How does the TikTok algorithm work in 2024?
The TikTok algorithm helps your content get seen on the platform. Learn what it is, how it works, and what you can do to make the most of it in 2024.
The TikTok algorithm pairs viewers with videos, ensuring that the right content is shown to the right audience. But what exactly is the TikTok algorithm, have there been any major updates in 2024, and can you ‘beat’ it?
We’ll cover all of that and more today — buckle up.
We’ll discuss:
- What is the TikTok algorithm?
- How does the TikTok algorithm work?
- Has there been a TikTok algorithm update in 2024?
- How to reset the TikTok algorithm
- Does the TikTok algorithm work better if you have more followers?
- Does the TikTok algorithm mark down content?
- TikTok algorithm tips and tricks in 2024
What is the TikTok algorithm?
The TikTok algorithm is a recommendation system used to identify, rank, and distribute TikTok content to users’ For You Pages (FYP). The algorithm customizes its approach for each user, which is why one person’s FYP will be completely different to another.
In a nutshell, it’s a list of different criteria that decide where and when your content will appear. Ideally, your videos will reach people who’ll enjoy them — the TikTok algorithm strives to match content with users who’ll watch, share, like, and comment. Users receive a mixture of content from accounts they already follow, and those that they don’t yet follow.
How does the TikTok algorithm work?
Like other social media platforms, TikTok doesn’t break down exactly how the algorithm works. While this can be frustrating, we understand why they play their cards close to their chest — if someone knew exactly how to beat the TikTok algorithm, they’d be able to unfairly tailor their content and pretty much cheat.
So, we get it. However, TikTok have revealed several ranking factors for their algorithm, vague as they may be. Let’s take a look at them now.
Engagement
Anything and everything a user does on the platform feeds into the TikTok algorithm. Such actions include:
- Liked content
- Shared content
- Favorited content
- Comments on content
- Followed accounts
- General interests, based on interactions with organic content and TikTok ads
- Reported content
- Content marked as ‘Not Interested’
- Content or accounts marked as ‘Hidden’
- Content watched until the end, or multiple times
Even if a user likes then unlikes something, follows then unfollows, comments then deletes, the TikTok algorithm takes it into account. Of the three points we’re covering in this section, engagement is the TikTok algorithm’s main ranking factor.
Video data
While engagement goes a long way, the TikTok algorithm also bases rankings on the information held within a users’ watched videos. This data includes everything from hashtags, sound effects, voice effects, and trending topics to captions and filters.
Device and account settings
Device and account settings aren’t as important as the factors we listed above, but they still influence how the TikTok algorithm ranks content. They act more as guidelines, rather than pin-pointed ranking signals.
For example, if a user sets their language to English, they’re likely to see only English-language content on their FYP. The same goes for content produced in their native country, too.
Other ranking factors include the type of mobile device, and which categories of interest the user picked when they created their TikTok account. Again, these settings are broader than what we’ve already discussed, but they’re still worth considering.
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Has there been a TikTok algorithm update in 2024?
The TikTok algorithm is always updating and finding new ways to serve up content, but have there been any major changes in 2024? Not really. The most high-profile public change came in 2023, announced by the platform’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew.
Chew revealed that when three people like the same video, the TikTok algorithm categorizes those users into their own unique group. From there, it will serve similar content to those three users, including content that other members of the group have already watched.
How to reset the TikTok algorithm
If a user wants to ‘reset’ the TikTok algorithm, they can do so by heading to ‘Settings,’ clicking ‘Content Preferences,’ then choosing ‘Refresh Your For You Page.’ This can’t be undone, and users will only really do it if they feel they’re not seeing the right kind of content.
Resetting the TikTok algorithm from a brand or content creator perspective can be insightful, too. If you want to see how a user gets from starting a TikTok account to receiving your content on their FYP, you could try resetting and then exploring TikTok with a ‘new’ version of the algorithm.
Does the TikTok algorithm work better if you have more followers?
Some social media platforms limit visibility for low-follower accounts. The beauty of TikTok is its bite-sized virality — you don’t need a massive follower count to benefit. TikTok’s algorithm doesn’t discriminate based on how many followers you have, nor does it take your previous videos’ success into account.
Does the TikTok algorithm mark down content?
The TikTok algorithm doesn’t unfairly suppress content, but it may refuse to promote certain videos. This covers content it considers to be spam, upsetting, or duplicated.
TikTok algorithm tips and tricks in 2024
Although you can’t straight-up ‘beat’ the TikTok algorithm, you can put your best foot forward and give your content a chance. Let’s wrap up with some TikTok algorithm tips and tricks for 2024.
1. Use TikTok SEO
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is an organic process in which you create and edit content to rank higher in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and more recently TikTok. It feeds into pretty much everything the algorithm’s looking for, including keywords within subtitles, hashtags, TikTok captions, and even the raw video file.
You can use TikTok’s free Keyword Insights to plot keywords, or choose from a number of third-party services. You can also keep up with trending hashtags in TikTok’s Creative Center. If you’d like to learn more about TikTok SEO, click here.
2. Post consistently
Don’t spam people with 24/7 content, but try posting at a regular pace — consider a content calendar to help you plan. A steady, consistent stream of content shows the algorithm — and your audience! — that you’re reliable. TikTok themselves recommend posting between one and four times a day.
3. Sink the hook in the first few seconds
TikTok is a fast-paced platform, and it can be difficult to keep up. If users don’t like what they see, they can swipe away and find what they’re looking for elsewhere.
Use the first few seconds of your video to sink the hook and keep people interested. It sounds obvious, but there’s a thin line between genuinely teasing something and accidentally clickbaiting people — your hook needs to be honest to the content. Otherwise, viewers will bounce, and the algorithm will know why.
4. Foster engagement by engaging with others
Roll your sleeves up by liking, commenting, and sharing as you’d like others to do with your content. Go one step further and do a Duet or Stitch — the more you put yourself out there, the more likely other users are to get involved.
5. Create TikTok-ready content
There’s nothing wrong with reusing your content on different platforms, but it should at least look like it was made for TikTok. That means keeping your content in a 9:16 aspect ratio, optimizing it to be played with the sound on, and keeping things as short as possible.
6. Experiment with new features
Whenever TikTok reveals a new feature, explore how it works. More often than not, social media platforms’ algorithms prioritize content using their new features and tools, as they want other users to adopt them. If you get in there early, the TikTok algorithm might look upon that content favorably and give it a little bump.
7. Use TikTok analytics to fine-tune and schedule content
Professional TikTok creators and brands use TikTok analytics to fine-tune their content. TikTok analytics is a TikTok-owned tool that helps you understand and interpret your content’s metrics.
It covers aspects like average watch time, how many people have seen a certain video, and where in the world they’re watching from. With these metrics in mind, you can schedule content to land when your target audience is most active.
8. Create specialized content, but don’t make it too niche
Remember, the TikTok algorithm’s goal is to match content with people who’re interested in specific topics, and are looking to consume more videos based on said topics. For that reason, consider creating content that chimes with a subculture or fanbase rather than something more generic.
By doing so, your content will be ideal for those people — they’ll have already searched for similar content, meaning the algorithm may serve up your video next. Just be careful not to go too niche, otherwise your appeal will be limited.
TikTok gives your content the chance to reach tons of users, and the algorithm makes that process as fair as possible. Once the algorithm shepherds viewers your way, you’ll need to keep them there. Music is one way to do so — after all, the soundtrack can make or break your content. Epidemic Sound’s got your back.
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