Adding TikTok Search Ads in the US: ROAS +11.7%, CVR +33%
Commentary byROASArchiveOur analysis, not theirsHand Over added TikTok Search Ads in the US and saw ROAS rise 11.7% and conversion rate rise 33% versus standard conversion campaigns running in the same period.
TikTok published the result and gives only percentages, no absolute values.
- ROAS: +11.7% with Search Ads versus standard conversion campaigns. A moderate lift; the base ROAS is not shown.
- Conversion rate: +33%. People reaching the site through search-led ads converted at a higher rate, as you would expect from searchers.
- Not shared: spend, conversion counts, test length, or how traffic was split.
The change
Before
Standard TikTok conversion campaigns ran in the US during the same period, acting as the comparison.
After
Hand Over added Search Ads in the US, so ads could show next to relevant fashion searches on TikTok.
Our reading: why it likely worked
Our interpretation, not the advertiser's claim.
- People searching on TikTok already have intent, so ads shown at that moment convert better than ads shown to scrollers.
- The ROAS lift is smaller than the conversion rate lift, which may mean search clicks cost more or orders were smaller.
- Search may capture demand that Spark Ads and organic content created, so some of the credit could belong to those.
Caveats: TikTok describes a same-period comparison in one market, but not how the test was set up, and it is vendor-reported by TikTok about its own ad product. Spend, conversions, duration and absolute values are not shared.
How to run this in your account
- Hypothesis
- If we add TikTok Search Ads alongside our conversion campaigns, then ROAS will rise because we reach people while they are actively searching for products like ours.
- Primary metric
- ROAS
- Guardrails
- Conversion rate
- CPA
- Total conversions (not just shifted ones)
- Who should try it
- Brands with existing TikTok demand, such as an active organic account or many Spark Ads, in categories people search on TikTok like fashion. It may do little for niches nobody searches for on TikTok.
Who got the result
TikTok for Business · Hand Over Enterprise SL published this result (Platform success story). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Questions
Do TikTok Search Ads work for ecommerce?
For Hand Over in the US, adding Search Ads lifted ROAS 11.7% and conversion rate 33% versus standard conversion campaigns in the same period.
It is one brand and a vendor-reported result.
Should Search Ads replace TikTok conversion campaigns?
Hand Over ran Search Ads alongside its conversion campaigns and Spark Ads, not instead of them. The case frames search as a complement.
Why does conversion rate rise more than ROAS?
Here conversion rate rose 33% but ROAS rose 11.7%.
Higher click costs or smaller orders could explain the gap, but the source does not say.