Oct 9 2024
A Beginner’s Guide To Reddit: How To Get Started via @sejournal, @brentcsutoras

Reddit is a dynamic social media platform that allows individuals to engage in thousands of existing communities, known as subreddits, or even create their own subreddit if an existing one doesn’t exist or suit their needs.

Users can browse, engage with, or submit content to these subreddits. There’s a voting system that determines the content’s visibility, allowing popular content to rise to the top, while less engaging content moves further down the feed.

Screenshot from reddit homepageScreenshot from Reddit, September 2024

For non-logged-in users, Reddit’s front page displays a curated view of content from various “safe” communities, which is organized by popularity.

Logged-in users see a personalized front page featuring content from their subscribed subreddits, again ranked by popularity.

Reddit’s Unique Position In Social Media

Reddit has played a significant role in shaping internet culture, including:

  • Influencing meme creation and propagation.
  • Pioneering crowdfunding initiatives.
  • Popularizing the AMA (Ask Me Anything) interview format.
  • Fostering deep, meaningful online discussions.

For marketers, Reddit presents a unique opportunity to connect with potential customers in a space where users actively seek to learn, debate, and engage with topics they’re passionate about.

Reddit’s reach and engagement are impressive:

Reddit’s user base is diverse and valuable, with a growing international presence (over 50% of traffic now originates outside the U.S.).

The platform attracts a well-educated audience with significant purchasing power, making it an attractive target for marketers.

Additionally, the platform’s influence extends beyond its own ecosystem.

In 2024, Google entered a $60 million agreement with Reddit to provide real-time content access and utilize its data in AI model training.

This partnership has increased Reddit’s visibility in search results, with users often appending “reddit” to their queries to access more authentic information.

Google search for [best electric car suv 2024]Screenshot from search for [best electric car suv 2024], Google, September 2024

To succeed on Reddit, it’s crucial to understand its unique characteristics and unwritten rules.

Subreddit-Specific Rules

While Reddit has overarching guidelines, each subreddit operates with its own set of rules. These can be highly specific and vary greatly between communities.

Reddit (/r/socialmedia)Screenshot from Reddit (/r/socialmedia), September 2024
Reddit (/r/socialmedia)Screenshot from Reddit (/r/funny), September 2024

For instance, r/dataisbeautiful, one of Reddit’s most popular subreddits, requires all diagrams to have at least one computer-generated element.

Always review a subreddit’s rules before participating to avoid potential bans.

The Value Of Pseudonymity

Reddit’s culture is built on pseudonymity. Most users, including founders and administrators, operate under usernames that don’t reveal their real-world identities.

Unless you’re managing a branded account for advertising purposes or overseeing a branded subreddit, it’s advisable to use a pseudonym.

For those with branded accounts, maintaining a separate pseudonymous account for general participation is recommended.

Reddit allows multiple accounts per user, provided they’re not used to manipulate the voting system.

Understanding Reddit’s Algorithm

Reddit’s content ranking algorithm uses a logarithmic scale based on upvotes, downvotes, and other engagement factors.

In simple terms, the first 10 votes on a submission carry as much weight as the next 100, which in turn carry as much weight as the next 1,000.

This means that initial engagement is crucial for a submission’s success. However, attempting to manipulate this system is strongly discouraged and can result in severe penalties.

Instead, focus on creating high-quality titles and descriptions, and consider adding thoughtful comments to encourage positive engagement.

Keep in mind that Reddit’s algorithm now also considers factors like comments and overall user interaction.

Becoming An Active Redditor

To truly understand and succeed on Reddit, it’s essential to become an active participant in the community.

Reddit communitiesScreenshot from Reddit, September 2024

Engage with subreddits aligned with your interests and expertise.

Familiarize yourself with the nuances of each community and contribute to discussions where you can add value.

Learn the Reddit language so that when you engage in each Subreddit, you sound like you belong.

Trust me, there are a lot of Reddit terms and phrases you definitely do not know but should if you want to have success on Reddit. Check out this handy Reddit Lingo Guide.

The Importance Of Commenting

Commenting is a fundamental aspect of Reddit participation. It’s the primary way to connect with other users, demonstrate community involvement, and even help avoid being labeled as a spammer.

To build karma efficiently, monitor the “rising” tab and contribute early to posts gaining traction, as well as participate in lower barriers to entry subreddits, like /r/meme, /r/oddlysatisfying, and /r/aww.

Avoiding The Spam Label

Reddit’s definition of spam is different from other platforms, but it’s clear they take it seriously, and if you’re not careful, you can quickly be labeled as a spammer.

Spam on Reddit isn’t just about posting links or overly promotional content – it’s more nuanced and tied to how you engage with the community.

Let’s break down the major actions that could get you flagged as spam on Reddit:

Exclusively Posting Self-Created Content

Reddit is a place to share and discuss, not just promote your own material.

If all you do is post your own stuff without engaging with others or sharing content from other sources, you’ll quickly be seen as self-serving, which will limit your success on Reddit.

Posting Without Engaging In Comments

This is one of the most common pitfalls. You can’t just drop a link and disappear.

Reddit is all about community interaction, so if you’re not jumping into the conversation around your post or others, you’re missing the point.

Comments are where the magic happens – it’s your chance to build credibility and trust.

Submitting Off-Topic Content To A Subreddit

Each subreddit has its own culture, tone, and rules.

Posting content that doesn’t align with the community’s focus is a quick way to be labeled as a spammer.

Take the time to understand what each subreddit values, and tailor your contributions accordingly.

Excessive Posting In A Single Subreddit

Overposting, even with good content, can make you look like you’re just there to push your agenda. Balance is key.

Spread your contributions across different subreddits, and ensure you add value rather than just trying to gain exposure.

Repeatedly Posting Poorly Received Content

If your posts aren’t resonating with the community, take a step back and reassess.

Maybe your content isn’t the right fit, or perhaps the way you’re presenting it doesn’t match the subreddit’s tone.

Learn from the feedback – or lack of engagement – and adjust your approach.

Cross-Posting Identical Content Across Multiple Subreddits

This feels lazy and reeks of self-promotion.

Redditors are savvy, and they can spot someone who’s trying to game the system a mile away.

If you’re going to share similar content in different subreddits, tailor it to each community to show that you’ve put in the effort to understand their specific interests.

Ultimately, Reddit values authenticity and genuine interaction. Posting is not enough – you need to participate actively.

Treat Reddit like a real-world community, focus on being part of the conversation, and you’ll avoid being seen as a spammer while building credibility and trust.

Identifying Suitable Subreddits

Identifying suitable subreddits is one of the most crucial steps to succeeding on Reddit as a marketer.

While engaging with communities that match your personal interests helps you learn the ropes, you need to go a step further and target subreddits that align with your business goals.

