Innovating Now for the Future of Search
Search is changing—and fast. Most consumers still type their queries into Google, and Google's dominance remains undoubtedly supreme. But change is afoot, and younger consumers especially now head straight to TikTok for search, bypassing Google to discover everything from skincare routines and fashion finds to restaurant recommendations and life hacks. 40% of U.S. consumers have used TikTok as a search engine—and that percentage rises to 64% among Gen Z. 10% of Gen Z report they are more likely to use TikTok than Google for search. For those digital natives, TikTok isn't just a place for entertainment; TikTok is a trusted search engine, fueled by real voices and community insights.
Stella Rising’s SEO team at has always been at the forefront of search innovation, evolving alongside the changing landscape of how people find information online. From pioneering desktop search strategies in the mid-2000s to mastering mobile search optimization in the 2010s, we've consistently anticipated each transformation. Now, as we navigate the current era of social search and prepare for the future of AI and contextual search, we continue to provide our clients with first-mover advantage through each wave of innovation.
To focus on the current era of social search: consumer behavior is evolving, but the tools that marketers have to track search visibility on TikTok haven't existed. The platforms that shaped the modern SEO landscape weren't built to handle social search. They didn't account for creator-driven influence, rapid content trends, or TikTok's unique search algorithm. That gap is what inspired us to build TokTrak—a visibility tracking platform built for the future of search.
WHY—AND WHAT IS—TOKTRAK?
TokTrak is a first-of-its-kind, dedicated visibility tracking platform built specifically to measure organic search performance on TikTok. We developed TokTrak in direct response to the evolving landscape of consumer search behavior, where younger audiences increasingly turn to TikTok to find product recommendations, reviews, and community-driven insights. TokTrak is a platform that both meets and anticipates the needs of brands seeking to stay visible and competitive on TikTok.
We created TokTrak to solve a growing problem: brands were investing in TikTok content, partnering with influencers, and gaining traction organically—but had no way to reliably measure how their content (or mentions of their brand) performed in TikTok search. Traditional SEO tools couldn't answer the basic-yet-critical questions that brands were asking:
- Is our content ranking for the keywords that matter on TikTok?
- Where are we appearing in TikTok's search results—and how often?
- How do we stack up against competitors or top creators in our space?
TokTrak provides a full-spectrum view of a brand's visibility within TikTok's organic search results, combining performance data from both owned content (videos from a brand's official account) and earned content (user-generated videos, influencer shoutouts, and community posts that mention a brand).
Given TikTok's creator-led culture, this dual focus is essential. A single user review or trending video can catapult a product into the spotlight. TokTrak helps brands plan, map for, and control that moment.
Keyword Rank Tracking—Built for TikTok
At the heart of TokTrak is a robust keyword ranking engine. The platform monitors how TikTok videos rank for specific search terms, showing brands:
- Keyword being tracked
- Rank position (1–100)
- The URL of the ranking video
- Change in rank over time
FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND: OWNED VS. EARNED VISIBILITY TRACKING
One of TokTrak’s most innovative features is its Owned vs. Earned visibility analysis, a first in the industry! Most brands focus solely on their own TikTok profile when thinking about visibility. TokTrak changes that.
The platform identifies both:
- Owned content: TikToks published directly by your brand
- Earned content: TikToks created by creators, customers, or influencers that mention your brand
MORE THAN RANKINGS: ENGAGEMENT INSIGHTS
TokTrak goes beyond surface-level rank tracking, diving into how top-ranking TikTok content performs, surfacing average views, likes, comments, and shares. These engagement benchmarks help brands better understand what "success" looks like within their category—and how to get there. For every keyword tracked, TokTrak shows the average likes, views, comments, and shares for the top 20 results. This helps marketers:
- Understand the engagement landscape behind a given keyword
- Identify which keywords are generating meaningful interaction
- Estimate ranking difficulty by comparing their own contents’ performance to that of current top-ranking videos
For brands, this means smarter, more efficient content strategies, more effective influencer collaborations, and clearer ROI on organic TikTok efforts. It's no longer a guessing game. Wouldn't it be nice if TikTok was less of a mystery—and you knew what your brand had to do to move higher on the platform?
BUILT FOR THE BRANDS MOVING FAST
TokTrak is now open to new customers. After a successful closed beta with select Stella Rising clients, we're expanding access to brands and agencies looking to gain a competitive edge in TikTok search.
Whether you're running an ecommerce brand, scaling influencer campaigns, or optimizing content visibility, TokTrak gives you the data needed to show up in TikTok search and stay ahead of the algorithm.
We’re actively onboarding a limited number of early adopters to help shape the future of TikTok SEO.
Over the coming months, TokTrak will grow to include keyword research and trend tracking tools, optimization guidance based on real-time TikTok data, and predictive algorithm insights so brands can crack the code of what drives TikTok visibility.
→ Want in? Request access today by contacting us.
A NEW CHAPTER IN SEARCH
By giving brands the tools to track and optimize organic performance on TikTok, we're keeping them ahead of the curve. TokTrak is opening to a select group of new beta partners. If you want early access and a front-row seat to the future of search, connect with us!
COMMENTS