What is TikTok SEO: The Ultimate Guide

Not only Google, on some social networks, many users also create SEO-standard content to get more views for their posts. TikTok is also one of them. Many creators have shared that using hashtags properly and titling videos appropriately has helped their videos trend. So what is TikTok SEO, how to get more views for videos, how to find trending hashtags? In this article, you will be able to find answers to the above questions.

What is TikTok SEO And Why Is It Important?

TikTok SEO is the process of optimizing content to reach more people. This process includes optimizing video content (images, audio, text in the video), video title and hashtag.

This is the process that helps creators expand their audience. This is also a way to help videos trend more. Although trending depends on many factors, creating content with the right process will have a greater chance.

Details on how TikTok Algorithm Works

3 TikTok SEO ranking factors

TikTok SEO ranking factors are not just 3 factors, but many other factors. However, we will analyze the 3 main factors that have the most influence on the ranking.

User interactions

Application companies always care about and prioritize user experience, so in any social networking application, posts that are interacted with by many users will be prioritized for distribution and display. 

TikTok is the same, this platform will prioritize displaying videos that are interacted with by many people such as liking, commenting, sharing. That is the reason why videos are trending, because they initially receive a lot of interaction from viewers.

In return, videos that do not receive user interaction and are ignored a lot will have their distribution limited.

TikTok will prioritize videos that bring value, including informational and entertainment value. And this value will be evaluated by users based on their own interactions.

Some creators have applied tricks to increase interaction for their own videos. However, these methods do not always bring positive effects. The advice from experts is to focus on your content.

Video information

One of the factors that determines whether your video will receive many views or not is the content of the video. A simple comparison, if your video content has a broad topic, is of interest to many groups of people, is unique, useful or highly discussed, then that video will be prioritized for distribution than a video with content on a niche topic, less interested by many people.

In fact, the video content is the deciding factor related to the previous factor we analyzed "User interaction". It is obvious that users will only interact with videos that they are interested in, such as videos that provide useful information, videos with humorous content, trending content videos, etc. That is the reason why video content greatly affects video rankings.

3 TikTok SEO Mistakes To Steer Clear Of

TikTok SEO can have a positive impact on your videos if done correctly, but don't overdo it. Here are some mistakes that many people make when doing SEO for TikTok. We analyze the mistakes and their negative effects so you can understand and avoid them.

Hashtag stuffing

Inserting too many hashtags in a video will cause TikTok to rate your video as being hashtag-stuffed. Hashtags will help your video appear on the user's search page when they search for keywords related to that topic.

Inserting too many hashtags does not help your video get more views. Instead of inserting too many, insert the right hashtags. You should only insert about 3-5 hashtags related to your video content. To find trending hashtags, you can refer to the article Top TikTok Trending Hashtag.

Sleeping on auto-generated captions

Captions generated by AI are often less emotional and more intimate than captions generated by humans. So don’t overdo it with AI. Focus on your audience and create captions that appeal to them. Some audiences will like humorous, creative captions. Others may like serious content, etc.

Posting inconsistently

TikTok prioritizes channels that are experts in a particular field, which is why the “posting inconsistently” error appears in the list of TikTok SEO errors to avoid. Focusing on a topic or field, posting videos regularly, and consistent content will help TikTok recognize your channel and prioritize it. Errors include: inconsistent topics, not posting videos regularly, inconsistent video formats. These are all errors that new content creators should avoid.

How To Do TikTok SEO In 5 Steps

This is a detailed guide for creators who are just starting out on TikTok, however, in this guide we also analyze in depth what to do when implementing SEO for TikTok so that videos can trend. Therefore, even other content creators can refer to this guide.

Choose the main topic

The first thing to do when creating content is to choose the main topic for your video. This topic will be the main topic of most of your videos, so choose carefully.

It can be divided into 2 groups of topics; including general topics and niche topics. General topics are often broad, easy to exploit content, many groups of people are interested. However, this group of topics often has many participants, high competition. On the contrary. Niche topics often have fewer people participating in content creation, less competition, sometimes you can be a pioneer in this topic. However, if you choose a niche topic, you may encounter some challenges such as low interest, difficulty in exploiting content, and difficulty in diversifying content.

Understand your target audience

After you have chosen the main topic for your videos, start researching the target audience of this topic. You can start by building a customer portrait, listing the things they are interested in, their pain points, etc. 

Understanding the needs of your target audience will help you create content that is more suitable for them. This also positively affects the amount of user interaction with the videos.

As we analyzed in the above section, TikTok always prioritizes users and their experience, so you should follow their rules, prioritize creating content that provides a useful experience for users.

Conduct keyword and hashtag research

This is an important step in the TikTok SEO process, keyword and hashtag research will help you build a content plan. In this step, you can also create a set of fixed hashtags for your video series. Hashtags can be divided into 2 groups, Fixed hashtags include main topic hashtags, viral hashtags (#fyp, #trending, #viral, ...), personal brand hashtags. Non-fixed hashtags can be related to the sub-topic of each video.

Combined with the analysis of the topic you have chosen, based on this you can plan the content for your channel. You should plan the content for at least 3 months, to ensure that in a short time you do not run out of ideas and cause the video posting process to be interrupted.

Add keywords to your content

Once you have a list of relevant keywords, include them in your video title, subtitles, on-screen text, and even voiceover. TikTok’s algorithm can recognize keywords from both text and audio, so mentioning keywords in your videos will help increase your visibility. You can also optimize your profile by adding relevant keywords to your bio if appropriate.