Remember, Reddit isn’t a one-size-fits-all platform, so your strategy has to be intentional and tailored to each community.

Here’s how to be strategic in finding the right subreddits:

Leverage Reddit’s Search Function

Use the “site:domain.com” search parameter to uncover where your content – or your competitors’ – is being discussed.

This helps you identify communities already interested in your industry or niche. It’s a quick way to figure out where conversations are happening about topics related to your business.

Refine Your Search

Once you have an idea of where your content might fit, dig deeper by going into your selected subreddit and searching “site:domain.com” (you will notice the subreddit included in the left of the search box by default).

This lets you analyze how your content performs in specific subreddits, giving you insights into which communities are most receptive.

You’ll quickly see what tone, format, and subject matter work best in each one.

Study The Sidebar Rules

Every subreddit has its own culture and guidelines, and these aren’t suggestions – they’re rules.

Before posting, always check the sidebar to ensure your content aligns with the community’s standards.

Failing to do this is one of the fastest ways to get your content removed or, worse, get banned.

Look For Emerging Subreddits

Established subreddits can be crowded and harder to break into, but newer or smaller subreddits often seek more content and engagement.

They present a fantastic opportunity to gain visibility and influence early on.

Keep an eye on trending or fast-growing communities that align with your niche. This is where you can become a go-to source before your competition even knows they exist.

When you take the time to find the right subreddits and understand their nuances, you’ll be much more effective in reaching your target audience and building genuine connections.

Creating Effective Reddit Content

Creating content that resonates on Reddit requires more than repurposing material from other platforms.

Redditors are discerning and quick to reject anything that feels overly promotional or irrelevant, so it’s crucial to understand the community’s values and engagement style.

  • Analyze The “TOP” Tab: Check the “TOP” posts in relevant subreddits to see which topics, formats, and tones perform best. This helps you understand what resonates with the community and tailor your content accordingly.
  • Use The “site:domain.com” Search Technique: Search for posts mentioning your domain or competitors to identify what’s working. Analyze titles, framing, and responses to find successful patterns you can adapt.
  • Create Reddit-Specific Content: Design content specifically for Reddit, such as AMAs, behind-the-scenes insights, or unique Reddit discounts. Focus on being authentic and valuable to gain traction.
  • Engage With The Community: Don’t just post and leave – actively participate in the comments. Engaging with users builds credibility and strengthens connections with your audience.
  • Adapt And Iterate: Regularly review your content’s performance across subreddits and adjust your approach based on feedback to ensure you’re always aligning with what works.

By tailoring your approach to fit the unique culture of Reddit, you’ll create content that not only gets noticed but also builds genuine connections with the community.

Maintaining Integrity On Reddit

Reddit isn’t a place to cut corners or game the system.

Its anti-spam and anti-manipulation systems are advanced and constantly evolving to catch attempts at cheating, using machine learning, domain filtering, and rate limiting.

If caught manipulating the voting system or pushing your content too aggressively, you risk both account and permanent domain bans.

The Reddit community values authenticity, and any attempt to manipulate will quickly backfire, damaging your reputation.

Instead, take a page from TikTok’s approach – engage openly and authentically, even if you face criticism.

If you want a real presence on Reddit, invest the time to understand the platform, respect its culture, and engage genuinely. Follow the rules, be transparent, and avoid tricks.

The long-term rewards far outweigh any short-term gains from gaming the system.

Start Now, Thrive Tomorrow

As Reddit’s influence continues to expand, the smartest move is to dive in now and familiarize yourself with how things work.

Reddit’s dedicated, thriving communities offer a unique chance to connect, but it’s a space that rewards genuine effort. The partnerships with Google and OpenAI show Reddit’s only going to get bigger, so this is your moment to get ahead of the curve.

By getting involved today and respecting its culture, you’ll set yourself up to tap into one of the internet’s most engaged and influential platforms.

Success on Reddit isn’t about shortcuts – it’s about being part of the conversation now, so you’re ready to win tomorrow.

More resources:

Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 8 2024
Reddit Masterclass via @sejournal, @Kevin_Indig

The ascension of Reddit to one of the largest sites on the web over the last 15 months is quite controversial and unique. Never in the history of SEO has a site grown that fast to such a level.

In a recent interview on the Motley Fool Money podcast, CEO Steve Huffman paints a picture of how large sites can succeed on Google you shouldn’t miss.

Reddit vs. the largest sites on the webImage Credit: Kevin Indig

I extracted the key quotes and added my own takes below. Every quote is verbatim, but I removed filler words.

The takeaway questions at the end of each section hopefully inspire you to find new growth opportunities.

I optionally uploaded this Memo to NotebookLM’s new podcast feature, so you can listen to it if you like.


I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments about whether you prefer reading or listening to Memos!

On: Growth

We made sign up much, much easier.We made both the website and the app much faster. We redesigned it in a lot of little ways so it’s easier on the eyes. There are fewer bugs. And our home feed has gotten much better at making recommendations of communities that you might like. [We’re] getting people into their home on Reddit and then finding all their interests much more effectively.

We used to be more aggressive about ‘hey, login, download the app’. That worked in the short term, but long term, it was just kind of annoying because in that moment, that person probably has a question and Reddit likely has the Answer, but they’re not looking to be on Reddit in that moment. They’re trying to do something. I’m trying to buy this thing or I’m trying to get an answer to this question.

Our attitude now is give the person what they want. Give them the answer, let them see all the content, let them go about their day and trust that we’ll see them again on the front page or opening the app when they’re more primed to have the community experience. Every time they come to Reddit and get the Answer, they’re learning ‘Reddit has the Answer to my questions’. That alone is really valuable.

As we’ve learned from the recent Google ranking factor leak and Google lawsuits, user engagement can trump any other ranking factor.

Logically, the more friction you remove for users, the easier it will be for them to solve their problems, and the better the signals you send to Google.

The key point here is that these changes are related to the product, not just the website. The product experience influences SEO.

The effect of positive user signals is often masked by time, as Google takes months to collect user behavior for queries and might only slowly reward sites.

The slow pace starkly contrasts the fact that companies are often incentivized to harvest short-term gains, usually by adding friction to the experience rather than removing it. While there is a balance to be had, the result is usually worse user engagement signals.

Brand recognition in the search results plays into the same challenge: When visitors have a good experience with a site or product, they’re more likely to click on it again when they see it in the search results.

If they encounter too much friction signing up or a poor product experience, though, that opportunity goes out the window.

Takeaway questions:

  • How can you improve your product and onboarding experience?
  • Do you have too much friction in the sign-up process to allow users a good experience?
  • Where can you take friction away, and where do you need to find a compromise?
  • How do you measure user experience on the site vs. in the product?

Either you haven’t heard of Reddit or it didn’t work for you. Those are the number two we’re really focused on. There’s a third one, which is you don’t speak English. That’s the next frontier of Reddit.

