TikTok fast-rising to rival Google as search engine

Video-sharing platform TikTok is fast rising to water down the years-long popularity that Google has enjoyed as a search tool, with data showing that the shift is massively pronounced among new-age generations.

According to a new report published by global computer software firm Adobe, 64 percent of members of the Generation Z bracket admitted to ever using TikTok as a search engine while over half of business owners (54 percent) reported using TikTok to promote their businesses, posting marketing content an average of nine times per month.

Baby boomers were found to be the most sluggish in adopting the use of the new search tool, with only 14 percent stating they ever used TikTok to conduct online searches while in the Generation X band, 29 percent did, which was a far cry from the 49 percent found among the millennials.

In the overall rank of platforms that consumers found most useful when searching for information, TikTok assumed the fourth position behind Google, YouTube and Bing. The platform, which posted a 17 percent mark in consumer preference, beat other popular tech giants that included X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, Yahoo, Facebook and Pinterest.

Cooking recipes topped the list of most searched items on TikTok, followed by new music which came ahead of dry tips and fashion advice.

Others included workout routines, beauty advice, product recommendations, new products or services, movie recommendations as well as design inspiration.

Also in the list were health tips, TV recommendations, travel destinations, new restaurants and book recommendations in that order of popularity.

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“Our comprehensive research involved surveying 808 consumers to glean insights into their TikTok search behaviour. We also questioned 251 business owners, exploring the innovative ways they are adapting their marketing to cater to consumers’ search intent on TikTok,” stated Adobe in the report.

“Gen Zers were 29 percent more likely than millennials to scour TikTok for new recipes. And even more strikingly, nearly one in every 10 Gen Zers preferred TikTok over traditional giants like Google for their search needs.”

In trying to unravel the reasons why consumers preferred TikTok to traditional search engines, Adobe reports that respondents noted that the short video format is more informative and digestible, with many finding the content more personalised and more current.

Others cited finding the interactive and immersive experience enjoyable, the presence of diverse perspectives and unique ideas, integration into user social media browsing habits as well as provision of a sense of community and interaction.

Most users (62 percent) prefer content presented in the form of video tutorials, while 39 percent lean towards product or service reviews, as 38 percent fancy personal stories or anecdotes.

“TikTok draws users in because it features short and informative videos, a distinct storytelling format, and personalised content tailored to the viewer,” reads the report in part.

“Among Gen Zers who gravitate towards TikTok, two in every five were captivated by content that feels more tailored to their tastes while over one in every four baby boomers expressed a fondness for the platform’s narrative-driven videos.”

Business owners, on the other hand, reported that video tutorials outperformed traditional Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), as did creative tangential content related to company product and product or service reviews.

The top challenges in creating TikTok content, they noted, were converting TikTok engagement into sales as well as increasing follower count and engagement rates. Other pain points include creating content that appeals to a diverse user base as opposed to just Gen Z, time constraints required to consistently produce content as well as creating high-quality videos with limited resources.

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49 percent of business owners said they would readily use TikTok’s new data-sharing feature PrivacyGo, which is a tool designed to work like a data-cleaning room where advertisers can match their own CRM information with TikTok’s audience insights in a privacy-protective way, without either party having access to the other’s information.

“On average, business owners allocated 15 percent of their marketing budget for TikTok content creation. Our survey also shed light on the types of content they’re investing in, with 43 percent leaning into creative tangential content related to their product,” states Adobe.

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