TikTok’s search engine allows you to search for videos, sounds, hashtags, and users directly within the TikTok app. In contrast, Google is a broader web search engine that indexes webpages, images, videos and more from across the internet. While TikTok search is limited to content within the TikTok app, Google search casts a much wider net.
Searching on TikTok
The TikTok search engine enables you to find TikTok videos, sounds, hashtags and profiles within the app. Here are the main things you can search for on TikTok:
- Videos – Search for videos using keywords related to the video topic, sounds used in the video, or hashtags.
- Sounds – Find sounds and music used in TikTok videos.
- Hashtags – Discover videos tagged with a specific hashtag.
- Users – Search for TikTok profiles and creators by their username.
TikTok has a powerful recommendation algorithm that surfaces content it thinks you will enjoy on your For You feed. But the TikTok search function allows you to directly seek out videos and other content around your specific interests.
When you search on TikTok, it will display results in each of these categories – videos, sounds, hashtags and users. You can tap into any of these categories to further refine your search.
TikTok Video Search
Searching for videos on TikTok works similarly to searching YouTube. You can use keywords, hashtags, sounds, or usernames to find videos. Some examples of TikTok video searches:
- Keyword search: “cake recipes”
- Hashtag search: #cakesoftiktok
- Sound search: “Jingle Bells”
- User search: @tasty
The videos that appear will be ranked based on relevance to the search term as well as engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares. Trending sounds and hashtags will also get a boost in search rankings.
TikTok Sound Search
TikTok has an extensive sound library full of popular song clips, dialog samples, and special effects that creators use in their videos. You can search for specific sounds to find videos that used them.
For example, searching for “Target acquired sound” will show you videos using that popular TikTok sound clip. Sound searching is a great way to discover new trends and meme sounds.
TikTok Hashtag Search
Like other social apps, hashtags are a key way content is organized and discovered on TikTok. Searching for a specific hashtag like #FoodTikTok or #DanceTikTok will show you popular videos using those hashtags.
Hashtag searching enables you to explore different interest areas and join in viral trends. You can even get hashtag ideas from the Trending Hashtags section.
TikTok User Search
You can search for specific creators and influencers by their unique username. For example, searching for @charlidamelio would pull up the official Charli D’Amelio profile.
User searching makes it easy to find your friends or popular TikTok stars to follow. It’s also handy for discovering creators in a niche interest area like @FitWithWhit for fitness content.
Searching on Google
Google indexing spans the entire open web, including TikTok content as well as content from billions of webpages, images, videos, news, shopping items, books and more. Some key things you can search for on Google include:
- Websites
- Images
- Videos – from YouTube, TikTok and other video platforms
- Definitions
- Maps & Local listings
- News
- Shopping
- Books
Google uses sophisticated machine learning algorithms combined with human quality raters to rank pages based on authority, relevance and quality. Popular and authoritative sources tend to rank higher.
Google offers expansive search capabilities, but the downside is results can get cluttered, low-quality at times, or overly commercialized. Search engine optimization also skews what rankings users see.
Finding TikTok Content on Google
Google does index TikTok content – so you can find TikTok videos, creator profiles and hashtags through Google search:
- Videos – Add “TikTok” to video keyword searches to find relevant TikToks. For example: “kittens TikTok”.
- Creators – Searches for creator usernames like “Charli D’Amelio TikTok” will show their profile.
- Hashtags – Include “TikTok” with a hashtag search like “#DanceTikTok”.
However, the TikTok results on Google are limited compared to searching directly on TikTok. Google indexes only a small subset of TikTok content.
Key Differences
While there is some overlap in searching TikTok via Google, there are a few key differences between the TikTok and Google search engines:
Index Size
Google indexes trillions of webpages and content assets across the internet. TikTok search only indexes videos and content within the TikTok app itself.
Intent
Google is designed for broad, informational search intents like research, navigation or shopping. TikTok is optimized more for entertainment, trends and killing time.
Results
Google offers expanded types of results like news, images, maps, books. TikTok just shows TikTok videos, sounds, hashtags and profiles.
Ranking
Google ranks results based on authority, quality and relevance. TikTok rankings emphasize metrics like likes, comments, engagement, shares.
Personalization
TikTok tailors results heavily based on your interests and engagement. Google results are more generalized with some personalization based on search history.
Advertising
Google search includes paid ads at the top and bottom of results. TikTok is focused on organic content, with very limited advertising.
Which is Better?
There is no definitive “better” search engine – it depends on the specific use case:
- Research: For researching a broad topic, news events, definitions, etc., Google is better.
- Browsing Trends: For browsing viral videos and trending TikTok memes, dances, sounds, TikTok search is ideal.
- Niche interests: Following niche interests like fitness, cooking, or gaming – both have benefits.
- Time killing: TikTok’s endless stream of entertainment and recommendations is better suited for this.
- Shopping: Google edges out for product searches, reviews and price comparisons.
In general, Google is better for informational needs while TikTok excels at entertaining short video discovery tailored to your tastes.
Tips for Searching on TikTok
Here are some tips to use TikTok Search effectively:
- Use relevant keywords – Describe exactly what you want to find.
- Try different keyword variations and spellings.
- Search for sounds or songs used in videos.
- Look up popular TikTok hashtags for your interests.
- Follow influencers or creators in your niche.
- Check out trending hashtags and sounds.
- Utilize filters like video length, upload date, and region.
- Click hashtags and sounds within videos to explore similar content.
Conclusion
While Google search offers much broader results from across the web, TikTok has a robust search engine tailored specifically for discovering and exploring entertaining short videos within the app. TikTok search excels at fueling content discovery around trends, sounds, hashtags, and niche interests. But for general research or informational queries, users are still better off turning to Google search.
The two search engines are optimized for different use cases. In most cases, they complement each other’s capabilities rather than directly competing. Understanding the nuances of each can help you become a power searcher on both platforms.