We can actually translate the existing Reddit corpus into other languages at human quality. Now, not all the content is relevant, but a lot of it is. We have been testing this in France, in French in the first half this year, and it’s gone very, very well.

After winning in the U.S., international markets are a huge growth lever for Reddit, and machine translation has become good enough for most cases. The Hidden Gems update initiated Reddit’s rise in the SERPs – not just in the U.S. – and Reddit needs to capture the momentum.

As a marketplace, it faces the classic chicken-egg problem: You need content to attract users, but users need to create the content.

In the U.S., Reddit has famously solved the problem with fake users.

In international markets, Reddit can use the content it already has to stimulate new content creation and “make the site feel alive.” The key is to get the translation good enough, and that’s where Reddit uses machine learning.

Takeaway questions:

  • What assets do you have in your core market that you could leverage to enter new markets?
  • Can you use machine translation to get to “good enough” quickly?
  • Do you have momentum in INTL markets that you should capitalize on?

On: SEO

We made our website substantially faster – two to five times faster. We launched this in May of 2023. Googlebot likes speed, and faster pages rank higher and get indexed faster.

When our website got a lot faster, we started ranking higher. Users are having a better experience on Reddit. It creates this Flywheel that we’re really benefiting from as we see a lot of new and core users coming from search.

A lot of SEO pros miss this: Google crawls and indexes faster sites more.

As a direct ranking factor, speed and Core Web Vitals optimization have the biggest impact on ecommerce.

I don’t recommend prioritizing it for other types of sites – unless you see a high amount of discovered, not indexed or crawled, not indexed pages in your Google Search Console pages report in combination with low CWV scores. As a result, crawl and indexing rates are relevant metrics for site speed as well.

Takeaway questions:

  • Could (server) speed be the reason you’re seeing a high amount of discovered, not indexed or crawled, not indexed pages in GSC?
  • Could you slim down the amount of stuff Google has to download to render the page without a massive resource investment?

We have no idea how search works. Nobody does. Right? Right. Nobody does.

Google algorithm and product changes sometimes help, sometimes hurt, but we don’t live or die by them by any means.

The art of SEO is leaning into it really hard and then diversifying. It’s like investing: Double down on something and diversify once you have wealth.

A common approach to getting wealthy is to double down on one investment and diversify once you’ve reached a certain return to hedge your bets. SEO for marketplaces should be no different. The question here is how dependent Reddit is on Google for growth.

My take is that, Reddit depends on Google for its top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) but provides a good enough experience that users would come to Reddit even if a Search algo update brought it back to its 2022 baseline.

Over 50% of Reddit’s traffic comes from SEO and 42% direct, according to Similarweb. But Search is not Search. There is branded and non-branded SEO traffic.

A significant number of searchers append “Reddit” to their queries, which is an incredibly strong ranking signal for Google and shows that users want Reddit results specifically.

Reddit also saw strong user growth due to its exploding presence in Search. So, both are true: Reddit needs Search to grow but wouldn’t die without its front-row seat.

Takeaway questions:

  • Are you at the point at which you should diversify from SEO?
  • How can you stimulate more brand searches?

On: Brand Search

If you go to Google Trends, you can see this: Reddit is the sixth most searched word on Google in 2024 in the U.S. last year. Number five is news, and maybe number eight is maps.

People are going to Google looking for Reddit. A lot of those users are already logged in. They’re actually core Reddit users. They’re using Google to navigate Reddit. If you’re just searching on the Internet, there’s a good chance you end up on Reddit.

This quote goes back to my previous point and addresses the common criticism that Reddit’s search is so bad that users need to use Google. But isn’t that in Reddit’s interest?

If Google is Reddit’s TOFU and searches that include “Reddit” are a strong signal, why would Reddit improve its onsite search and kill that behavior?

Reddit needs to thread the needle and make the experience good enough that users signal up once they find a Reddit result but not so bad that users can’t find anything on Reddit.

To be fair, the chance of coming across a Reddit result on the web sooner or later is incredibly high since the platform is huge. It also hosts many small but passionate sub-communities that form one large community.

Other than Reddits competitors, which are mostly small niche forums, its footprint on the web is large enough to allow poor site search. Not every business can get into such a position, but some can.

Takeaway questions:

  • Do users love you so much that they would search your site on Google even if your onsite search were poor?
  • Is your footprint large enough that users would come to you either way?

On: Monetization

Our ad server doesn’t care if you’re logged out or logged in. They both have a user id. The main difference between a logged in user and a logged out user is logged in users spend more time on Reddit. So, we’ll have a more fulsome view of what your interests are, because over time, people join more and more communities on Reddit.

You might have 100 subscriptions or more and a logged out user doesn’t have any. They may have just visited a few subreddits. The main difference in value to us between a logged in user and a logged out user is time spent of the logged in accounts, they just have more inventory. But we monetize logged out users as well.

There’s broadly two ways that we’ll target an ad. One is based on your explicitly expressed interest on Reddit. If you join the skiing subreddit, you’re likely to see outdoor ads. The other is the context of what you’re looking at.

If you’re on a comments page, we call them post detail pages, that page is likely mentioning a company or companies by name and often specific products. We can target an ad based on the context as well.

We think targeting based on your explicit interests or the context of what you’re looking at are healthy and explainable and not creepy ways of targeting ads. What we don’t do is we don’t target ads based on your personal information, your Internet browsing habits.

Reddit’s ad targeting system is very similar to Google’s. Instead of tracking user behavior and interests, Reddit and Google target them based on their search query or subreddits and posts.

The benefit is not just a lower “creep factor” but also less dependency on logged-in users.

As a matter of fact, about half of Reddit’s daily active users (DAU) are logged in and half logged out.

Meta, for example, couldn’t operate under these circumstances. They need more logged-in users for ad targeting.

Quarterly Average DAUq

Takeaway question:

  • What intent can you derive from pages users visited, e.g., with a customer journey intelligence platform or attribution model?

30% to 60% of our users are not on the other platforms.

40% of conversations on Reddit are about products or product recommendations.

First of all, these are stunning statistics. Reddit has a unique audience, which is rare as a social platform, but speaks about the passion and engagement of its many sub-communities.

Second, the fact that almost half of Reddit’s conversations are about products might explain why Google ranks Reddit so highly for so many product-related keywords.

In my Deep Dive on the Digital Publishing Industry, I found that Reddit appears for at least 26% of affiliate keywords.

Reddit’s visibility in the space seems to be justified by its content and Google’s ambition to display better content for products.

Cases like House Fresh, an affiliate site that got published badly by Google for unknown reasons, while big affiliate sites seem to be sloppy with their product reviews, highlight how hard it is to find good affiliate content.

I also referenced a study from Germany that shows how easy it is to identify affiliate content based on borderline spammy optimization.

