TIKTOK ADS SETUP

HOW TO SET UPA TIKTOK ADS ACCOUNT

Opening a TikTok ad account is not difficult, but getting the order wrong costs a day or two you cannot get back. Business verification takes working days to clear, and the 30 days on the new advertiser credit run from the registration date rather than from your first ad. This page sets out the whole sequence, from which account is which through to the first campaign, using the screen names as they appear.

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The short answer

To start advertising on TikTok you register an ad account with TikTok for Business, pass business verification, add a payment method and build the first campaign. Opening the account takes about ten minutes, but verification approval typically takes one to five business days. The 30 days on the new advertiser credit run from the registration date, so start verification and creative the moment the account exists.

Three different things are called an account

The word account points at three different objects in the TikTok ecosystem, which is most of the early confusion. Sorting them out before you start makes everything after it simpler.

The TikTok account in the app
The one that posts videos. Content you might use as creative lives here, and formats that promote an existing post need it.
The TikTok for Business ad account
The one you log into TikTok Ads Manager with to build campaigns and pay for them. This is also where the new advertiser credit attaches. It is registered separately from the app account.
Business Center
The layer above, for managing several ad accounts and several users in one place, and the route an agency uses to access a client account. A single advertiser with one account does not need it on day one.

Registering the ad account

  1. Open the TikTok for Business signup

    2 minutes

    The button below goes to the official signup. Enter an email address or phone number and a password, then confirm the verification code.

  2. Choose country, currency, industry and time zone

    Hard to undo

    Pick the country you will genuinely advertise and bill from. Account currency and credit payout currency follow from it, and changing it afterwards is not simple. The time zone is set here too, and it defines where the day breaks in your reporting.

  3. Enter the business details

    5 minutes

    Legal or trading name, business address, website or sales channel, and a contact. The name you type here has to match the name on your verification document exactly.

  4. Accept the terms and create the account

    1 minute

    Accepting creates the ad account. From this moment the 30 days on the new advertiser credit are running.

Create your TikTok ad accountPartner link

Goes to the official TikTok for Business signup. Creating and registering the account is free, and nothing is charged until you run ads.

Business verification and the documents it needs

TikTok checks that the business is real before ads go live, and the review takes working days, so submit on the same day you open the account. The in-app business verification flow runs like this.

  1. Open settings

    From your profile homepage, tap the menu icon in the top-right corner.

  2. Go to business verification

    Select Settings and privacy, tap Account, then choose Business verification.

  3. Accept the terms

    Review and agree to the terms and conditions, then tap Get started. You have to be 18 or over.

  4. Enter the business information

    Select the country or region the business operates in, optionally add phone, website and industry, then tap Next.

  5. Upload the document

    Upload the verification document, enter the Legal business name and Business license ID exactly as they appear on it, then tap Next.

  6. Verify identity

    Choose SMS or Voice Call as the verification method and tap Submit.

  7. Wait for review

    Approval typically takes one to five business days. When it clears you get an in-app notification and a confirmation email at the address tied to the TikTok account.

Advertising as an individual rather than a registered business goes down a separate individual identity verification path. Which documents are accepted varies by region, and again the list on the screen is the one that applies.

Adding a payment method

Choose the billing option first, then add the method. Manual payment means topping a balance up in advance and spending it down. Automatic payment means TikTok charges the card on file once a threshold or bill date arrives.

  1. Open the billing screen

    In TikTok Ads Manager, open the Tools tab, then Billing under Settings.

  2. Top up for manual payment

    On the Payment page, click Add balance. Whatever is left over carries forward to the next campaign.

  3. Add a card for automatic payment

    Add the payment method on the same page and set it as primary. You can hold several and nominate one as primary.

If you need the numbers firstCampaign and ad group daily minimums, CPC, CPM, oCPM and CPV billing, and how a first month budget splits

Pixel and events setup

The TikTok Pixel is a piece of code on your site that shares website events with TikTok. Without it a campaign cannot optimise towards conversions and you cannot see whether the ads sold anything. If conversions are the objective, finish this before the first campaign goes live.

  1. Open Events Manager

    In TikTok Ads Manager, click Tools, then Events Manager.

  2. Connect a data source

    Click Connect Data Source and select Web.

  3. Create and name the pixel

    Choose the connection method, then create the pixel and name it. Every event sent to that pixel code collects under this name, so matching it to your site or domain saves confusion later.

