TikTok overtakes Google and Facebook: what it means for brands and marketers
By M. Mahmood | Strategist & Consultant | mmmahmood.com
TikTok overtakes Google and Facebook in Cloudflare's rankings
Cloudflare, a web performance and security company, has released its 2021 Year in Review Internet and traffic rankings, and to surprise of a few, TikTok has been ranked as the most popular website (domain) in the world. What is surprising though is that TikTok beat out Google.com including its services, such as, Maps, Translate, Photos, Flights, Books, News, and others.
The report also highlights that:
We can see that TikTok (who also surpassed Google, as we explained before in the global #1 spot) took Facebook from its crown of the most popular social media website-domain in our ranking. So, that should mean that TikTok got more Internet traffic from our standpoint (our ranking is derived from our public DNS resolver 1.1.1.1 and so it's not related to the number of unique users or visitors it gets per month) — Facebook is, by far, the platform with more users worldwide).
From a consulting perspective rooted in business model and business strategy, this traffic shift positions TikTok as a central channel where value propositions are tested, where narratives are shaped, and where realized value depends on how well brands align creative with the platform's participatory culture. For marketers and leaders working on durable positioning, the question becomes how to integrate TikTok into a broader system of channels, assets, and measurable outcomes.
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What Cloudflare's ranking actually measures
To use this ranking in decision making, it is important to understand what Cloudflare is and what its data represents. Cloudflare operates a public DNS resolver, 1.1.1.1, that sits in the path of a large volume of internet requests.
Cloudflare's popularity list is therefore:
- A ranking of domains by observed internet traffic, not a count of unique users per month.
- Sensitive to how often users and devices hit specific domains, directly or indirectly.
- Different from subscriber counts, app installs, or self‑reported usage metrics that platforms might publish elsewhere.
In that context, TikTok's climb to the top position illustrates that its domain attracts more traffic, from Cloudflare's standpoint, than Google.com and Facebook.com over the period covered. Facebook remains, by far, the platform with more users worldwide, yet TikTok can still lead on this traffic‑based metric.
For strategists, this reinforces a recurring principle: what matters is where real activity happens, not just where legacy habits or historical leadership positions suggest attention should be. The same principle appears in frameworks such as the VARS model, where the scope of the firm and the activities undertaken must reflect genuine customer behavior and realized value, not assumptions.
How TikTok captured cross‑demographic attention
TikTok has piqued the curiosity of users of all ages and demographics. Users flock to the site for its cooking hacks, memes, and latest dance trends, to highlight just a few trends.
These examples point to several enduring patterns of behavior:
- Short, easily consumable videos that fit into any spare moment.
- Content that blends entertainment and lightweight education, such as hacks and tips.
- Strong participation loops, where users copy, remix, or respond to trends and sounds.
For brands, this means TikTok functions both as a discovery engine and as an environment for ongoing relationship building. A single domain, tiktok.com, concentrates activities that elsewhere might be split between search, social feeds, and streaming services.
When planning campaigns or product launches, this consolidation of attention makes TikTok a natural place to test narratives, gather feedback quickly, and generate culture‑led momentum that can spill over into other channels. This aligns with consulting guidance on how to start a high‑growth business by focusing on rapid validation, lean iteration, and customer‑driven positioning.
The so what of this hoopla for retailers
The so what, of this hoopla? New York Times (NYT) reported that retailers see TikTok as a "holy grail of marketing," as they want to reach influencers and particularly, Gen Z, as cable television's popularity continues to decline.
According to Maddison Peel, a 22 year old influencer on TikTok, with over 300K followers:
"No millennials or Gen Z are watching TV as much, so they don't see those ads," she said, "but when they're scrolling on TikTok, they're seeing those."
According to the NYT report: As of Aug, at least 18 public retail brands, in apparel, makeup...etc, have referred to their strategy on TikTok, during their financial reporting to analysts.
"Brands have moved from just testing out TikTok to making it a budget line item or creating dedicated campaigns for TikTok specifically."
"The growth that we've seen is insane," Krishna Subramanian, a founder of the influencer marketing firm Captiv8, told NYT.