Even though Reddit is by no means perfect and needs to find ways to combat spam, it’s still a place on the web where users can find unfiltered product reviews.

Takeaway questions:

  • How can you be present in Reddit’s product conversations in an open, transparent way?
  • Should you start a Subreddit or engage more passively?
  • What can you learn from product conversions about your space on Reddit?

On: Moderation

Every content starts at zero points. Human beings have to vote on a piece of content up and not down to make it popular. Stuff that’s out of alignment with the community or if you’re being a jerk in the comments is likely to get voted down. In that sense, every user is a moderator on Reddit because every user can vote.

Then we have users called moderators. They’re not employees. These are the users who create communities on Reddit. They write the rules that can be as strict as they want for their communities. They write that and enforce it for themselves.

Of course, we have our own safety team. Those are our employees. We enforce our policies at scale. We have all sorts of fancy tooling for doing so. By the way, we expose much of that tooling, all the AI stuff to the user, moderators as well. They have all sorts of filtering and this and that. By and large, Reddit is a really safe and welcoming place because it’s organized by community.

Again, Google’s decision to raise Reddit’s search visibility is controversial, and Reddit is by no means clean of spam.

Yet, Reddit’s multi-layered moderation of votes, Karma, moderators, and safety teams makes it a good experience for most users.

Takeaway question:

  • As a user platform, how can you leverage your user base for moderation, such as Twitter’s community notes?

, Motley Fool Podcasts: Reddit CEO on Ads, AI, and Search Engines

Reddit, Inc.

Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Sep 23 2024
Reddit Announces AI & Automation Features To Its Ads Manager via @sejournal, @brookeosmundson

Just in time for the holiday advertising surge, Reddit announced new AI and automation features to its Ads Manager.

In their announcement last week, Reddit unveiled three distinct features to help advertisers unlock new opportunities for growth.

These new features aim to especially help SMBs or any advertiser looking to get started in Reddit Ads.

Read on to discover the new features available now in the Reddit Ads Manager.

Reddit Ads Inspiration Library

The first new feature Reddit launched to its Ads Manager is the new inspiration library.

It uses AI and automation to create a collection of top-performing Reddit ad creative that is received well by its communities.

For each ad, the library uses an AI model to determine and show what Reddit creative best practices were used to achieve peak performance.

Some of the benefits for advertisers include:

  • Quickly identify top-performing ad copies
  • Find top-performing ads relevant to your industry or campaign objective
  • See the top three best practices used and identified in order to integrate into your campaigns.

The New AI Copywriter

In efforts to make Reddit campaign creation and launch easier for marketers, Reddit’s next new feature helps with a time-consuming task: ad copy.

Currently in beta, Reddit announced its AI copywriter tool in Ads Manager.

It uses AI to generate ad copy specific to Reddit best practices and campaign inputs like target audience and product background.

If you’ve never created a Reddit ad before and want to test it out, this tool can help create a resonating message that’s unique to the Reddit communities you’re targeting instead of trying to write every ad from scratch.

The New Image Auto-Cropper

The last feature announced by Reddit is aimed to streamline campaign creation workflow even further with the auto-cropper tool.

When importing images into campaigns, Reddit’s auto-cropper tool will automatically crop to fit Reddit’s recommended display ratios.

As with any AI tool, always be sure to double-check images to ensure nothing important is cropped out in order to provide the best experience possible to users.

Why Advertisers Should Care

Advertisers of all sizes can benefit from these updates to the Reddit Ads Manager – but especially small businesses or brands just getting started with Reddit.

In a time where marketers are positioned to do more with less, any AI tool to help streamline workflow and optimization can help scale success faster.

It’s also worth exploring if you think your target audience is on Reddit or part of a Reddit community.

You may be surprised that Reddit has over 73 million daily active visitors – so don’t discount an opportunity to reach your target customer in a new atmosphere.

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Sep 9 2024
Reddit’s Strategy To Attract Advertisers: Interest-Based Targeting via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

As Reddit continues investing in its advertising platform, marketers and business owners can expect new ways to reach engaged audiences across various topics and communities.

In a recent episode of the AdExchanger Talks podcast, Jyotsna (Jyoti) Vaidee, Reddit’s VP of Ads Product, shared insights into how the platform is evolving to serve advertisers better while maintaining a positive user experience.

Authentic Conversations With Interested Consumers

One of Reddit’s key differentiators is its ability to facilitate authentic conversations among passionate users.

This presents a unique opportunity for marketers to connect with target audiences in a trusted and contextually relevant environment.

Vaidee highlights the potential for businesses to engage with interested users, stating:

“60% of Redditors actually want brands to participate in their communities and interact with them.”

By leveraging Reddit’s community-driven discussions, advertisers can deliver more targeted and impactful ad experiences that resonate with their desired demographics.

Reddit’s Interest-Based Ad Targeting

Vaidee discussed Reddit’s approach to ad targeting, which primarily relies on interest-based targeting derived from users’ interactions with content on the platform.

She mentioned moving towards auto-targeting, which leverages machine learning to analyze user behavior and deliver more relevant ads.

This means advertisers can reach audiences based on their demonstrated interests, even if those interests aren’t directly related to the advertiser’s product or service.

Vaidee states:

“On the targeting side… we have specific features we have launched, like keyword targeting. By our trajectory, what we’re moving towards is more and more, especially for the lower funnel specifically, is towards auto-targeting, and auto-targeting gives us the ability to not only build models on what we know about this specific user. But also, we’re learning and evolving as this user interacts with content on Reddit, as this user interacts with our ads, even.”

Vaidee gave the example of a yoga brand discovering that users interested in organic food are also likely to engage with their products.

Auto-targeting can help uncover these non-obvious connections, allowing advertisers to expand their reach effectively.

AI-Driven Advertising Solutions

Reddit heavily invests in AI-driven advertising solutions to help marketers achieve better results.

Vaidee emphasized the company’s focus on developing a full-funnel ad solution that leverages AI to enhance advertisers’ performance.

With the integration of AI capabilities, businesses can expect more advanced targeting options, auto-optimization of ad placements, and creative customization.

Vaidee states:

“We don’t have to make the same mistakes that I saw, you know, our other companies make, and then have to evolve and, you know, do, you know, migrations and whatnot to move towards this world of AI and Gen AI. I think we can quickly leapfrog to where we want to be. And I think technology, particularly Gen AI, is making it a more level playing field for smaller players.”

Expanding Ad Offerings While Prioritizing User Experience

As Reddit expands its ad offerings, it remains committed to ensuring a positive user experience.

Vaidee noted that Reddit balances monetization efforts with user controls and preferences.

Marketers can take advantage of new ad placements across various surfaces within Reddit, such as the feed, comments, and search results.

However, the platform also has user controls for ad categories like religious and political content, allowing individuals to tailor their ad experience.

