TikTok VS Google: Is TikTok Your Preferred Method of Search?
Written by Brianna White
In a post shared on the Mezzo Creative’s official account, we took a surface level dive into TikTok and the conversations surrounding its position as a competitor for our beloved Google. Since then we’ve done a little more digging and can soundly report that the rumors are indeed true. TikTok is confidently coming up on the heels of Google and could be taking the lead as users' search engine of choice.
But just how did they do it? And is the platform as reliable as most believe when it comes to providing accurate information?
Let’s talk about it!
TikTok made its debut in 2018 when Chinese tech company ByteDance decided they wanted to expand the already popular app launched in 2016. Company executives made the decision to purchase the equally popular app Musical.ly that some social media OG’s may remember. Since then TikTok has made undeniable waves in the tech industry. Waves large enough to make Google execs admit that the platform could potentially dominate Google’s core products– Search and Maps.
We already know what you’re thinking. This is insane. There’s no way that a platform that’s only been around just shy of five years can bump Google, the search engine we’ve known since what feels like the dawn of time, from its spot in our hearts. The phase “Google it” is pretty much branded into our vocabulary!
But the facts don’t lie.
TikTok, while considered a popular app amongst millennials, is slowly becoming the ideal method in which digital users of all ages are finding their information. Instead of Googling it, users find TikTok’s ability to provide search results in video format far more engaging than having to sift through text/ articles provided and rightfully so. There’s something about typing in “fastest way to get rid of a pimple” into TikTok’s sophisticated search bar and receiving a vast amount of solutions where you can see exactly how others have zapped the zit in just a few days.
TikTok’s algorithm has made it relatively impossible to ignore the power of the platform but we’re still not completely sold on abandoning Google as a preferred search engine.
In a recent article published on Wired, Lauren Goode spent an entire week using TikTok as a Google replacement. The results were pretty interesting! By day five she had pretty much come to the conclusion that while the app did provide great search results when looking for the best restaurants in town, she found it to be a hassle to watch a video that provided opinion based information opposed to reading a few reviews and making a solid decision for dinner.
That narrows things down to preference. The fact of the matter is that in some instances a three to ten minute video can be super helpful during your search processes or it can be time consuming.
On top of that, Google is fighting back– thank goodness! Their team recently announced that they will soon be implementing short video search results (including TikTok and Youtube Shorts) as early as this year.
Our opinion? Don’t abandon Google (just yet) but use the platforms in tandem to ensure you are providing accurate information to your audience. Additionally, TikTok was created with the consumer in mind and the ways in which information is displayed is geared towards that audience.
Want to learn more about TikTok, Google and how your business should approach the two, chat with a member of our team today.