TikTok is making a major push into search advertising, even as its ecommerce rollout hits headwinds.
TikTok’s senior product strategy lead Nathan Barbagallo shared a LinkedIn post last week announcing a new sales leadership role in New York focused squarely on search ads – a clear signal that search is becoming a strategic pillar of the platform’s ad business.
By the numbers:
- 122 open roles tied to TikTok Search across sales, engineering, and product teams.
- New sales lead role pays a base salary between $146,700 and $256,500.
- At Tinuiti, around 50% of clients are using TikTok search (according to senior social innovation director at Tinuiti, Jack Johnston).
- At Basis Technologies, 20% of TikTok advertisers have adopted search ads (according to the ad tech firm’s vp of social media solutions Courtney Shaw).
- “One account saw 25% more clicks, 38% lower CPCs, and 23% lower CPMs” she further said.
Why we care. TikTok is positioning itself as a serious contender in the search ad space, where intent-driven behavior typically leads to higher conversion potential. As search habits shift from traditional engines like Google to platforms like TikTok, this opens a new performance-driven channel for reaching users already in discovery mode.
- “People are re-examining their search budgets across the board,” said Aaron Goldman, CMO at Mediaocean. “That’s actually benefiting TikTok.”
With growing adoption, early movers have the chance to test, learn, and optimize before the space becomes saturated or more expensive.
Zoom in. Adoption is rising, especially as brands see TikTok search as complementary to traditional search — not a replacement. “Cut TikTok search spend, and you might see Google performance drop,” said Johnston.
What they’re saying. “Clients strong in paid search are seeing TikTok as a natural extension,” said Shaw. “It’s still a mixed bag. Some clients are winning, others not so much,” said Shamsul Chowdhury, EVP at Jellyfish.
Yes, but. Some advertisers remain cautious due to mixed campaign results, Q1 economic uncertainty, and the ongoing threat of a U.S. TikTok ban. Still, TikTok execs say they’re taking a measured approach. “These are very early days… but the traction has been phenomenal,” said Adolf Fernandez, global head of commerce product strategy.
Bottom line. Search on TikTok isn’t fully proven yet. But the platform is laying serious groundwork, hiring aggressively, and pitching hard to advertisers looking for new ways to reach intent-driven users.
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