These observations highlight a structural change in how retailers allocate attention and budget. Instead of approaching TikTok as a small experiment, they are treating it as a dedicated line item, with specific campaigns and narrative arcs that align with core brand and competitive advantage strategies.
In practical terms, retail leaders can integrate TikTok into their broader business planning processes, tying creator collaborations and trend‑driven content to product drops, merchandising, and seasonal initiatives. This mirrors the consulting approach used when helping clients design subscription models or monetize proprietary frameworks, where the goal is to build repeatable, scalable systems that deliver realized value over time.
TikTok as a "sunny place" for younger audiences
With mental health the top concern for many young people, TikTok has emerged as a "sunny place" compared with other social platforms, said Craig Brommers, chief marketing officer of American Eagle Outfitters.
That phrase captures more than a mood; it reflects how the platform is perceived in terms of emotional tone and community feel. When younger audiences describe a platform as "sunny," they are indicating that the experience feels lighter, more playful, and less combative than some alternatives.
For brands, this has several implications:
- Messaging that aligns with optimism, creativity, and self‑expression is likely to resonate more than purely transactional content.
- Sensitive categories, such as apparel and lifestyle, can benefit from being associated with an environment seen as supportive rather than draining.
- Campaigns should be designed to fit into this "sunny" context in the same way that campaigns for other platforms are tailored to their own distinctive norms.
Marketers who work across channels can draw on frameworks similar to those used in demographic‑specific positioning work, where tone, platform culture, and peer influence deeply shape outcomes.
Competitors' response: Reels, Shorts, and creator incentives
Competitors of TikTok are vehemently trying to keep pace. Instagram and YouTube, have developed TikTok-like feature called Reels & YouTube shorts - not to much success. Katrina Estrella, a spokeswoman for Meta (formerly Facebook), which also owns Instagram, has suggested that the company was testing "a range of bonus programs" in the US as part of a $1 billion investment in creators.
This shows how incumbent platforms respond when a new player redefines the attention landscape. They copy core features, such as short‑form vertical video, and they deploy capital to keep creators engaged through bonus programs and incentives.
However, the note "not to much success" underlines that simply offering similar tools does not guarantee similar results. TikTok's ranking at the top of Cloudflare's list, and its characterization as a "sunny place," reflect a combination of algorithmic design, cultural momentum, and creator‑community dynamics that are not easily replicated.
For strategy work focused on business models and competitive positioning, this is a reminder that surface‑level imitation rarely dislodges a platform that has already become a default destination.
Strategic implications for marketers and brands
While the original article centers on Cloudflare's ranking and reporting from NYT and brand leaders, it strongly implies a set of durable strategic principles for marketers, founders, and executives. These principles can guide how you approach TikTok and similar platforms over time.
1. Follow real attention, not legacy assumptions
Maddison Peel's observation that "no millennials or Gen Z are watching TV as much" yet see ads when they are scrolling on TikTok captures a clear shift in attention. When younger audiences spend more time on short‑form video feeds than on linear television, marketing strategies must adapt.
This means:
- Reconsidering the balance between TV and digital video for awareness campaigns.
- Treating TikTok as a front‑door channel where customers first encounter a product or message.
- Using TikTok performance as an input into broader strategy decisions, since creative that works there can inform positioning in other channels.
2. Elevate TikTok from test bed to core channel
The NYT report notes that brands "have moved from just testing out TikTok to making it a budget line item or creating dedicated campaigns for TikTok specifically." This language signals a transition from experimental spending to committed investment.
Operationalizing that shift can involve:
- Defining clear TikTok objectives that sit alongside search, email, and other core channels.
- Allocating specific budget for creator collaborations, in‑house content, and optimization cycles.
- Incorporating TikTok insights into business planning conversations, such as launch calendars and product storytelling.
From a consulting standpoint, this transition resembles the shift from pilot projects to scaled operations seen in high‑growth startups, where early validation leads to formalized systems, dedicated resources, and repeatable execution.
