Can a business rank in TikTok search?
Yes, but few do. In New Zealand travel searches made from Singapore and Japan, businesses held 6 to 8% of TikTok's top-20 results, and official tourism bodies under 1%. In US hotel searches, hotels' own accounts held 5% of the results. Creators held almost everything else. The hotels that ranked had this in common: they used the words guests search for, or a creator's footage.
By Angelica Handover, Co-founder and CEO, SocialSeal Published Updated
How often businesses rank
We classed every account in the top 20 for 32 New Zealand travel searches on TikTok, made from Singapore and Japan, and for 41 searches of the same kind on Instagram, all captured on 21 October 2026.
| Platform and market | Creators | Businesses | Official tourism bodies |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok, Singapore | 93% | 6% | 0.7% |
| TikTok, Japan | 91% | 8% | 0.3% |
| Instagram, Japan | 85% | 15% | 0.3% |
| Instagram, Singapore | 76% | 23% | 1.6% |
| Instagram, India | 74% | 26% | 0% |
A spot check found 3 businesses among 40 accounts we classed as creators, so creator shares may be up to 7 points too high. Even then, creators held more than 8 in 10 TikTok results.
In 15 US luxury hotel searches, the pattern was the same. Hotels’ own accounts held 5% of the top-20 results, travel agents and concierge services another 5%, and creators the rest. The full breakdown is in how to market a hotel on TikTok.
So a business can rank on TikTok, and some do, but most places go to creators. On Instagram, businesses did better, with 15 to 26% of results.
Why creators hold most places
Our reading of the results: a traveller’s search asks to see something. Someone searching “milford sound scenic flight” wants the view from a passenger seat. Someone searching for a burger restaurant plus “worth it” wants a verdict from someone who queued. Creators’ videos usually show that. Business accounts more often show the brand.
You don’t need a big audience to rank, either. Across 18,140 TikTok searches we track, the most-viewed video in the top 20 was number one in 6% of them, close to the 5% you’d expect by chance, and 56% of ranking videos came from accounts with under 10,000 followers. See how TikTok search works.
What the hotels that ranked did
In the US hotel searches, the hotels that reached the top 20 from their own accounts used the words guests type in their names and captions, and showed the stay from a guest’s point of view. One reposted a creator’s footage with credit. The examples are in how to market a hotel on TikTok.
Three ways in for a business
- Your own videos, for specific searches. Pick searches where you’re the natural answer: your town plus your service, your destination plus your type of stay. Make one video for each, built around the words of the search. See how to do TikTok SEO.
- Creators who already rank. For broad searches, the quickest way in is through a creator whose video already holds a top place in your market. Check by searching from that market.
- Creators’ footage on your account. With the creator’s permission and credit, post a guest’s view of your place on your own account.
Then check the same searches every month, from each market, and count the results that are yours.
How we know
- New Zealand searches: New Zealand travel searches tracked in SocialSeal: 32 on TikTok (15 from Singapore in English, 17 from Japan in Japanese) and 41 on Instagram (from Singapore, Japan and India). Top 20 results each, captured on 21 October 2026.
- Hotel searches: 15 US TikTok hotel searches, such as "best hotels maldives" and "boutique hotels south of france". The latest capture of each, between 16 September and 21 October 2026: 300 results.
- Classification: Each account was classed by hand from its name and captions as a creator, a business (operators, attractions, hotels, restaurants, rental companies, booking sites, agencies, media) or an official tourism body. A spot check of 40 accounts classed as creators found about 3 businesses.
- Popularity and followers: 18,140 TikTok searches tracked in SocialSeal, run from 27 countries, latest capture of each between November 2025 and 30 October 2026, top 20 results each. Views and follower counts are the latest recorded.
Other questions
- Do you need a big following to rank in TikTok search?
- No. Across 18,140 tracked TikTok searches, 56% of top-20 videos came from accounts with under 10,000 followers, and so did 55% of number-one videos.
- Should a business pay creators to rank on TikTok?
- Work with creators who already rank for the searches you want, in the market you want. You can check before you pay: search from that market and see whose videos come up.
- Can a local business rank on TikTok?
- Yes. In our hotel data, one Saint-Tropez hotel ranked from its own account for most of the Saint-Tropez searches we tracked. Searches that name a place give a local business a clear way in.
See if your business ranks in your market
Find out whether customers see you, your competitors or creators when they search. The free Visibility Check covers TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, from the countries you sell to.
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