This balance between monetization and user experience creates a win-win scenario for advertisers and Redditors.

Businesses can reach engaged audiences non-intrusively while users maintain control over the ads they see.

Measuring Ad Performance Across The Funnel

Vaidee discussed Reddit’s efforts to provide full-funnel measurement solutions.

The platform has launched features like Reddit Brand Lift and Conversion Lift, which help advertisers understand the impact of their campaigns on brand awareness and conversions.

Additionally, Reddit is working on integrating with advertisers more closely through third-party partnerships and the Conversions API (CAPI). These integrations will give advertisers more robust data to optimize their campaigns and measure ROI.

Vaidee states:

“We’re very focused on building for the full funnel of measurement. As you know, not too long ago, Reddit launched our Reddit Brand Lift, our in-house product, and we launched Conversion Lift. We are doing a lot in terms of integrating with advertisers more closely, whether through third parties or CAPI integration, so we can understand the signals better, which obviously translates to better performance and, you know, better measurement.”

Key Takeaways For Marketers & Business Owners

  1. Reddit’s unique audience targeting capabilities allow advertisers to reach users based on their demonstrated interests, even if they aren’t directly related to the advertiser’s product or service. This can help uncover new opportunities for audience expansion and engagement.
  2. The platform’s focus on facilitating authentic conversations within passionate communities provides a trusted environment for brands to connect with their target audiences. However, marketers should approach these communities with respect and aim to contribute value to the discussions.
  3. Reddit invests heavily in AI-driven advertising solutions, which can help marketers improve targeting, optimize ad placements, and enhance creative customization. Staying informed about new AI-powered features can help advertisers remain competitive on the platform.
  4. As Reddit expands its ad offerings, it remains committed to balancing monetization and user experience. Marketers should be mindful of this balance and aim to create non-intrusive ad experiences that align with user preferences.
  5. The platform offers full-funnel measurement solutions, such as Reddit Brand Lift and Conversion Lift, to help advertisers assess the impact of their campaigns. Advertisers should use these tools and closely monitor their campaign performance to optimize for better results.
  6. While Reddit presents exciting opportunities for advertisers, it is essential to approach the platform with a tailored strategy considering its user base’s unique characteristics and community dynamics. Marketers should invest time in understanding the platform’s ad offerings, targeting capabilities, and best practices to maximize their success on Reddit.

FAQ

How does Reddit’s interest-based ad targeting work?

Reddit’s interest-based ad targeting relies on user interactions with content on the platform. Advertisers can reach audiences based on demonstrated interests observed through their activities. This includes engagement with topics or communities, even if these interests don’t directly relate to the advertiser’s product or service.

  • Uses machine learning to analyze user behavior
  • Enables targeting beyond direct product interest
  • Allows discovery of non-obvious connections
  • Maximizes reach to interested users

For example, a yoga brand could target users interested in organic food, as they will likely engage with their products.

What is the role of AI in Reddit’s advertising solutions?

AI plays a significant role in Reddit’s advertising solutions. It helps enhance performance, productivity, and potential through advanced targeting options, auto-optimization of ad placements, and creative customization.

  • Targeting options: Advanced targeting allows for more focused ad delivery to relevant audiences.
  • Auto-optimization: AI optimizes ad placements for better performance.
  • Customization: AI helps create more tailored ad content.

This integration of AI allows marketers to deliver the right message at the right time, improving campaign effectiveness and ROI.

How is Reddit balancing ad offerings with user experience?

As Reddit expands its ad offerings, it commits to a positive user experience. The platform ensures this balance by implementing user controls and preferences for ads.

  • Ad placements: New ad placements across various surfaces like feed, comments, and search results.
  • User controls: Users can manage ad categories such as religious and political content.
  • Non-intrusive ads: Ads are designed to align with user preferences.

This approach benefits both advertisers and users. Businesses reach engaged audiences while users retain control over their ad experience.

What tools does Reddit offer for measuring ad performance?

Reddit provides several tools to help advertisers measure ad performance across the funnel. This includes in-house products and third-party integrations.

  • Reddit Brand Lift: Measures impact on brand awareness.
  • Conversion Lift: Assesses the effect on conversions.
  • Conversions API (CAPI): Integrates with third-party tools for better data insights.

These tools enable advertisers to optimize their campaigns and measure ROI effectively.

Featured Image: Tada Images/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Aug 7 2024
Reddit Considers Adding AI-Powered Search Results via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

During Reddit’s Q2 2024 earnings call, CEO Steve Huffman revealed the company is exploring implementing AI-powered search results on its platform.

Though details remain limited, this feature could enhance content discovery.

Huffman stated during the call:

“Later this year, we will begin testing new search result pages powered by AI to summarize and recommend content.”

He suggested this could help users find information on products, shows, and games and discover new communities.

Reddit’s consideration of AI search aligns with broader industry trends, as many tech companies integrate AI capabilities into their products.

Financial Context

This announcement was made alongside Reddit’s Q2 2024 financial results.

The company reported 54% year-over-year revenue growth, reaching $281.2 million for the quarter.

User growth also increased, though specific figures were not provided in this initial report.

Potential Challenges

While AI-powered search could improve content discovery, its implementation may face hurdles.

These could include technical challenges, user adoption concerns, and questions about how AI-curated results might affect the visibility of certain communities or content types on the platform.

Reddit hasn’t provided a specific timeline for testing or rolling out this feature, nor has it shared details on how it would be developed or implemented.

Reddit Blocks Most Search Engines

Any change to Reddit’s on-site search is notable, as it’s one of the only ways to search the website.

Reddit’s latest robots.txt update has prevented most search engines from crawling its recent content.

The big exception? Google, thanks to a $60M deal for AI training data.

See: Reddit Limits Search Engine Access, Google Remains Exception

Key points from the above article:

  • Only Google and Reddit’s on-site search can now reliably find fresh Reddit posts.
  • Bing, DuckDuckGo, and others are left in the cold for new content.
  • SEOs and marketers face new hurdles in tracking Reddit discussions.

This move fits the trend of platforms monetizing their content and protecting it from AI scrapers.

This could impact users in the following ways:

  • Users must use Google or Reddit’s native search for recent posts.
  • SEOs need new strategies for Reddit content monitoring.
  • Google gains an edge in providing access to Reddit’s vast user-generated content.

It’s a sign of the times as platforms balance openness with monetization in the AI era.

Looking Ahead

As Reddit continues to grow, reporting a 54% year-over-year revenue increase in Q2 2024, this AI initiative could play a pivotal role in the platform’s future.

As the company moves forward with testing and potential implementation, users and industry observers alike will be watching closely to see how this AI-powered search transforms the Reddit experience.

