Getting products noticed on TikTok Shop takes a little more than just creating videos and hoping one of them takes off on the For You feed. While video content obviously plays a big part in how products get discovered, shoppers are also actively using the in-app search facility to find specific products, brands and solutions to whatever it is they’re looking for.
That’s where a TikTok Shop SEO strategy starts to become important. The products you’re selling, how they’re listed and the content being created around them all need to reflect the language customers are actually using when they search.
The better TikTok understands what your product is and who it’s relevant to, the more opportunities you’ll have to get it in front of the right shoppers through TikTok Shop search, the Shop tab, product cards and the wider content being created around it.
What exactly is TikTok Shop SEO?
TikTok Shop SEO is essentially the process of making it easier for TikTok to understand what you’re selling and when your products are relevant to someone searching on the platform.
And this goes way beyond the SEO used for ordinary TikTok videos. With TikTok Shop, you’ve also got the product listing itself to consider, along with how that product appears through in-app search, the Shop tab, shoppable videos, creator content, LIVE content and product cards. All of these can provide additional routes for shoppers to discover what you’re selling.
TikTok Shop Keywords naturally play an important role here because they help content and products connect through relevant searches. But they’re only part of it. If a product gets visibility but shoppers aren’t clicking or buying, simply adding more keywords isn’t going to fix the problem. Product quality, price, reviews, conversion and the overall customer experience all have an influence on how well that visibility eventually trickles down into sales.
Start with TikTok-Specific Keyword Research
If you already sell through Amazon or rank well on Google, you’ll probably already have plenty of keyword data to work with, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the same list should simply be copied over to TikTok Shop. People don’t always search in the same way across different platforms, so you need to understand the type of language being used on TikTok itself.
Start with the obvious product terms, then look at how people describe what they want to use the product for or the problem they’re trying to solve. Customer questions and reviews can be particularly helpful here, as can the language being used in comments and by creators talking about similar products.
TikTok’s own search suggestions are another good place to look. You can then compare what you’re finding with the search data available inside Seller Center to build a more focused list around each product.
Take an insulated travel mug as a simple example. Rather than targeting just “travel mug”, you might find people searching around keeping coffee hot, leakproof mugs or travel mugs for commuting. The point isn’t to target every variation you can find, it’s more about identifying the searches that genuinely fit the product and build your listing and content around those.
Optimise the Product Listing for Discovery and Conversion
Once you’ve identified the searches you want to target, the next step is to make sure your product listings are optimised correctly to support them. Your title is an obvious place to start. It needs to clearly describe what you’re selling using the words a genuine customer would recognise, without stuffing keywords in to simply try and gain more visibility.
The same applies to the rest of the listing. Make sure you’ve selected the right product category and completed any relevant attributes, then use the description to answer the questions someone might have before buying. Depending on the product, that could include sizing, materials, compatibility, ingredients or what’s included with the purchase.
Images and video should make it immediately clear what the product is and how it’s used.
But remember, getting more people onto a listing is only useful if they actually buy. Price, reviews, stock availability and delivery times can all influence that decision, so these need just as much attention as the SEO itself.
Connect Product Keywords with Videos and Creator Briefs
The keywords you’re targeting shouldn’t stop at the product listing. They can also be worked naturally into the content being created around the product, whether that’s something your own team produces or content being made by creators.
That doesn’t mean handing creators a list of keywords and expecting them to squeeze every single one into a video. Instead, give them the important product information and an idea of the language customers are using, then let them talk about it naturally. Content answering common questions, showing the product being used in real life or dealing with the reasons someone might be unsure about buying can all help here.
The same language can then be used where relevant in captions, on-screen text and what is actually being said in the video. Hashtags still have their place, but keep them relevant rather than treating them as the entire SEO strategy.
And finally, make sure the correct product is actually attached to any shoppable content you publish.
