How to Make TikTok Work Like a Search Engine for Your Dealership

The trendiness of TikTok has turned it into a social media powerhouse. Your dealership needs to take advantage of TikTok SEO to remain ahead of the game.

If you thought TikTok would be nothing more than a fad, you’re wrong. Additionally, if you were led to believe it wouldn’t last in the United States for various reasons, that also has been proven wrong. This social media platform has evolved beyond the short-form video sharing app that it began as, and it’s now a great place for your dealership to reach younger buyers when they are searching for their next car, truck, or SUV.

TikTok isn’t what it used to be

People aren’t just scrolling TikTok for entertainment anymore; they’re searching for cars, comparing prices, and asking questions. It wasn’t long ago that TikTok for car dealers seemed like the last place you might put advertising, but this platform has grown into an automotive digital marketing powerhouse. Shoppers are looking for cars on social media and turning to TikTok for video content marketing; are you taking advantage of this platform? Here’s how to show up when they search for your inventory.

What is TikTok SEO and how does it fit in your dealership’s social media strategy?

Social media is no longer just a place for family members or friends to connect, share pictures, events, and videos, or play games together. It’s become a powerful online place for marketing teams across the globe to reach a wide audience. Your shoppers are on social media, which means this is where you need to advertise.

TikTok SEO is as simple as it sounds. It’s social search optimization on one of the world’s most popular platforms. It’s up to you as a dealership or dealership marketing team to optimize your TikTok posts to make them more easily discoverable on the platform. When users search on the platform or on Google, are your posts appearing in the results?

Why it matters?

SEO is associated with optimizing your content to rank higher in search engines, but as social media platforms evolve, they become de facto search engines for your social content. Social media search trends show that users will search for items they want to learn about or purchase on social media platforms, which means you’ve got to take advantage of TikTok SEO, especially if you want to reach younger millennials and Gen Z shoppers, who have become adults making buying decisions.

What makes your content appear on user pages?

Your TikTok SEO strategy must include the algorithm of the platform. The signals used on the platform push content onto the “For You” Page, where most viewers begin when they open the app. If a user has been searching for a new or used vehicle, your dealership content has a good chance of showing up here, but when you want to appear near the beginning of their search, you’ll need a great strategy.

Behavior signals impact your TikTok SEO

You don’t control how users behave on the platform, which means some users are part of your audience, while others are not. As a car dealership, you’re looking for a local or regional audience to connect with your content. This narrows your audience to a much smaller geographic area than a company that can sell products worldwide.

Some of the behavior signals that help your content appear in users’ feeds are:

• Videos watched to completion and rewatched
• Likes, shares, and comments
• Content marked as “Not Interested”
• Search queries and accounts followed

You must show your audience what you have to offer and engage with them in a way they can enjoy and understand.

Incorporating TikTok SEO elements in your videos

If you include some elements in your videos, the TikTok algorithm finds it much easier to classify your videos and present them to the appropriate audience. This is similar to creating the right content for Google, but with videos. Some elements to include for users to find your content easier are:

• Captions with keywords in them
• Hashtags relevant to the video topic
• Sounds or music
• On-screen text and video titles

Basic tips to boost your TikTok SEO reach

Here are a few basic tips to get you started with TikTok SEO. You can take a much deeper dive into each one to create content that is easily found and resonates with your audience.

• Conduct keyword research
• Optimize your TikTok profile
• Create high-quality TikTok content
• Leverage trending challenges and hashtags
• Use your keywords in your captions and videos
• Engage with the TikTok community
• Collaborate with TikTok influencers

If any of these tips sound familiar, they should be. Some are basic SEO practices that work well on Google, which can be applied to your TikTok SEO strategy.