Author: Abby Gleason
Fact: People want advice from Reddit. Searchers have been appending [Reddit] to Google search queries at an increasingly high rate (especially since late 2021), and Google has been rewarding the platform with massively increased SERP visibility.
But what is it about Reddit that searchers (and Google) like? As an SEO, I’ll admit I didn’t think forum sites had the potential to be SEO powerhouses:
There’s no clear, immediate indicator of contributors’ expertise.
Spam and sometimes offensive speech crops up.
The content itself doesn’t follow typical on-page best practices, like scannable headings and summarization.
Despite all of this, it turns out that forum sites like Reddit are exactly what some searchers are looking for. Put simply, their content is incredibly human. Reddit threads exist for nearly every topic, filled with helpful, firsthand advice and the signature candid remarks of frequent forum lurkers.
With AI-generated content and “SEO-ed” affiliate content flooding the SERPs, users are getting wise and turning to the realest corners of the internet when they need advice they can trust.
This is why it’s more important than ever to have a human touch in your content strategy.
In this article, we’ll dive into:
The meteoric rise of Reddit’s SEO
Reddit hasn’t always been an organic powerhouse. In fact, prior to mid-2023, SEO traffic had been incredibly flat since the site launched in 2005.
In June 2023, Reddit was attracting about 80 million monthly visitors from Google, according to Ahrefs. In March 2024, it brought in nearly 500 million monthly visitors. That’s more than a 500% increase in less than nine months.
In addition, Reddit shows up 97.5% of the time in Google Search product review queries and takes up nearly two-thirds of the space reserved for Google’s “Discussions and forums” SERP feature.
Put simply, Google is heavily prioritizing Reddit in search results.
Why did Reddit’s traffic increase so dramatically?
Google announced its “Hidden Gems” helpful content update in May 2023, right before Reddit started seeing the traffic increase.
In Google’s own words, it tweaked its search results to “focus on content with unique expertise and experience… created from a personal or expert point of view.” Reddit is chock-full of these “hidden gems.”
“Helpful information can often live in unexpected or hard-to-find places: a comment in a forum thread, a post on a little-known blog, or an article with unique expertise on a topic. Our helpful content ranking system will soon show more of these ‘hidden gems’ on Search, particularly when we think they’ll improve the results.” — Google, May 2023
My personal hypothesis is that Google’s Hidden Gems update occurred in part due to more searchers appending [Reddit] to their queries over time.
For example, see the increase in popularity of searches for [best protein powder reddit].
I, myself, add [Reddit] to quite a few queries, primarily when I want advice from real people. I want to avoid affiliate link-filled articles written by generative AI—basically, I want to read suggestions from experienced people who aren’t incentivized beyond wanting to help.
Others feel similarly. I asked folks on why they add [Reddit] to queries and got some similar responses.
Generally, searchers prefer Reddit when they want an unbiased opinion, social proof, or are searching for a particularly niche topic. In terms of topics, this can span pretty much anything from product recommendations to life advice and everything in between.
Google itself even gave “product recommendations” and “travel advice” as examples of two key topic areas in which searchers frequently turn to Reddit.
Side note: The reason I think people search on Google for Reddit threads (instead of searching directly on Reddit) is because Google’s algorithm does a better job of surfacing relevant threads—not necessarily because users want more Reddit in all their search results.
How to use Reddit’s best practices in your own content strategy
You don’t have to run a forum to replicate Reddit’s best SEO plays for your own website. You can add unique, human elements to your content to instill trust with users the way Reddit does by:
Hiring writers/editors that have firsthand expertise
Adding a rating system for your content
Fostering a healthy comments section
Prioritizing UX by getting to the point quickly
Writing with a distinct voice
Hire writers and editors that have firsthand expertise with the topic
I’m not burying the lede—this is the most important tip in this article, and the number one reason why I think people turn to Reddit: users with a variety of real experiences can share their experience to help others learn.
Searchers want to trust that the content’s writers and/or editors have firsthand expertise in the topic they are writing about. For example, if you are searching for [best travel backpacks], you want advice from someone who has personally tested out several travel backpacks and can recommend the best ones based on price and quality.
Do your due diligence—hire writers and/or editors that have firsthand experience in what they are recommending. It’s obvious when advice is generic, and your audience will sniff that out right away.
If you don’t have a writer with personal experience in your topic, you may be able to find other ways to crowdsource that expertise. For my previous client, for example, my team crowdsourced ideas from the client’s Facebook group and embedded them into the content.
In one blog post that we applied this tactic to (about what to bring a friend in the hospital), the comments really added value for our audience because they knew they could trust other people who’d been through the same thing—it developed instant trust and rapport.
You can also interview subject matter experts and include their quotes in your content. Whether your writer has the expertise or you source it elsewhere, ensure that the reader knows why they can trust your advice.
Add a rating system for your content
The comment rating system is something I love about Reddit—even though I can’t prove that the commenter has expertise, I gain trust from others upvoting (or “liking”) and replying to the comment.
Social proof builds trust. Sorting content by “likes” provides additional validation that the advice is sound. Sure, I’d be willing to trust one person giving me advice if they clearly had experience… But I’m more willing to trust the advice when I have other readers’ endorsement as well.
In your own content, you could allow readers to “like” the sections in your listicles. Next to each list item, you could either show the number of likes or clearly mark “#1 most liked” to prove its been validated by other readers. Consider setting the post to automatically sort by the most liked sections, or frequently update it manually.
In its simplest form, try including a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” button on your articles so readers can see how much others liked it. This can also help you learn about what types of content your audience prefers.
Foster a healthy comments section
Reddit is basically one giant comments section. Reviews and article comments can be a great way to add relevant on-page content that provides additional expertise.
For example, the New York Times Cooking recipes have one of the best comment sections I’ve seen. Recipe testers share their feedback and offer tweaks that worked for them. It adds a lot of value to the content and is one of the reasons I subscribe.
Or take The Sill, an eCommerce plant company. In its plant care guides, the brand features a comment section where readers can ask additional questions—the company answers nearly every question.
Pro tip: The questions your audience asks in the comments can provide helpful insights for your product or future content as well.
Get to the point—fast
Reddit gives you answers, fast. The first answer in a thread is often the most upvoted and may give you the advice you need.
Strive to provide a similar experience with your content. We all dread the recipe blogs where you need to scroll for half a minute to get to what you’re looking for. So instead of burying the answers and frustrating your readers, include clear answers and takeaways that they can easily scan.
You should also evaluate the design and experience of your page. Reddit has minimal interruptions, like ads or pop-ups, making helpful comments the main content on the page.
Write with a distinct voice
Reddit is notorious for featuring snarky voices. The witty, humorous responses make for an entertaining reading experience. The storytelling and raw, “real life” anecdotes certainly add some flavor when looking up product recommendations.
Obviously I’m not suggesting you add cuss words or emojis to your brand’s messaging. But consider the essence of what makes Reddit readable:
Straightforward advice
Personable tone
Not afraid to have a bit of fun
Brand voice will differ for every business, but don’t be afraid to use the language you know your audience resonates with. That’s what makes your content not just informative, but memorable.
Take a page from ‘the front page of the internet’
Searchers love Reddit’s content so much they search for it by name. By incorporating human elements, like firsthand expertise, into your content or fostering a healthy comments section, you develop trust with your audience—and trust is the real SEO best practice.
