TikTok comes for Google’s ad business as it starts letting advertisers target its search results page

After building out its Search product over the past few years to take on Google, TikTok is now taking its Search ambitions even further by allowing advertisers to target its search results page. TikTok announced on Tuesday that it’s launching the “TikTok Search Ads Campaign,” a new keyword-based search solution that enables brands to appear in search results.

While TikTok’s search results page already includes ads, brands will now have full control over how their content appears on the page. Given TikTok’s influence on users’ shopping behavior, it makes sense for the company to give brands a way to reach consumers while actively searching for something. 

The launch poses a challenge to Google’s search ads business, especially considering that the search giant has admitted that young users are turning to social media apps like TikTok and Instagram for their searches, instead of Google. 

TikTok’s own research shows that more and more people are using its app as a search engine, as the company says that 57% of its users utilize its search functionality and that 23% of users search for something within 30 seconds of opening up the app. 

With this new capability, TikTok says brands will be able to reach users when they are actively exploring content and looking for something specific. Brands will be able to align their ads with the different search behaviors of TikTok users in order to maximize the impact of their ads.  

Based on its testing, TikTok found that advertisers that run Search Ads in addition to In-Feed Ads see a 20% increase in conversions on average. The company also found that Search Ads have more of a chance of conversion as opposed to In-Feed Ads, as 18% of users who see an In-Feed Ad but don’t interact with it, end up doing so after seeing the corresponding Search Ad. 

“TikTok is a destination for discovery and a place where users come to search,” said David Kaufman, TikTok’s Global Head of Monetization Products and Solutions, in a blog post. “We are excited to offer advertisers a new way 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.”

TikTok’s Search Ads Campaign is now available in the United States and is testing in other markets.