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TikTok is leaning even further because its app is used as a search engine.<\/p>\n
Creators who make money on the platform will now be paid based in part on how their content matches what other users are searching for. TikTok calls this metric “search value,” and it’s one of the four core elements in determining creator payouts. Tik Tok announced<\/a> the change as part of its new monetization program, called Creator Rewards.<\/p>\n “Using these insights, creators can get inspiration for their content, adapt their creative strategies to meet audience interests, and create content people want to see more of,” the company said in a blog post.<\/p>\n “Succession outfits,” like what the characters on HBO’s hit TV show might wear. Screenshot: Mia Sato \/ The Verge<\/p>\n The insight tool basically lays out ideas for videos that a creator could make, based on both custom and general data. On my account, for example, TikTok flagged \u201cSuccession Dresses\u201d as a recommended topic for me to make content for. Also included: “Herman Miller Chair”, “Grunge Fairy Room Ideas” and “Strawberry Muffins”. Moving to the more general trends tab and filtering into the “tourism” category, TikTok lists “Grand Oasis Cancun,” “things to do in Budpest,” and “backpacking essentials,” among other topics. <\/p>\n One way to read it is that this is a case of TikTok incentivizing creators to make videos that meet business needs. If I search for “best vacuum repair shop in New York” and there are no relevant videos that the platform can provide, that’s a problem for TikTok: I’d probably leave the app and search for it on Google Maps or Yelp. <\/p>\n This explicit emphasis on content related to search queries also indicates that the platform is taking itself more seriously as a search engine. An Adobe report<\/a> Since January, it found that two in five people in the US use TikTok for this purpose, and one in 10 Gen Z users were more likely to use TikTok than Google. Google executives have warned that search could be losing ground to TikTok. <\/p>\n Along with search value, the revamped creator monetization program uses originality, length of play and audience engagement to determine how much creators earn. The program replaced the original $1 billion creator fund with a new focus on videos longer than one minute.<\/p>\n