Featured Image: T. Schneider/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Jul 26 2024
Reddit Limits Search Engine Access, Google Remains Exception via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Reddit has recently tightened its grip on who can access its content, blocking major search engines from indexing recent posts and comments.

This move has sparked discussions in the SEO and digital marketing communities about the future of content accessibility and AI training data.

What’s Happening?

First reported by 404 Media, Reddit updated its robots.txt file, preventing most web crawlers from accessing its latest content.

Google, however, remains an exception, likely due to a $60 million deal that allows the search giant to use Reddit’s content for AI training.

Brent Csutoras, founder of Search Engine Journal, offers some context:

“Since taking on new investors and starting their pathway to IPO, Reddit has moved away from being open-source and allowing anyone to scrape their content and use their APIs without paying.”

The Google Exception

Currently, Google is the only major search engine able to display recent Reddit results when users search with “site:reddit.com.”

This exclusive access sets Google apart from competitors like Bing and DuckDuckGo.

Why This Matters

For users who rely on appending “Reddit” to their searches to find human-generated answers, this change means they’ll be limited to using Google or search engines that pull from Google’s index.

It presents new challenges for SEO professionals and marketers in monitoring and analyzing discussions on one of the internet’s largest platforms.

The Bigger Picture

Reddit’s move aligns with a broader trend of content creators and platforms seeking compensation for using their data in AI training.

As Csutoras points out:

“Publications, artists, and entertainers have been suing OpenAI and other AI companies, blocking AI companies, and fighting to avoid using public content for AI training.”

What’s Next?

While this development may seem surprising, Csutoras suggests it’s a logical step for Reddit.

He notes:

“It seems smart on Reddit’s part, especially since similar moves in the past have allowed them to IPO and see strong growth for their valuation over the last two years.”

FAQ

What is the recent change Reddit has made regarding content accessibility?

Reddit has updated its robots.txt file to block major search engines from indexing its latest posts and comments. This change exempts Google due to a $60 million deal, allowing Google to use Reddit’s content for AI training purposes.

Why does Google have exclusive access to Reddit’s latest content?

Google has exclusive access to Reddit’s latest content because of a $60 million deal that allows Google to use Reddit’s content for AI training. This agreement sets Google apart from other search engines like Bing and DuckDuckGo, which are unable to index new Reddit posts and comments.

What broader trend does Reddit’s recent move reflect?

Reddit’s decision to limit search engine access aligns with a larger trend where content creators and platforms seek compensation for the use of their data in AI training. Many publications, artists, and entertainers are taking similar actions to either block or demand compensation from AI companies using their content.

Featured Image: Mamun sheikh K/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Jul 11 2024
Reddit Subreddits To Google Search: Maximizing Your Brand’s Impact [Webinar Recap] via @sejournal, @brentcsutoras

Recently, I had the pleasure of hosting a webinar discussing Reddit, its growth, and how it impacts search results.

It’s been quite a while since I covered Reddit as a topic, but I could talk about it all day, and I think it has and is one of the most influential communities around today.

If you missed the presentation and would like to watch it, you can find it on demand here: From Subreddits to Search: Maximizing Your Brand’s Impact on Reddit.

Let’s dive into the key points we covered during the session.

The Current State Of Reddit

Reddit has seen explosive growth recently. Here are some stats that highlight this surge:

Reddit’s growth rate of 37% year-over-year is phenomenal, and it’s now 50% non-US, marking its impressive international expansion.

Why Reddit Has Become So Influential

Reddit is successful because it addresses a significant problem: the oversaturation of low-quality content on the internet.

Traditional search experiences are becoming less effective, and users seek more reliable, conversational answers.

Reddit fills this gap by providing authentic, user-generated content that is trusted by so many searchers today that they actually add [reddit] to the end of their search queries to force Reddit results.

Google has recognized this and has incorporated Reddit into its search results more prominently after the 2022 helpful content update.

Deals with Google and OpenAI underscore Reddit’s value, with Google signing a $60 million deal for real-time content access and training future AI models using Reddit data.

Tips For Having Success On Reddit

1. Understand The Platform

Reddit isn’t just another social media site; it’s a content-sharing platform.

This fundamental distinction is crucial for understanding how to navigate and succeed on Reddit. Unlike traditional social media platforms, Reddit is designed around user-generated subreddits –communities where content is shared and discussed.

Each subreddit is unique, with its own tone, culture, and rules. Think of subreddits as completely separate communities rather than categories of the same community.

The individuality of each subreddit means you must tailor your approach to fit the specific norms and expectations of each community.

On Reddit, the focus is on topics, not individuals. Influencer marketing, as it exists on other platforms, doesn’t translate well here.

While notable figures like Bill Gates participate, it’s their contributions and the topics they discuss that matter, not their personal brand. This topic-centric approach sets Reddit apart from other social media sites.

Anonymity is a core feature of Reddit, encouraging users to speak freely and honestly.

This anonymity fosters open discussion, as seen in subreddits like “/r/AmItheAsshole,” where users seek unbiased opinions on personal situations. Understanding and valuing this anonymity is key to engaging authentically with the Reddit community.

It’s important to distinguish between moderators and admins on Reddit. Moderators are regular users who manage subreddits, while admins are Reddit employees.

Confusing the two can lead to frustration, as moderators don’t have the same powers or responsibilities as admins. Recognize this distinction to better navigate issues and interactions within the platform.

Understanding these fundamental aspects of Reddit is critical for making a strong first impression and achieving success on the platform.

Mistakes can quickly derail your efforts, but with the right approach, Reddit offers a unique and valuable space for content sharing and community engagement.

2. Avoid Spamming

Spamming on Reddit can take many forms, and it’s essential to avoid behaviors that may be perceived as spammy.

Understanding and respecting the community guidelines is crucial for maintaining a positive presence on the platform.

Spam can be defined differently by each subreddit, but common behaviors include:

  • Posting off-topic content.
  • Submitting too frequently, even with good content.
  • Sharing the same content across multiple subreddits.
  • Trying to bypass subreddit rules (such as using redirects to post prohibited links).
  • Posting without engaging in comments.
  • Engaging in excessive self-promotion.

Each subreddit often lists its specific rules and definitions of spam in the sidebar, so make sure to read and follow them.

Additionally, Reddit continuously enhances its spam prevention measures, making it harder to game the system. Key improvements include:

  • AutoMod: Automated moderation scripts that filter submissions based on various parameters like account age and karma.
  • Contributor Quality Tiers: Assessing users based on their overall activity and legitimacy.
  • Ban Evasion Filters: Using AI to detect and prevent users from creating new accounts to bypass bans.

These evolving measures ensure a better community experience by reducing spam and encouraging genuine engagement.

Avoid attempting to game the system, as these improvements make it increasingly difficult – and ultimately, it just doesn’t lead to success.

3. Become A Redditor And Build Karma

Engage authentically by commenting and participating in discussions before starting your own posts. Build karma and learn what works within different communities.

