Tiktok, which started as a short-form video platform, is quickly becoming a search engine This week, Tiktok announced its Creator Rewards Program

Here's how it works: creators who make money on the platform will receive a portion of their rewards based on how well their content matches the search criteria of other users The program uses an optimized compensation formula that takes into account four key criteria: originality, play time, audience engagement, and search value

According to TikTok, the new formula also automatically rewards creators for the ad value of their accounts based on the community's ad viewing time In essence, it is Tiktok's version of the kind of search engine optimization tactics that companies use to improve their ranking in Google search results

The emphasis on "search value" as a metric underscores this and suggests that Tiktok is focused on using the app like a search engine: according to a January Adobe report, more than two in five people in the US use Tiktok for that purpose and and nearly one in ten Gen Z users use TikTok as a search engine over Google

The Creator Rewards program, formerly known as the Creativity Program, went into beta last year Now, Tiktok is opening the program to all eligible creators on the platform To qualify, creators must be at least 18 years old, have at least 10,000 followers and at least 100,000 views in the past 30 days Tiktok also states that you must have a personal account in "good standing"

"As we officially introduce the Creator Rewards program, we look forward to continuing to partner with creators and help them reach their full potential," the company said in a blog post Monday

As part of the program, content creators now have access to a dashboard to track analytics for their videos There, they can find more detailed ways to analyze their videos' performance, including RPM and a breakdown of qualified video views They can also examine search trends, get video ideas based on both personalized and general data, track revenue, and build content strategies from the dashboard

"These insights allow creators to get content inspiration, tailor creative strategies to audience interests, and create content that people want to see more of," Tiktok explained in a recent company blog post

Tiktok has also been a leader in the creation and distribution of content

TikTok also announced the Creator Academy learning hub with courses, articles, and other resources for making money from TikTok videos The Creator Academy replaces the Creator Portal and will be available through the Creator Center web app within a few weeks, TikTok said