TikTok Placements: Automatic or Select Placement?

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When we talk about TikTok advertising for e-commerce, where you position your ads can make or break your campaign. For TikTok placements optimization, you have two choices: automatic or select.

Should you trust TikTok’s automatic placement or take the reins with select placements?

The answer holds the key to cost efficiency and conversion rates. Let’s uncover the winning strategy.

TikTok placement refers to the locations or areas within the TikTok app and its associated platforms where ads can appear. In other words, placements determine where users will see the ads while using TikTok.

Here’s where TikTok Ads Manager lets you put your ads:

  • TikTok App: Following Feed, For You Feed, Profile Feed, ads in Shopping Center, search ads, and others.
  • Global App BundleMultiple Ad formats on Non-TikTok apps.
  • Pangle

Just remember that not all ad spots are available everywhere, so it depends on things like the type of ad and where you’re targeting. 

TikTok Placements Types

As we mentioned, there are two TikTok placement types: automatic and select.

 It’s important to note that once you create your ad group the placement setting cannot be changed.

So, what sets these two options apart, and which one is recommended? Let’s see the differences and find the optimal choice for your advertising strategy.

Automatic Placements

With Automatic Placement, your ads are shown in all available spots across TikTok to get the best results.

Automatic placements are recommended for most advertisers because they let TikTok’s system figure out where your ads will do the best.

Throughout ad delivery, the system prioritizes placing your ads where they have the highest likelihood of engagement, considering factors like active users, competition, your bid, and budget constraints.  This way, you get the most out of your budget.

Also, if you only pick the cheapest spots, your ads might not reach as many people.

With automatic placement, you benefit from the system’s smart calculations, which provide the best combination of placements across TikTok’s app portfolio. 

It’s important to note that the delivery system prioritizes achieving targeted results at the overall minimum average delivery costs, rather than solely focusing on specific placement costs.

Select Placements

With Select Placement, you get to pick the specific apps where your ads will appear. If you choose this method, it’s best to select multiple apps to give TikTok’s system some options for delivering your ads and getting the best outcome.

By manually selecting placements, you have more control over where your ads show up. This can be useful if you know certain apps have your target audience or if you want your ads to appear in specific contexts.

However, it’s essential to choose multiple placements to give TikTok’s system some flexibility. This way, it can find the best places to show your ads and get the most results for your campaign.

Automatic vs. Select Placements

While both Automatic and Select placement have their merits, Automatic placement often proves to be more cost-effective and efficient, particularly for advertisers looking to reach a broad audience.

However, Select placement offers greater customization and control, making it suitable for campaigns targeting specific demographics or niches.

We recently did a placement A/B test on Facebook, which shares similar placement optimization options with TikTok. With this test, we aimed to compare the performance of Automatic and Select placement to see which option delivers better results.

Our findings align with TikTok’s recommendations: when optimizing for Automatic Placement over Select, we observed lower costs and a lower cost of customer acquisition (CAC). These results mirror TikTok’s assertion that Automatic Placement can lead to more cost-effective ad campaigns.

Given these insights and TikTok’s recommendation, it’s clear that Automatic placement is a compelling choice for advertisers seeking to maximize their ROI and reach a broader audience on the platform.

Summing Up

Choosing between Automatic and Select placement on TikTok can impact your campaign’s success. While Automatic placement often leads to lower costs and CAC, Select placement offers more control. 

The right choice depends on your goals and budget. Experiment and analyze to find the best strategy for your TikTok ads.

If you need more guidance on creating TikTok campaigns for your e-commerce store, feel free to check out our blog post on the topic.

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