The cage battle of the algorithms: Google vs TikTok… Boomer vs Gen Z
I’m a Gen X working in social, which puts me just ahead of being a boomer in social. Do you know how challenging that can be… when you are out to dinner with friends and they are discussing the cost of living impact on private school fees, while you are searching their blank faces for any recognition when you start talking about your beige flags.
I pride myself on my ability to keep up with trends and, sure I shudder whenever there’s a new platform announced (bloody Threads last week), but I join it so I can navigate and conquer it for clients.
Sometimes I have “what the actual f*#k moments” like how could that possibly be a trend. But, luckily I work with a team of Gen Z’s who assure me it’s a thing.
I recently had one of those “what the actual f*#k moments” that actually flawed me. While getting my eyebrows done, the technician told me she uses TikTok as her search engine over Google… for everything…finding a restaurant to eat, getting her news…. absolutely everything.
I’ve spent the past 20 years relying on Google for my uni degree, answers to questions my boss asked me when he expected that I already knew the answer, searching for outfits, hairdressers, travel destinations. How could people possibly not use Google? But hey, 20 years ago we’d never have thought another platform could possibly challenge the jaganaught that was Facebook and look at us now. It’s only me and the other boomers on Facebook.
So is TikTik going to dethrone Google thanks to Gen Z?
According to some recent stats that I found on, of all places, Google… more than 40% of Gen Z are using TikTok and Instagram for search instead of Google. Another survey found that 70% of Aussie Gen Z use social for general searches, 52% for online shopping, and 47% for recipes.
Google can no longer escape the growing influence of TikTok and other social platforms. TikTok has significantly expanded its search capabilities with the Discover tab and hashtags allowing users to explore specific topics and content, along with the ability to engage users through visually appealing and bite-sized video content.
However, there’s no denying Google has spent decades refining its algorithms and catering to Boomers (and Gen X’s like me). TikTok's search capabilities, for now, just do not offer the same level of depth and reliability as Google.
Although it’s unlikely to rival Google as a preferred search engine for most users, what TikTok search capabilities has done is push us all to start thinking about Social Media Optimisation strategies. Social content needs to be intentional about keywords in content description and posts, an image/video should be reflective of the keyword, use hashtags, encourage social sharing and track website traffic from social. So that we can ensure that when the time comes that TikTok refines the algorithms to match Google, brands and boomers won't be scratching their heads wondering how that happened… a little I suspect like Elon was doing last week.
Gen Z may have won the WFH battle but have yet to win the 4-day work week battle, so for now I am happy to continue opening my Google browser and search “Will TikTok become the next Google?”
Written by Georgia Bainbridge