TikTok SEO made easy: Expert tips + a free tool for success

There’s a time and place for being mysterious and y’all, TikTok isn’t it — at least, not if you’re using digital marketing strategies to grow your audience and your business.

A great TikTok SEO strategy will tell everyone (other users, the TikTok algorithm, the platform’s search engine technology) exactly who you are and what you’re doing. Good SEO ensures that your TikTok videos are categorized correctly, can be easily searched for, and show up organically for your intended audience.

For expert advice, we talked to Sara Nielsen, head of social strategy at We Make Footballers and Project Footballer. Read on to find actionable, easy steps to take to optimize your TikTok content creation for search and increase video views.

Forget being subtle: SEO is for the bold.

Key Takeaways

1. To get discovered, optimize your videos with the right TikTok SEO techniques, using targeted keywords, popular hashtags, and relevant audio to rank higher in search results.
2. Stay relevant by using trending sounds and trending hashtags in your content, while also mixing in long-tail keywords to capture more specific searches.
3. Your types of content should align with what your audience loves, offering high-quality videos that engage TikTok users and improve your SEO.
4. Balance between broad and niche hashtags — pairing popular hashtags with long-tail keywords to help you show up for both large and specific searches.
5. Monitor keyword insights to adjust your content marketing strategies, that way your content stays aligned with the latest TikTok trends and what users are searching for.

What is TikTok SEO and why is it important?

TikTok SEO (search engine optimization) is a strategic way to get your TikTok account and videos to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This includes TikTok’s search results as well as third-party platforms like Google search.

Improving your TikTok SEO can help you get more reach, followers, and engagement, which will ultimately grow your presence on the app. By aligning your content with the right keywords, you can ensure that you show up in search queries that matter to your audience.

For example, when you search “Calgary pizza” on TikTok, the first TikTok videos that come up have the best SEO — these videos are optimized to appear in TikTok search engine results for pizza in Calgary.

TikTok SEO matters because:

Source: TikTok

TikTok SEO matters because:

• SEO helps TikTok understand what your videos are about. TikTok’s algorithm uses SEO factors to determine the subject of your video, and who might be interested in your video content. When you optimize your content correctly, you’re improving the user experience for both the platform and your audience.
• Optimized TikTok videos are more likely to show up in TikTok’s search results. When TikTok’s algorithm understands the subject, purpose, and intended audience of your TikTok content, the platform will present your videos to people who are searching for it.
• TikTok videos with strong SEO will show up on the FYP of your target audience. Good SEO can also help you get on the For You Page, meaning your TikTok videos will show up organically to eager scrollers who are engaging with relevant content.
• Most internet users won’t scroll far when searching for information. Speaking of scrolling: when searching for information, many TikTok users will only look at the top results. So, it’s best to be one of them.
• More people than ever are using TikTok as a social media platform for search queries. Google has found that 40% of young people, particularly Gen Z, primarily use TikTok and Instagram to search for things like restaurants, makeup tips, and more. That means optimizing your video content to rank highly in TikTok’s search engine is especially important if your target audience leans younger.

Psst: We ran a full experiment on social media SEO that includes 9 tips for social SEO success — watch the video here.

Note: While good SEO is important for your social media strategy, it’s not everything. TikTok user @Mainlysocials points out that the content, editing, and quality of your video still matter.

3 TikTok SEO ranking factors

To understand TikTok SEO, you first need to understand what TikTok looks for when ranking content. There are several core ranking factors for the TikTok algorithm. These are:

1. User interactions

User interactions include videos you’ve liked, videos you’ve hidden, videos you’ve added to your favorites, and videos you watch all the way to the end. TikTok takes note of all of this data and uses it to determine which videos to show you.

PSA: What time a video is posted can affect how many user interactions you get, and Hootsuite can tell you exactly when your audience is most active online.

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Start free 30-day trial 2. Video information

All of the information contained in a video can affect its ranking on TikTok. This includes captions, hashtags, sound effects and music.

TikTok looks for videos that contain relevant keywords in their titles and descriptions, as well as videos that cover trending topics or TikTok trends.

Need help optimizing captions for your audience? Try out our free AI caption generator tool.

3. Devices and account settings

These are settings TikTok uses to optimize performance. They include language preference, country setting (you may be more likely to see content from people in your own country), the type of mobile device you use and categories of interest you selected as a new user.

While account settings do factor into your TikTok SEO ranking, they receive a lower weight than video info and user interactions.

What’s not included?

You’ll be happy to hear that TikTok does not factor follower count into its SEO ranking algorithm (though, if you do want to get more followers, we have you covered).

This means that if you create great content that speaks directly to your target audience, you have as much chance of landing at the top of search as the biggest TikTok influencers.