  4. Define the events

    Under Select Setup Method choose Event Builder, enter your business URL and click Launch Event Builder. Use Button Clicks to measure a specific button or element being clicked, or URL Visits to measure a visit to a URL containing a given keyword.

  5. Verify it fires

    Confirm the pixel is actually sending before you turn the campaign on. If the site runs Google Tag Manager, there is a supported setup path through the tag manager as well.

Structuring the first campaign

A TikTok campaign has three levels. The campaign sets the objective, the ad group sets audience, budget and placement, and the ad carries the creative. That structure is why the budget minimum lands in two places rather than one.

LevelWhat is decided hereIf this is your first one
CampaignAdvertising objective, campaign budget, whether campaign budget optimisation is onPick one objective. Mixing awareness and conversion in one campaign teaches the system neither.
Ad groupAudience, placement, daily or total budget, schedule, optimisation goal and bidOne group per audience or creative set. Slicing it finer pushes each group under the minimum.
AdThe video creative, the copy, the landing URL and the display nameThree or four creatives in the group. With one, there is nothing to compare a winner against.

The budget minimum applies separately at campaign and ad group level, and a campaign budget lower than the ad group budget under it can cause delivery issues.

SourceTikTok Ads Manager Help Center, about budget

Prepare the creative as vertical video. It outperforms static images on TikTok by a wide margin. Existing product footage or review clips will carry the first week, and the replacements for week two can be made while that runs.

The 30-day clock is already running

The new advertiser window is 30 days from the registration date, not from the day the first ad goes live. Up to five business days on verification plus a few on creative comes straight out of the days you have left to spend. Running registration, verification and creative in parallel is the single most useful trick in this programme.

  • Submit business verification the day you register, and build the creative while it is in review.
  • Add the payment method during that same wait. The card verification charge can take up to 15 days to come back.
  • Install the pixel before the first campaign starts. Adding it later leaves no data for the period before it.
  • Fix the bracket you are aiming at, then divide it by the days remaining to get the daily budget. A daily budget set too low will not clear the threshold even across the whole window.
Open the account and start the 30 daysPartner link

Registering costs nothing. Reach a threshold within 30 days of registering and the same amount comes back as ad credit.

The new advertiser ad credit, brackets and eligibilityFive 1:1 brackets from $200 to $6,000, who qualifies and who does not, and when the credit lands

Frequently asked

Is a TikTok Business account the same as an ad account?
No. The app account that posts videos, the TikTok for Business ad account that builds and pays for campaigns, and Business Center that manages several accounts and users are three different things. Running ads needs the ad account, and that is also where the new advertiser credit attaches.
How long does it take to open a TikTok ads account?
Creating the account takes about ten minutes. Business verification approval typically takes one to five business days, so that is what actually sets the timeline to getting an ad live.
Do I need a registered business to advertise?
Business verification requires a valid business licence matching the region the business operates in. TikTok also has a separate individual identity verification path, but which documents are accepted varies by region, so read the list shown on the upload screen.
Do I have to install the pixel?
If you want to optimise towards conversions, yes. Without it TikTok cannot see which impressions led to a result, so conversion optimisation does not work. Awareness and reach campaigns will run without it, but it is worth installing at the start regardless.
How many ad groups should the first campaign have?
As few as the budget allows. The daily minimum applies to each ad group, so slicing finely either pushes groups under the minimum or scatters the budget before anything learns. Start with one group and three or four creatives and see what wins.
When should I register if I want the credit?
Once creative and the landing page are roughly ready. The 30 days run from registration, so registering with nothing prepared spends the window on verification and production. That said, verification itself takes days, so do not delay registration much either. Registering and then running verification and creative in parallel is the efficient version.

Run it yourself, or hand it over

SELLi is an official TikTok strategic partner and runs TikTok Shop setup and operations, paid media and live commerce directly. Selling Starbucks Vietnam merchandise on TikTok Live is one example. You can take the credit into your own account and hand over only the running of it.

If you are running it yourself, opening the account is step one. The 30-day clock starts the day you register.

Create the TikTok ad accountPartner link

If you would rather work out the first month split and the creative plan with someone who has run it, talk to us.

Talk to us about running it

Sources

Partner link disclosure: the start buttons on this page are SELLi partner links, and SELLi may earn a commission from TikTok if you sign up through one. There is no extra cost to you. TikTok alone sets the credit and pricing terms.