For years, Google and Bing have dominated paid search. Brands have focused the majority of their PPC budgets on these two search titans.
However, the research landscape is evolving rapidly. Platforms like TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, Reddit and Instagram offer exciting new opportunities for savvy advertisers looking to expand their reach.
These alternative platforms are full of engaged users who are actively searching for products, inspiration and information. Each also allows for targeting options using keywords, interests, and more. This allows you to get your brand and products in front of massive new audiences beyond Google and Bing.
This article explores how to leverage these additional search platforms to complement your existing PPC efforts and connect with customers through more touchpoints in their journey.
Redefining Search Advertising: Other Platforms to Explore
Search advertising is the placement of advertisements within search engines when a user searches for a particular product or service. With that in mind, any platform with a “search” bar could generate potential as part of a search advertising strategy.
This helps us redefine platforms that we don’t normally associate with search advertising. Let’s explore the platforms that I believe have the most potential to support and complement your search advertising over traditional media.
Dig Deeper: Search Universe Analysis: A Deep Dive
Tik Tok
Known to most as a social media platform, TikTok has made great strides in disrupting Google’s search dominance.
The platform has made a hole in the market by offering maximum potential to e-commerce brands through TikTok Shop. It is currently positioned as a disruptor, with an Adobe study to prove it 41% of respondents who have used it as such.
TikTok’s growth as a search engine lies in increased usage by Gen Z, but the user demographic has been expanding, creating more opportunities for brands.
There are many reasons why users are drawn to TikTok as a search engine, including:
Short-form video content, making information more digestible. Personalized content experience. Highest product user reviews. User Generated Content (UGC), making content more relatable.
To further position itself as a search engine, TikTok launched a search volume tool, TikTok Keyword Statisticsto help businesses understand trending keywords within their platform content.
From inspiration to impulse buys, TikTok Shop offers the most potential earnings for e-commerce businesses on the platform. TikTok was the second social media platform for shoppingonly behind Instagram in 2023, per Statista.
Dig Deeper: Is TikTok a search engine? Why meeting the needs of searchers is more important than semantics
Pinterest is a social and search platform. Users go to Pinterest for inspiration through searches and recommended content.
From an advertising perspective, brands can take advantage of keyword targeting. Those familiar with Google Ads will recognize them as the building blocks of search advertising.
Like Google Ads, Pinterest lets you choose match types, including negative keywords. But unlike Google, match types on Pinterest still work as their names suggest.
Although Pinterest serves user searches, advertisers should note that it is higher up the purchase funnel, but can be used effectively as part of a multi-touch strategy.
Dig deeper: 8 new and updated Pinterest products for advertisers
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YouTube
YouTube is the second largest search engine behind its sister engine, Google.
While Google is typically used to find products or services, YouTube is used more for inspiration, information and education.
The billions of views on YouTube give advertisers a huge opportunity to influence users at different points in their purchasing decisions. You can create initial need and support post-purchase campaigns to increase retention.
YouTube ads can be targeted using interests, demographics, and keywords.
Dig Deeper: YouTube Advertising: The Definitive Guide
Users go to Reddit to express opinions and ask for advice from people and communities with expertise in a given area.
It often includes product reviews and suggestions, providing an opportunity to reach an already engaged audience.
The caveat is that you want to make sure the community engages positively with your product or service. You also want to check if an active community is talking and sharing about your product or service.
On Reddit, you can target specific communities, but in search engine fashion, you can also target based on keywords.
Dig Deeper: 5 Must-Know Reddit Ads Tactics for B2B Marketers
As TikTok gains popularity as a search engine, Instagram is repositioning itself as an alternative, which is evident in its recent ad campaign.
Instagram’s ad targeting options align with Facebook and other Meta platforms.
However, there is the potential to optimize organic Instagram posts to improve search visibility and increase ad serving in search results and Discovery pages.
Dig Deeper: Instagram Ad Formats: Best Practices for Creating Effective Ads
How to incorporate more search engines into your PPC strategy
Changes in consumer behavior create opportunities for businesses to innovate in responding to user searches. This involves incorporating creative visuals to engage and inform potential customers more effectively.
To understand which platforms will benefit your business, consider:
Your industry Where you have an active community. How they may respond to seeing your brand in each environment.
Tools like KeywordTool and Glimpse provide insight into search volumes and help you understand search intent and trends on each platform.
Glimpse works as a complement to Google Trends.
Adapt your creative to each platform environment and user intent and launch any activity with a trial budget. Develop a comprehensive measurement plan so you can determine what success might look like for each platform.
Expanding your search advertising to multiple platforms expands your audience reach, increases engagement with existing audiences, and improves brand awareness and recognition, ultimately capturing more demand for your product or service.
Dig Deeper: How to optimize social media pages for search
The views expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
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