To establish a presence on Reddit, it’s essential to start by becoming an active member of the community. Engage in subreddits that align with your passions, whether it’s growing peppers or discussing “Rick and Morty.”

This involvement helps you understand Reddit’s unique features, language, and community norms. By participating in discussions, you can start building karma – a reputation score based on upvotes and downvotes.

While karma is a simplified measure of your acceptance on Reddit, it’s vital for unlocking certain privileges and ensuring your posts aren’t hidden by automated moderation.

Focus on subreddits with low restrictions to accumulate karma easily. For instance, posting cute pictures in a cat subreddit or offering advice in a subreddit dedicated to questions can help you earn upvotes and interaction.

However, it’s crucial to approach this naturally and avoid trying to game the system, as patterns of inauthentic engagement can lead to bans and negative karma.

Before diving into posting your own content, prioritize commenting on existing posts.

Commenting helps you blend into the community and learn what types of content generate engagement. By focusing on “rising” posts – threads likely to gain significant visibility – you can maximize your exposure and karma.

This strategic approach allows your comments to receive more attention as the post gains popularity.

Starting with comments also offers insights into the community’s interests and opinions, helping you tailor future submissions to better resonate with the audience.

Submitting content places you directly under scrutiny, whereas commenting allows you to learn and experiment while becoming a Redditor.

Take the time to craft thoughtful, well-considered comments, as Reddit users value effort and sincerity.

Even as a brand, adopt a personable tone. Engaging authentically can shift perceptions positively, as seen in successful campaigns like the one we did for TikTok.

By focusing on building karma through comments first and understanding the community dynamics, you set a strong foundation for successful content submissions in the future.

4. Choose Your Subreddits Carefully

When you’re ready to submit content on Reddit, the first step is to identify the subreddits that align with your interests and goals.

Use Reddit’s search functionality to explore relevant subreddits. You can search specific domains by using “site:searchenginejournal.com” to see where your content or similar content is being discussed.

This helps you understand which subreddits have positive engagement with your topics. Additionally, you can research your competitors to see where they are active and successful.

Look for subreddits that address user journeys and questions related to your content, ensuring they match the topics you want to discuss.

Once you’ve identified potential subreddits, evaluate their activity levels. Check both the number of members and the current active users to ensure the subreddit is lively and engaged.

A large member count doesn’t always mean high engagement, so prioritize active subreddits over those with inflated, inactive memberships.

Review each subreddit’s rules meticulously. If the rules don’t align with your content goals – such as restrictions on link submissions – find a more suitable subreddit. Attempting to bypass rules will only harm your efforts.

Observe the subreddit moderators to understand their tone and interaction style. Knowing how moderators behave and what content they support can provide valuable insights into how your submissions might be received.

Since moderators play a crucial role in approving or removing content, aligning with their preferences increases your chances of success.

Finally, assess the overall tone around your topics within the subreddit. Even if a subreddit focuses on a relevant subject, the community might have varying opinions.

Be mindful of these nuances to ensure your content resonates positively with the audience. By carefully selecting and evaluating subreddits, you can effectively position your content for maximum engagement and success.

5. Create Your Own Subreddit

For brands, having a dedicated subreddit can be highly beneficial. It allows you to control the tone and foster in-depth discussions that not only solve your customers’ needs but also enhance your search and AI visibility.

Selecting knowledgeable moderators is crucial. They should understand Reddit culture and handle interactions professionally. Avoid arguing with users or getting defensive, which only incites negative responses.

Establish clear rules and use automated moderation tools to manage your subreddit effectively, ensuring a positive experience even when you’re not online.

Embrace critical comments and engage thoughtfully rather than deleting negative posts or banning users. The community respects genuine engagement and can differentiate between legitimate criticism and trolling.

By responding as a relatable, empathetic person, you can turn potential conflicts into opportunities for positive interaction.

Always approach interactions as if you’re the Redditor who convinced your company to join Reddit, focusing on authentic, helpful communication. This personal touch can significantly enhance your brand’s reputation on the platform.

6. Post The Right Content That Adds Value

Once you found the right subreddit and know where you want to submit content, focus on providing value to the community.

Research thoroughly to understand what topics resonate and where you can contribute your expertise. This will ensure positive engagement and brand interaction.

Support existing discussions by offering solutions or insights, enhancing the conversation with your brand’s unique perspective. Reviewing top content from the past year in your chosen subreddit can help you identify successful topics and understand the community’s interests.

Pay attention to standout users and comments to gauge what works and anticipate reactions.

Engage with moderators by studying their submissions and preferences. Building a rapport with them can significantly influence your content’s success, as they play a crucial role in approving and promoting submissions.

Always consider the needs of the subreddit members. While you have the freedom to post as you like, focusing on what the community wants will lead to greater success.

Again,  avoid the temptation to spam or overpromote your content. Focus on what will really provide value to the community.

Finally, keep in mind the broader impact on search and AI. Reddit’s influence on search engine results is significant, and the platform’s content is increasingly used to train AI models.

Choose content that enhances your brand’s visibility and reputation, ensuring it aligns with how you want your brand and products to be perceived. This strategic approach will maximize your reach and effectiveness on Reddit.

7. Post At The Right Time

Timing is crucial for gaining initial engagement on Reddit. Content typically thrives for about 24 hours, although exceptionally popular content can remain visible longer. The general trend is a rapid decline after the initial 24-hour period, and the initial votes are the most critical for boosting visibility.

Avoid the temptation to game the system by creating multiple accounts to upvote your own content, as this can lead to bans and diminish your credibility. Instead, focus on organic engagement to achieve those vital first votes.

To maximize your reach, consider using tools to analyze the best times for posting in your specific subreddit. Generally, posting between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Eastern Time is effective, as it captures a full day of high activity, including both domestic and international users.

8. Stay Engaged After You Submit

After submitting a post on Reddit, it’s crucial to stay engaged. Monitor your post closely for the full 24 hours it’s live.

Engage with comments by voting and responding thoughtfully. Upvote genuine comments and downvote trolls or low-quality contributions to manage comment visibility effectively.

Engage with commenters without being defensive, but don’t feel obligated to respond to every single comment.

Approach interactions naturally, applying common social standards. The goal is to foster a positive, constructive discussion, enhancing your presence on Reddit.

Reddit Is An Invaluable Platform If You Invest The Time And Effort

Reddit is one of the hardest communities to break into. It takes a lot of dedication and sometimes years of experience, but Reddit’s community-driven approach and authentic content make it an invaluable platform for marketers willing to invest the time and effort.

Whether it’s engaging in existing subreddits, creating your own, or running ads, Reddit offers unique opportunities for meaningful connections and impactful marketing.

