TikTok Launches Search Ads Campaign

TikTok is launching the TikTok Search Ads Campaign, a solution to help companies tap into search on TikTok, connect with high-intent audiences, and control how their content appears on the page.

With this new capability, TikTok says advertisers will be able to reach the social media site's users while they are actively searching content for something specific and then align their ads with those search behaviors.

David Kaufman, global head of monetization products and solutions at TikTok, in a blog post yesterday said the app will allow companies "to tap into TikTok's multifaceted search behaviors, where highly motivated users discover content both intentionally and serendipitously. This is just the beginning of our journey with ads for search, and we are excited to learn, grow, and build with our community to help advertisers unlock incremental value."

Many industry experts see TikTok's Search Ads Campaign launch as a direct challenge to Google, which runs a very lucrative search ads business.

"It's clear that TikTok is stealing a page from Google's playbook in launching targeted search ads. As was the case at the birth of Google Ads, TikTok would not be able to do this if its users were not already turning to the platform for search in huge numbers, using its massive repository of videos on every subject to find information and recommendations for needs of all kinds, including queries related to brands and products," says Damian Rollison SOCi's director of market insights.

"Advertisers will very likely find it appealing to be able to tap into TIkTok's highly active audience, and I'd imagine that ad spend currently allocated to older platforms like Facebook will start to shift over to TikTok. An infusion of ad dollars may, in turn, cause TikTok to build out more features in its search interface that enable consumer interaction with brands."