This is what sets TikTok apart from other platforms like Instagram. And honestly? We’re here for it.

Free TikTok SEO tool

Psst: Here’s our little secret for getting great SEO on TikTok every time.

Hootsuite’s free TikTok SEO tool will recommend optimized captions based on your video description, keywords and tone (choose from styles like “cheeky” or “formal” or “emo teenager”).

How to do TikTok SEO in 4 steps 1. Understand your target audience

If you’re already active on TikTok, you may have a good idea of what your audience likes. If not, consider taking some time to get to know them better.

Look at the videos they’re engaging with and the relevant hashtags they’re using. Analyze the comments and messages they’re sending you, too. This can help you understand their demographics and interests so that you can create content tailored to them and what they might search for.

Understanding your audience can help you craft better titles and descriptions for videos, making them easier to find in TikTok searches. This can give you a leg up when it comes to being discovered by new audiences, too.

2. Conduct keyword and hashtag research

Keyword research is an essential part of traditional SEO, so it makes sense to use it on TikTok, too. Find out what words or phrases your target audience is using when searching for types of content like yours.

Remember to consider different ways of phrasing a topic, as well as related keywords. You can do this through tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs and more.

Source: SEMrush

TikTok user @businesswithsab offers some great advice for using TikTok’s search to find the best keywords for your niche.

3. Add keywords to your content

Once you have your TikTok keyword research completed, start adding them to your content in the titles, descriptions, and captions of your videos. This includes any on-screen text, such as lyrics or explanations.

Also, be sure to say the keywords out loud. That’s right, TikTok’s algorithms prioritize videos where the keywords are actually spoken.

Remember the “Calgary pizza” search from earlier? The video above from @freshdaily ranks highest in TikTok’s search because it incorporates keywords in the caption, on-screen text, hashtags, and in the video’s audio.

You’ll want to include your keywords in any hashtags you use, as this will help people find your posts more easily. Use both your main keyword and any variations of your keyword that make sense, but don’t overdo it. Make sure you know the optimal number of hashtags to use on each platform.

TikTok user @juliabroome suggests using keywords in your video’s comments, as well. So don’t forget about keywords once you post: you can still get some good ol’ SEO when replying to comments.

4. Track your progress

Every savvy SEO marketing strategy requires continuous monitoring and tweaking. Sure, you put all the best practices in place, but how will you know if your efforts are successful?

Tracking your TikTok analytics is the best way to see if your SEO strategy is paying off. This will give you insights into which videos are performing well, what kind of engagement they’re getting, and more. It can also help you identify areas where you can improve, such as topics or keywords that don’t seem to be resonating with your audience.

Hootsuite Analytics can show you exactly how many views are coming from search, as opposed to the For You page or from existing followers.

6 tips to optimize your content for TikTok SEO, according to the experts 1. Use both general and specific hashtags

According to Nielsen, an effective TikTok SEO strategy will make use of both general and specific hashtags.

• General hashtags help TikTok classify your video into a particular industry or interest category
• Specific hashtags determine the exact audience that your video is made for

Nielsen, who handles social media for a football (the non-American kind) training organization, keeps this in mind when choosing hashtags. “For example, I might use #football as a broader hashtag, and #footballtrainingdrills as a more specific hashtag,” she explains.

Using both broad and niche hashtags works in two ways: broad hashtags expand your reach, and niche hashtags help you show up in search. That way, TikTok users looking for your specific content can find you more easily.

The above TikTok uses broad hashtags like #youthfootball and more niche hashtags like #FunFlairEvents (the name of the tournament organizer).

Thanks to this SEO-friendly hashtag strategy, the video is likely to turn up both organically and in search results for the brand’s target audience.

FYI: For a guide to gaining traction, engaging new followers, and blowing up on TikTok, download Hootsuite’s TikTok growth checklist.

2. Use search to determine the best keywords

Nielsen chooses keywords based on what her audience is searching for. TikTok’s autocomplete function is a secret weapon: when you start typing in a search term, the platform will predict what word (or words) you’ll type next based on what others are searching for.

For example, the below popular results come up when “bike trails Banff” is typed into the search bar. This gives you a good idea of what TikTok users are searching for.

Source: TikTok

When you’re using the search tool to find relevant keywords, TikTok will often suggest other terms that users search.

When I searched “party appetizers,” for example, the platform suggested “small bites appetizers party,” “finger food for parties,” and more. These are all results that users look for, and would be good long-tail keywords to include.

Source: TikTok

Nielsen offers an example for her particular niche. “I might type in ‘football drills’ and then see that people are searching for ‘football drills for kids,’ ‘football drills by yourself,’ ‘football drills u8,’ etc.,” she explains.

