The best thumbnails seamlessly complement the title by reinforcing the topic through a relevant keyword or phrase overlaid on an attention-grabbing scene or image pull. Don't just slap text on a generic stock photo - the thumbnail should be an authentic sneak peek into the most engaging part of your video content.
For example, if your video covers "How to leverage Creatify to scale your video production", an effective thumbnail could feature a screenshot of your face alongside dozens of post images with a smile on your face. This creates intrigue by teasing the video's premise while providing visual proof of the potential payoff..
Be thoughtful with captions, accessibility, descriptions, and hashtags
Your content needs to be consumable by the widest possible audience, and it needs to accommodate them in every state they're in, starting with audio.
Roughly 80% of TikTok users watch content without audio. If you don't have on-screen captions and added text, you have already lost them. Moreover, closed captions engage the deaf/hard-of-hearing viewers, opening your content to be discovered by users searching for relevant keywords in the captions. When adding said captions, be strategic about incorporating high-value keywords and phrases related to your topic. Ensure they align with your overall SEO strategy, but be flexible and adapt to trending keywords that relate to your business.
If using voiceovers, ensure they're clear and without background noise to cater to viewers who may be visually impaired.
Utilize hashtags in your strategy, too, but be mindful that overusing the same hashtags is a pitfall many marketers fall into. If you are married to your keywords/hashtags, you can find yourself including them in videos that aren't relevant to them. You must make use of relevant hashtags, lest you drive traffic to videos that do not relate, affecting your video's retention negatively.
When writing your description, experiment with short, medium, and long-form copy. Too much of the former is vague, and too much of the latter is draining. Expand on your video when you have supplementary information, and accept shorter form when your video speaks for itself.
Leverage both broad and specific keywords strategically
An effective keyword strategy involves using a mix of broad, high-volume terms and specific, niche-relevant phrases. You can find the keywords your audience is using by searching Google Trends, or Ask the Public - excellent resources for understanding exactly what the public is looking up.
For the broad keywords, think about the general topics, products, or interests your target TikTok audience is searching for. Tools like TikTok's own Creator Marketplace and third-party keyword research utilities can surface trending terms to integrate.
However, don't just stuff your videos with popular words. Also include specific, long-tail keywords that directly relate to your niche and the particular video subject matter. These help you get discovered by users searching for something very specific that your content covers in-depth.
For example, if your video is about "Affordable Skincare Routine for Acne-Prone Skin", you'd want to use broad keywords like "skincare", "beauty", "makeup" but also specific phrases like "acne skincare routine", "drugstore acne products", etc.
The key is striking a balance - using too many broad keywords makes your content seem irrelevant for niche interests, while overloading on specific terms limits your potential audience.
Additionally, be sure to strategically incorporate your target keywords in spots like:
Video titles/descriptions
Closed captions
Spoken dialogue/voice-over
Overlay text or graphics
A great place to start researching keywords is to dive straight into TikTok's search. Start with a familiar phrase like 'SEO tools…' and see the list of proposed words. Those words are popular and should absolutely be included in your strategy if relevant.
Engage with other accounts active in your niche
In order for TikTok's SEO to correctly index your content - and your channel as a whole - you need to be active in a niche, and that means more than posting content.
By commenting on content and befriending others in your space, you signal to the algorithm that you're an active member of the community that offers value that extends beyond passive posting.
For example, you post a video about tips to improve your content writing. Rather than sitting back and waiting for people to come to you, dive into your community by searching similar keywords, e.g., 'content writing'. Find a recent video, engage with those in the comment section authentically, and signal to TikTok that not only are your videos related to content writing, but you are related to content writing. The result: your content will climb the SEO ladder.
Adopt an analytical, iterative approach with your keywords
TikTok has its own unique trends, audience preferences, and competitive landscape to navigate. What works exceptionally well for one category may fall flat for another.
A data-driven approach to optimization is critical. Study the performance of top creators' content in your niche. What keywords have they consistently adopted? Do you notice a change in engagement when certain keywords are used? Borrow the keywords they're using to their success and experiment.
Systematically test out different keyword approaches while closely tracking performance data. Identify what's driving the strongest results. Creatify's Batch Mode is a fantastic feature for large-scale testing. Speaking of…
Creatify’s role in scaling videos optimized for SEO
Creatify could be an invaluable asset for efficiently creating large volumes of keyword-optimized marketing videos tailored for TikTok's search algorithm and audience preferences.
One key application would be using Creatify to quickly generate multiple video script/description variants targeting different high-value keywords and topics trending on TikTok.
This would allow creators to rapidly produce batches of videos laser-focused on capturing search traffic around hot topics and trends on TikTok, rather than having to manually write each one from scratch. The AI's natural language capabilities could help ensure scripts and descriptions use language that resonates with TikTok's youthful audience.
Additionally, Creatify's AI Avatar and visual generation features could enable marketers to to produce video content that's customized for each keyword target.
Conclusion
Placing high on search consistently requires marrying keyword commitment with your business's general SEO strategy and an iterative mindset that allows wiggle room to adapt to TikTok's ever-changing audience preferences.
More than writing fanciful captions, you need to consider more obscure areas to insert keywords, like the accessibility options and in the replies of other creators and businesses.
Every activity you partake in on TikTok needs to reflect your SEO goals, and these days more than ever now that TikTok videos are topping Google search results...
