TikTok's new ad product could challenge Google's search ad dominance
TikTok has experienced meteoric growth since its launch in 2016. It has swiftly climbed to the fifth-largest social media platform by monthly active users, as earlier reported by Techloy.
And now, it's eyeing Google's ad revenue with its new advertising update announced on Tuesday that it will now allow advertisers to target consumers by placing ads directly on the search results page. This means that when you search on the app, you will get ads specially tailored to the keywords searched for.
Based on TikTok's testing, this could drive sales up by 20% when used with the already in-feed ad placement system. This is because, with this, people who will stumble on such ads are most likely actively searching for such a product or service. This also means a possible increase in sales conversion.
In other words, if you are an advertiser on the platform, you might want to brush up on your SEO skills to create keyword-optimized ads that will most likely cause an increase in sales conversion.
As more of the younger generation rely on TikTok to satisfy their hunger for online content, they have turned it into an unconventional search engine. According to TechCrunch, this could pose a threat to Google's search ad revenue as even Google's senior vice president has said "something like almost 40% of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search, they go to TikTok or Instagram.”
In Q2 2024, revenue from Google's search ads hit $48.51 billion, a 13.8% annual increase quarter on quarter, while its ad revenue amounted to $237.86 billion in 2023, per the company's financial results.
TikTok's new search ads feature aligns with its broader monetization strategy by expanding ad inventory, enhancing user experience, and leveraging data-driven targeting.
It could allow the social media giant to capitalize on its growing search functionality and attract advertisers seeking to reach highly engaged users, thereby challenging Google's search ads dominance.