TikTok’s e-commerce momentum may be slowing, but its ambitions in search are gaining speed. The platform is actively hiring to expand its search ads team and is promoting the format to advertisers as a key part of its future ad business.
Last week, senior product strategy lead Nathan Barbagallo posted on LinkedIn that TikTok is seeking a sales leader for its New York search ads team, with a base salary range of $146,700 to $256,500. The role will shape the go-to-market strategy and drive adoption of search ad solutions for enterprise clients. Across sales, engineering, and product teams, there are currently 122 open roles linked to search.
Building search into the ad offering
It has been nearly a year since TikTok began allowing advertisers to buy placement in search results. While still a relatively small part of the overall ads business, TikTok is positioning search as a core pillar rather than a side offering.
Agency executives told Digiday that TikTok representatives are increasingly discussing search with partners, framing it as a fresh opportunity for search budgets at a time when user behaviour is shifting.
Aaron Goldman, CMO at Mediaocean, said adoption among his clients had “at least doubled” from a small base, noting changing search habits are working in TikTok’s favour. Jack Johnston, senior social innovation director at Tinuiti, said around half of their clients now use TikTok search, often as part of wider campaigns on the platform.
Performance and budget shifts
Courtney Shaw, VP of social media solutions at Basis Technologies, reported that 20% of their TikTok advertisers have adopted search. In one test, pairing traffic and conversion search campaigns led to 25% more clicks, 38% lower CPCs, and 23% lower CPMs.
However, results vary. Jellyfish’s global EVP of paid social, Shamsul Chowdhury, said some clients see strong returns while others find better performance from different TikTok placements.
Most budget for TikTok search is being redirected from other TikTok ad placements, with a smaller share coming from Google or other mid-funnel campaigns. Johnston noted it is generally treated as part of a wider TikTok strategy rather than a standalone search investment.
Early days and cautious rollout
In early 2025, mixed performance, economic uncertainty, and ongoing concerns about a potential TikTok ban slowed some advertisers’ adoption of search. Shaw said these factors made clients hesitant to launch standalone search campaigns during the busy Q4 2024 period.
TikTok executives have stressed a measured approach. Paul Mears, group vertical director of retail and e-commerce in the UK, advised advertisers not to “get too carried away” as search is still emerging. Adolf Fernandez, global head of commerce product strategy and operations, said the traction so far has been “phenomenal” in markets like the US and UK, but the company is taking “a very cautious approach.”
The bottom line
TikTok search ads are still an evolving proposition, but the platform is investing heavily in talent, tools, and client engagement to make search a central part of its ad offering. Early results may be mixed, but adoption is growing and the groundwork for a bigger push is well underway.
