TikTok Ads Playbook

How to set up, track, and run TikTok ads. Results depend mostly on a steady supply of new video.

Account structure

Manage ad accounts inside TikTok Business Center.
Give each campaign one objective and one optimization event.
Use a consistent naming pattern, for example Objective-Audience-Offer-Version.

Install the TikTok Pixel directly or through Google Tag Manager.
Add the Events API for server-side events. Send the same event_id from both so TikTok can deduplicate.
Turn on advanced matching to send hashed email and phone where you have consent.
Map standard events, such as ViewContent, AddToCart, PlaceAnOrder, CompletePayment, and SubmitForm.
Test events in Events Manager before launch.
Check results with a lift study or holdout when spend is large enough.

Objective	Use it for
Reach	Awareness at the lowest cost per impression.
Traffic	Clicks to a site or app.
Video views	Views of a specific video.
Community interaction	Follows and profile visits.
App promotion	Installs and in-app events.
Lead generation	Instant forms or website leads.
Sales	Website conversions and catalog sales.

Smart+ campaigns automate targeting, bidding, and creative selection. Test them against a manual campaign.

Start broad. TikTok finds buyers from creative and conversion signals.
Add custom audiences (site visitors, customer lists, video viewers) for retargeting and exclusions.
Build lookalike audiences from purchasers or high-value leads.
Use interest and behavior targeting only if it beats broad in a test.

Shoot vertical 9:16 video that looks native to TikTok.
Show the product or the main point in the first seconds.
Use captions and on-screen text. Keep text out of the areas covered by the app UI.
Use Spark Ads to run organic posts from your account or from creators. Collect authorization codes from creators.
Find creators through TikTok One or an agency. Put usage rights and their duration in the contract.
Plan new creative every week. Ads wear out fast.

Bid strategies include maximum delivery, cost cap, and minimum ROAS.
An ad group needs about 50 conversions in a week to exit the learning phase. Size budgets for that, or optimize for a higher-volume event.
Avoid large edits during learning.