“Experiment with different variations to see which ones yield the best reach.”

3. Incorporate your keywords naturally

Once you’ve determined which keywords will give you optimal TikTok SEO, you should aim to use them as naturally as possible — don’t just throw them together in your caption.

Because while the TikTok robots can interpret a jumble of words, most humans can’t… and that will ultimately hurt your SEO. Remember the “User interaction” ranking factor we noted earlier? If users aren’t interacting with your videos because your content and captions are confusing, all that keyword work will be for nothing.

“Write short and engaging captions that naturally incorporate some of your top keywords,” Nielsen recommends.

Source: @rowenhomes

The above TikTok incorporates keywords like “DIY” and “wall feature” in a natural, clear way. The caption makes the video topic obvious without needing to tap “more,” which Nielsen gives the thumbs-up.

She suggests front-loading your captions as a best practice — in other words, using keywords and a hook at the very beginning. “TikTok only shows a small amount of text, so make it count!”

4. Choose a strategic username

Good TikTok SEO starts at the very beginning — your username can have a colossal impact on how often your account comes up in search.

“Try to choose a username that is either an exact match for your brand name or as close to it as you can come in case users are searching for your brand,” Nielsen suggests.

“For anyone starting a new business, choosing a company name that reflects what you do can help your TikTok SEO.”

Source: @mirandaandersonphoto

This wedding photographer has the word “photo” in her username, and “wedding photography” in her bio.

Plus, her bio lists the locations she works in. That way, anyone searching for a wedding photographer in Calgary is likely to come across her content (that’s how I found it just now).

If your brand already has a name (and it’s not SEO-friendly), don’t sweat it. You can change your TikTok username to be better for SEO.

Note: you can only change your TikTok username every 30 days, and it’s best to keep it as consistent as possible so you don’t confuse your audience.

5. Use strong on-screen text

It’s not just your captions and hashtags that have an impact on your TikTok’s SEO. The platform can also interpret your on-screen text.

Nielsen recommends using keywords in an on-screen headline to tell your audience (and TikTok’s ranking technology) exactly what your video is about.

Source: @kimladbeauty

TikTok user @kimladbeauty does this very well — at a glance, it’s very easy for a human to understand what their videos are about, and it’s equally easy for TikTok to do the same.

“A strong, ‘share-worthy’ on-screen hook can also encourage viewers to share your video with other people they think would enjoy it,” Nielsen adds. “And it will better enable TikTok to push your video out to people likely to engage.”

6. Test, test, and test again

Not every strategy is going to work perfectly for every brand, so it’s important to try new things and keep track of the results.

“Test out different content, different SEO strategies, different captions, and never stop testing,” says Nielsen. “Monitor metrics closely to see what’s working and what isn’t.”

Using Hootsuite, you can test and determine the best time to post for your business according to when your audience is most active online. You can also keep track of your engagement, reach and more.

When it comes to trying new SEO strategies, Nielsen recommends testing one thing at a time and doing it consistently for at least a few weeks. “Then, review your metrics and see if it’s moved the needle. Keep repeating this process and find what works for your company.”

3 TikTok SEO mistakes to steer clear of 1. Hashtag stuffing

“Don’t overdo it on the hashtags!” advises Nielsen. Everything in moderation, right? While using strategic hashtags can be great for your TikTok SEO, you still want to be as concise and direct as possible — Nielsen recommends three to five hashtags as a “sweet spot.”

In fact, overuse can actually negatively impact your algorithm ranking. “Using too many hashtags can not only make your caption look cluttered, but more importantly, it can confuse TikTok about your post’s focus,” Nielsen explains.

2. Sleeping on auto-generated captions

Nielsen explains that some social media managers might not use TikTok’s auto-generated captions because they can make videos look more cluttered. But, those captions are a valuable SEO tool: they help TikTok understand your content.

“Even if you drag the captions off-screen for aesthetic purposes, having them on your video is an easy way to let TikTok know what you’re talking about,” says Nielsen.

That said, keeping the captions on-screen makes your videos more accessible — either way, don’t count out those auto-captions.

3. Posting inconsistently

A consistent posting schedule is important on all platforms (see how often you should post on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more here), but it’s especially important on TikTok.

Posting consistently will help you get more accurate analytics and give you a better idea of what works and what doesn’t.

Nielsen points out that posting inconsistently will reduce your account’s visibility from an SEO perspective, too. “The more consistently you post, the easier it will be for TikTok to understand what your page is about and push it to the right audience,” she says.

Grow your TikTok presence alongside your other social channels using Hootsuite. Schedule and publish posts for the best times, engage your audience, and measure performance — all from one easy-to-use dashboard. Try it free today.

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