Track your progress

After posting the video, you can track the video metrics through TikTok or some other tools. Typical metrics related to video effectiveness include interaction metrics such as views, likes, comments, shares. Conversion metrics include increased followers, clicks on products/links, etc. Don’t just look at the metrics and do nothing. Analyze them, and use them to improve your content. If you haven’t found the right content format for your target audience, you can test a few types of content on your channel, track the metrics to see which format is more popular with your audience. That’s how to use the data TikTok provides correctly.

11 Tips To Optimize Your Content For TikTok Seo, According To The Experts

Although the SEO for TikTok process only has 4 steps, to be able to achieve success when SEO TikTok, it is not only necessary to follow the above process. We have compiled 11 tips that Luca agency experts have drawn from the process of implementing campaigns for customers. Based on these tips, you can save a lot of time and money when starting TikTok SEO.

Use strong on-screen text

In the first 3 seconds, if you cannot impress the viewer, use on-screen text

On-screen text is a way for you to let viewers know what the entire video is about, which will help users not miss the video when they search. 

Although many people think that using on-screen text to describe the video content will make viewers less interested when they know the content clearly without having to watch the entire video. However, the correct way is to use on-screen text to make viewers curious and watch the entire video. 

Test, test, and test again

The easiest way to know how to build your content is to test. Try building your content in many different ways, then try posting it to your channel, the video metrics will tell you which type of content is best suited to your target audience. If you are also confused about the video format, use this method to test. Although there are many guides telling you how to do it, each customer file will have different needs and aesthetics, if you want to know what they like, test.

Add your search keywords in the text on your video

In the search results page, TikTok will prioritize displaying videos with content related to the keyword. So how does TikTok know if your video is related to the topic that users are searching for? TikTok will rely on the video captions, hashtags, and the text you add in the video. These data will be the basis for TikTok to display, so to make your videos have a higher SEO for Tiktok ranking, add keywords to the text in your videos.

Keywords in captions

Adding keywords to captions not only helps TikTok recognize your content but also helps users recognize the content of the video. This is the fastest way to attract users and encourage them to click to watch the video on the search page.

Engage with other accounts

This is a way to help your videos appear more on the feed of visitors. Accounts that interact with each other will have most of their videos appear on each other's FYP, so regularly interacting with other accounts will help your channel also receive interactions from those accounts, from which your channel will receive more views and interactions.

Leverage trending challenges and hashtags

Participating in trending challenges is one of the opportunities that can help you become more known. TikTok prioritizes distributing videos with content related to trends at a certain time. Therefore, using trending elements such as sound, hashtags, and captions will help your videos have a greater chance of appearing in FYP.

Invest in Content Visually Appealing

The first thing that impresses viewers is not the captions or text on the video, but the image of the video. A video invested with high quality, sharp images will attract more viewers. Not only that, TikTok will also recognize your video as having good quality and will prioritize distribution over other videos.

Collaborate with Influencers

One of the ways that can help you become more known is to interact with other accounts, especially accounts in the same field as you. In other words, people who are creating content in the same field as you are both competitors and colleagues. 

In the early stages of building a channel, experts often encourage channel owners to collaborate with other channel owners or KOLs, KOCs to help increase the channel's popularity.

Add to playlist

If the content of the videos on your channel is related to each other, add those videos to a playlist with a common theme. Users often tend to watch other videos in the same playlist as the video they just watched. If a video in a playlist gets a lot of views, it will lead to other videos getting more views.

Positioning Your Channel 

To succeed on TikTok, positioning your channel effectively is crucial. Start by identifying your niche and understanding your target audience. Research trending topics and hashtags related to your industry to ensure your content aligns with what users are searching for. 

Engaging with other creators in your niche through comments, collaborations, and duets can also help establish your authority and increase your visibility. By consistently producing content that resonates with your audience, you’ll improve your chances of ranking higher on TikTok’s search results.  

Optimize Your Profile 

Your TikTok profile plays a significant role in your SEO strategy. Choose a username that reflects your niche and is easy to remember. Your bio should include relevant keywords to enhance discoverability, along with a clear and compelling description of what your content is about. 

Adding a clickable link to your website, online store, or other social media platforms can also drive traffic outside of TikTok. Additionally, ensure your profile picture and cover image are visually appealing and align with your brand identity to create a strong first impression.  

FAQs

SEO Tools for TikTok

Optimizing your content for TikTok SEO becomes easier with the right tools. Platforms like TikTok’s own Creative Center, Google Trends, and keyword research tools such as SEMrush and Ahrefs can help identify trending search terms. 

TikTok analytics also provides valuable insights into your video performance, engagement rates, and audience demographics. Leveraging these tools allows you to refine your strategy, use the best keywords, and create content that ranks higher on search results.  

How to Get Views on TikTok

Getting more views on TikTok requires a mix of strategy and consistency. Using trending hashtags, engaging captions, and keyword-rich video descriptions helps your content appear in search results. Posting consistently and at peak engagement times increases the likelihood of your videos being seen by a larger audience. 

Engaging with your followers by responding to comments, participating in trends, and collaborating with other creators can also boost your visibility. Understanding how the TikTok algorithm prioritizes watch time, engagement, and relevance will help you tailor your content to maximize reach and attract more views.  

How To Find Out What Trending

We have guides to find the latest TikTok trends including music, hashtags, products,... You can see more details below.

How To Find Trending Sounds On TikTok

List Trending Hashtags On TikTok

Top 10+ TikTok Beauty Trends

Top TikTok Products Trending

Conclusion

SEO TikTok is not just a few tasks, it is a continuous process from content creation, video editing to posting videos on TikTok and even after posting. Deploying SEO for Tiktok properly will help your channel receive more views, along with increasing coverage for your channel. 

Luca agency with more than 8 years of experience and a dedicated support team will assist you with any problems you may encounter with TikTok ads. Contact us now for advice and support 24/7.