Measuring Share of Voice and Search Ranks for Organic Accounts on TikTok: Challenges, Benefits, and Strategies

In the fast-paced world of social media, TikTok has emerged as a powerhouse for organic growth, with over 1.58 billion monthly active users as of 2025. For brands and creators relying on organic accounts—those that grow without paid promotion—understanding metrics like Share of Voice (SOV) and search ranks is crucial. SOV measures how much of the conversation your brand owns compared to competitors, while search ranks determine how discoverable your content is in TikTok’s search results. These metrics provide insights into visibility, engagement, and competitive positioning. But measuring them isn’t straightforward, especially on a platform known for its opaque algorithm. In this post, we’ll explore how to track these metrics, the hurdles involved, and why overcoming them can supercharge your TikTok strategy.

What is Share of Voice on TikTok and How to Measure It

Share of Voice (SOV) is a key marketing metric that quantifies your brand’s presence in the market relative to competitors. On TikTok, it goes beyond traditional paid media to include organic mentions, engagements, and visibility across videos, comments, and hashtags. Essentially, it answers: “How much of the TikTok conversation about my niche belongs to me?”

To calculate SOV, use the formula: (Your brand’s metrics / Total market metrics) × 100. Metrics can include mentions, impressions, views, likes, shares, or hashtags. For organic accounts, focus on social listening tools like Brand24 or EmbedSocial to track these. Here’s a step-by-step approach:

1. Gather Data: Monitor your brand’s mentions and engagements using tools that integrate with TikTok. For example, Brand24’s Comparison tab lets you benchmark against competitors by tracking volume of mentions and sentiment.
2. Include Industry Totals: Aggregate data from competitors and the broader niche. Tools like Semrush or Sprout Social can help pull in hashtag usage or mention volumes.
3. Calculate and Analyze: If your brand gets 5,000 mentions out of 50,000 in your industry (e.g., beauty routines), your SOV is 10%. Track this over time for trends.

For TikTok-specific SOV, incorporate video views and engagement rates, as these reflect organic reach in a video-first platform. Organic accounts often use free tools like EmbedSocial’s Share of Voice Calculator, which processes .csv exports of post data to generate insights.

Understanding and Measuring Search Ranks on TikTok

TikTok’s search ranks determine where your videos appear when users query terms like “morning skincare routine” or “budget travel tips.” Unlike Google, TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes personalization, blending relevance, engagement, and user behavior to rank content. For organic accounts, high ranks mean sustained visibility beyond the initial For You Page (FYP) push, with videos potentially surfacing in searches for weeks.

Key factors influencing ranks include:

• User Interactions: Likes, comments, shares, and watch time signal quality.
• Video Details: Keywords in captions, on-screen text, spoken audio, and hashtags.
• Account Settings: Language, location, and trends alignment.

To measure search ranks:

1. Use TikTok Analytics: Pro accounts (free for creators) show search traffic sources and top-performing keywords.
2. Leverage Tools: Exolyt or TikTok Creative Center for keyword tracking and competitive rank analysis. Track positions for target queries over time.
3. Monitor Metrics: Focus on impressions from search, CTR, and engagement from search-driven views.

Organic strategies like TikTok SEO—optimizing with 3-5 relevant hashtags and keyword-rich elements—can boost ranks. For instance, renaming video files with keywords before upload helps the algorithm categorize content better.

The Challenges of Getting Reliable Data and Analysis

While measuring SOV and search ranks offers powerful insights, the process is fraught with obstacles, particularly for organic accounts on TikTok.

First, data access is limited. TikTok’s API is restrictive for third-party tools, making it hard to pull comprehensive competitor data without manual scraping, which risks account bans or inaccurate results. Organic accounts often rely on incomplete internal analytics, missing the full picture of industry totals needed for accurate SOV.

Second, algorithm opacity complicates everything. TikTok’s ranking system evolves constantly, influenced by hidden factors like user dwell time and contextual clues, making ranks unpredictable. Industry analysis shows that organic reach has dwindled across platforms, with algorithms favoring paid content or viral trends over consistent organic efforts. Creators have noted how initial viral hits fade due to shifting algorithms, slowing growth despite more effort.

Third, reliability issues arise from bots and fake engagement. Inflated metrics from viewbotting skew SOV and ranks, creating an uneven playing field. Tools must filter for genuine interactions, but this requires advanced sentiment analysis, which isn’t foolproof. Additionally, formatting data for analysis (e.g., .csv exports) can be tedious, and non-social reach demands multiple tools.

Finally, time and resource constraints hit organic accounts hard. Without budgets for premium tools, creators spend hours manually tracking. Some online discussions have even called organic social a “waste” in B2B due to low reach and measurement difficulties.

These challenges can lead to incomplete or biased analysis, potentially misguiding strategies.

The Benefits of Doing It Right

Despite the hurdles, mastering SOV and search rank measurement yields significant rewards, especially for organic accounts aiming for sustainable growth.

High SOV builds brand authority and awareness, positioning you as a niche leader. For example, dominating mentions in a category can drive millions of organic views. It predicts market share growth, with studies showing brands with strong SOV often capture larger audiences over time.

Improved search ranks extend reach and engagement, turning one-off views into long-term discovery. Optimized content ranks higher, attracting targeted users and boosting metrics like watch time. This leads to more followers, traffic, and conversions—organic accounts have scaled to millions in downloads by tracking these.

Analysis provides actionable insights for optimization. Identify resonant content, refine hooks, and pivot strategies based on what the data shows. Tools can reveal sentiment and reputation scores, helping stay ahead of competitors.

Ultimately, it fosters cost-effective growth. Unlike paid ads, organic mastery via SOV and ranks creates compounding assets—viral videos become evergreen, driving leads without ongoing spend. This approach turns user-generated content into powerful acquisition tools, enhancing your omnichannel presence.

Conclusion

Measuring Share of Voice and search ranks on TikTok for organic accounts is no easy feat, with challenges like limited data access and algorithmic secrecy demanding robust tools and persistence. Yet, the benefits—enhanced visibility, strategic insights, and competitive dominance—make it worthwhile. Start small: Use free analytics, experiment with SEO tactics, and track consistently. In 2025’s TikTok landscape, those who navigate these metrics effectively won’t just participate in the conversation—they’ll own it.