3. Work with creators as strategic partners
Retailers see TikTok as a "holy grail of marketing" because it connects brands with influencers and Gen Z at scale. Krishna Subramanian's comment that "the growth that we've seen is insane" underlines how quickly creator‑led campaigns have expanded.
Brand teams can respond by:
- Building structured programs for identifying creators whose audiences and style match brand positioning.
- Structuring collaborations that go beyond one‑off posts, focusing on enduring narratives and series.
- Integrating creator content with other business strategy elements, such as pricing experiments, product education, or community programs.
This approach mirrors consulting frameworks where competitive advantage is built not by owning assets but by orchestrating networks of partners, suppliers, and creators who collectively deliver differentiated value.
4. Design for TikTok's culture and emotional tone
With TikTok emerging as a "sunny place," campaigns that lean into creativity, positivity, and relatability are better suited to the environment than those that feel overly formal or interruptive. The popularity of cooking hacks, memes, and dance trends reinforces the importance of formats that invite participation and remixing.
This suggests:
- Framing brand messages as stories or mini‑episodes rather than as static pitches.
- Allowing room for humor, surprise, and human quirks that match how users already behave on the platform.
- Applying insights from past demographic positioning work, where authenticity and peer‑to‑peer dynamics often outperform traditional top‑down messaging.
When consulting with clients on how to structure a business for long‑term scalability, we often emphasize aligning product, channel, and creative around a consistent value proposition, and TikTok is no exception.
Evergreen Q&A: TikTok, Cloudflare, and brand strategy
What did Cloudflare's ranking say about TikTok, Google, and Facebook?
Cloudflare's 2021 Year in Review Internet and traffic rankings showed that TikTok was ranked as the most popular website (domain) in the world. TikTok beat out Google.com, including Google's services such as Maps, Translate, Photos, Flights, Books, News, and others. TikTok also took Facebook from its crown as the most popular social media website‑domain in Cloudflare's ranking.
Does this mean TikTok has more users than Facebook?
No. The report emphasizes that Cloudflare's ranking is derived from its public DNS resolver 1.1.1.1 and is not related to the number of unique users or visitors it gets per month. Facebook is, by far, the platform with more users worldwide, even though TikTok took the top spot in this traffic‑based ranking.
When did TikTok secure the top position in the ranking?
According to Cloudflare, TikTok first peaked in the global traffic rankings in Feb, 2021, followed by a few days in March, June and then, finally, a permanent stay at the top beginning in late August. This pattern shows a progression from brief peaks to a more stable leadership position in the ranking.
Why do retailers call TikTok a "holy grail of marketing"?
NYT reported that retailers see TikTok as a "holy grail of marketing" because they want to reach influencers and particularly Gen Z as cable television's popularity continues to decline. At least 18 public retail brands in apparel, makeup, and other categories referenced their TikTok strategy during financial reporting, and brands have shifted from simple tests to dedicated budget line items and campaigns.
How are Instagram, YouTube, and Meta responding?
Competitors of TikTok are vehemently trying to keep pace. Instagram and YouTube have developed TikTok-like features called Reels and YouTube shorts, described here as "not to much success." Meta, which owns Instagram, has also tested "a range of bonus programs" in the US as part of a $1 billion investment in creators, according to spokeswoman Katrina Estrella.
Bringing it together for long‑term strategy
Cloudflare's ranking, combined with NYT's coverage and comments from influencers and brand leaders, builds a consistent picture of TikTok as a domain that now sits at the center of online attention. It outranks Google.com and Facebook.com in Cloudflare's traffic‑based view, attracts users seeking entertainment and "sunny" experiences, and has become a budgeted line item for retailers targeting Gen Z.
For leaders working on business model and business strategy, the implication is that TikTok should be treated as a core environment where products are discovered, stories are told, and culture is shaped. By grounding decisions in where traffic and attention actually flow, and by respecting the platform's emotional tone and creator ecosystem, brands can build resilient marketing systems that remain effective even as specific features, trends, or formats evolve over time.
From a consulting perspective, this is about ensuring the value proposition, activities, realized value, and scope align with the platforms where real customer behavior is happening, an approach we describe in detail in the VARS framework for business model storytelling.
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