How Marketers Can Leverage TikTok Vs. Google Search Trends

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Google is still the top search engine. However, it doesn’t seem to be so popular with the Gen Z cohort. Gen Zs (born from 1997 to 2012) prefer searching on TikTok vs. Google search. According to Prabhakar Raghavan, Senior Vice President of Google’s Knowledge & Information organization, the short video app is impacting the company’s search business.

What’s driving these young individuals to use TikTok? It’s a combination of convenience and demographic traits. Social media consultant Adrienne Sheares explained that Gen Zs want to find information quickly and they can reach that end using TikTok. “They don’t have a long attention span; they said that several times,” said Sheares. Sheares added that Gen Zs “want to get the information really quickly, and get to the meat of it really quickly and not have to sort.”

“Really quickly” means not having to sort through ads. Google search results often bring up advertisements in the first few results of a search. This forces people to scroll down before finding the organic results for their search. This step is something Gen Zs are not too happy about.

In contrast, TikTok provides a “For You” page where users can quickly discover content. Since the app knows a lot of information about the user, it can recommend content accurately. Sheares also explained that video is more appealing to Gen Zs.

Based on search topics, Gen Zs tend to use TikTok for lighter topics. Examples include recipes, fashion, and bars. But they still go to Google when searching for more serious topics such as information about COVID-19. They also use Google and other news sources to verify topics they see on TikTok.

TikTok vs. Google Search: Should This Affect Your Content Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy will always change depending on a company’s fundamental business goals. So, if the goal is to generate more leads from Gen Zs, marketers can leverage TikTok.

For example, if the product or service falls into the “lighter” category, marketers can leverage the social media app to create awareness among Gen Z users. And since Gen Zs still use Google to get detailed information, it’s important to link business websites on TikTok videos. This will make it easier for users to get the information they need and eventually engage them to become paying customers.

Different age groups will have different preferences when it comes to searching online. But one thing’s for sure: marketers need to include video in their strategy. The preference to use TikTok as a search engine is already one indication that video is here to stay. Video marketing trends also show that 68% of customers use short videos when they want to learn about new products.

Moreover, a Cisco study projects that video will make up 82% of all internet traffic in 2022. This means video marketing is crucial for a business if it wants to be found online. Search-optimized videos rank on top of search results since Google added “Featured Snippets.” It also recently added the “multisearch” feature, which allows users to use their camera’s phone to search by image. And marketers mustn’t forget that Google has YouTube—the second largest search engine—when it comes to ranking results for videos.

With all the new features Google has introduced and with TikTok’s rise as a search engine, we can expect online search to favor results that include video. Marketers will have to create content that caters to the visual preferences of consumers.