Thank you to everyone who joined the webinar. It was definitely fun talking about Reddit again. If you have any questions or need help with your brand’s impact on Reddit, feel free to reach out.

A Little Something About Me You Might Not Know…

Brent Csutoras - 2007

I’ve been an avid Redditor since 2006. My journey with social media started in San Francisco, where I got involved with companies like Digg, Reddit, and StumbleUpon right as they were taking off.

One of my favorite memories is emailing Alexis Ohanian, Reddit’s co-founder, to tell him how much I loved the site. He responded, we chatted, and before I knew it, we were hanging out.

From tacos to SEO chats, we bonded over our shared passion for Reddit. Fun fact: My son is the first baby Redditor, thanks to Alexis.

More resources: 

Featured Image: Damir Khabirov/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Jun 21 2024
Gen Z Ditches Google, Turns To Reddit For Product Searches via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

A new report from Reddit, in collaboration with GWI and AmbassCo, sheds light on the evolving search behaviors of Generation Z consumers.

The study surveyed over 3,000 internet users across the UK, US, and Germany, highlighting significant changes in how young people discover and research products online.

Here’s an overview of key findings and the implications for marketers.

Decline In Traditional Search

The study found that Gen Z uses search engines to find new brands and products less often.

That’s because they shop online differently. They’re less interested in looking for expert reviews or spending much time searching for products.

There are also frustrations with mobile-friendliness and complex interfaces on traditional search platforms.

Because of this, traditional SEO strategies might not work well for reaching younger customers.

Takeaway

Companies trying to reach Gen Z might need to try new methods instead of just focusing on being visible on Google and other search engines.

Rise Of Social Media Discovery

Screenshot from Reddit study titled: “From search to research: How search marketers can keep up with Gen Z.”, June 2024.

Gen Z is increasingly using social media to find new brands and products.

The study shows that Gen Z has used social media for product discovery 36% more frequently since 2018.

This change is affecting how young people shop online. Instead of searching for products, they expect brands to appear in their social media feeds.

Screenshot from Reddit study titled: “From search to research: How search marketers can keep up with Gen Z.”, June 2024.

Because of this, companies trying to reach young customers need to pay more attention to how they present themselves on social media.

Takeaway

To succeed at marketing to Gen Z, businesses will likely need to focus on two main things:

  1. Ensure that your content appears more often in social media feeds.
  2. Create posts people want to share and interact with.

Trust Issues With Influencer Marketing

Even though more people are finding products through social media, the report shows that Gen Z is less likely to trust what social media influencers recommend.

These young shoppers often don’t believe in posts that influencers are paid to make or products they promote.

Instead, they prefer to get information from sources that feel more real and are driven by regular people in online communities.

Takeaway

Because of this lack of trust, companies must focus on being genuine and building trust when they try to get their websites to appear in search results or create ads.

Some good ways to connect with these young consumers might be to use content created by regular users, encourage honest product reviews, and create authentic conversations within online communities.

Challenges With Current Search Experiences

The research shows that many people are unhappy with how search engines work right now.

More than 60% of those surveyed want search results to be more trustworthy. Almost half of users don’t like looking through many search result pages.

Gen Z is particularly bothered by inaccurate information and unreliable reviews.

Screenshot from Reddit study titled: “From search to research: How search marketers can keep up with Gen Z.”, June 2024.

Takeaway

Given the frustration with search quality, marketers should prioritize creating accurate, trustworthy content.

This can help build brand credibility, leading to more direct visits.

Reddit: A Trusted Alternative

The report suggests that Gen Z trusts Reddit when looking up products—it’s their third most trusted source, after friends and family and review websites.

Screenshot from Reddit study titled: “From search to research: How search marketers can keep up with Gen Z.”, June 2024.

Young users like Reddit because it’s community-based and provides specific answers to users’ questions, making it feel more real.

It’s worth noting that this report comes from Reddit itself, which probably influenced why it’s suggesting its own platform.

Takeaway

Companies should focus more on being part of smaller, specific online groups frequented by Gen Z.

That could include Reddit or any other forum.

Why SEJ Cares

As young people change how they look for information online, this study gives businesses important clues about connecting with future customers.

Here’s what to remember:

  • Traditional search engine use is declining among Gen Z.
  • Social media is increasingly vital for product discovery.
  • There’s growing skepticism towards influencer marketing.
  • Current search experiences often fail to meet user expectations.
  • Community-based platforms like Reddit are gaining trust.

Featured Image: rafapress/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
May 23 2024
Why Every Marketer Should Be On Reddit via @sejournal, @brentcsutoras

In its nearly 20 years of existence, Reddit has built a robust, dynamic, and highly engaged community.

It has cemented itself as not only one of the key influencers for the internet culture we have come to know today, but also as one of the top 10 social media sites in the world, with more than 500,000 monthly visitors across more than 100,000 active communities.

Despite its size and influence, marketers have long avoided, overlooked, and failed to establish a presence on what is arguably one of the most influential social media sites today.

To be fair, Reddit has always been known as one of the hardest communities to have marketing success with, requiring months (if not years) of dedicated commitment to actually being a part of the community and engaging with your audience through meaningful, genuine, and honest interactions.

To many, that is just too much risk and too much work, but let’s be honest – most amazing things take risk and hard work. And for all of you who put in that work to be successful on Reddit, you already see the payoff it brings.

Regardless of the reasons, marketers who continue to overlook Reddit’s potential are missing out on an extremely influential community with ideal targeted demographics, where authenticity and genuine connections lead to valuable information, positive branding, and marketing success.

Not convinced? Let’s take a closer look at Reddit!

Reddit Stats You Cannot Ignore

Reddit users are dedicated to their use of the platform, with a reported 73.1 million (14.6%) of its 500 million users visiting the site daily, sharing over 1 billion posts, with over 16 billion comments across 100,000+ active communities, making it easily one of the top visited and most active sites in the United States today.

The user base is so loyal that they spend, on average, 20 minutes on the platform each day (and over 45 minutes a day for long-time users of more than 7 years) and, in many cases, are inactive on other social platforms.

This makes Reddit one of the only places to actually get in front of this massive audience, with 32% being inactive on Facebook, 37% on Instagram, 41% on TikTok, and 53% on X.

When it comes to demographics, a 2019 survey concluded that the overall Reddit audience was majority male (59%), ranged in age (36% aged 18-29; 25% aged 30-49), and well educated (42% college degree; 31% some college) making them an ideal audience many businesses looking for success.

They also helped Reddit improve revenues by 21% to $804 million in 2023, with a global addressable market for advertising estimated at $1.4 trillion by 2027.

Thought by many to be mostly a North American audience, Reddit claims more than 50% of its traffic comes from international users, a rather impressive climb from its earlier years.

It is important to remember, though, that Reddit is a platform that allows communities to grow and thrive, so those demographics change from subreddit to subreddit.

If that isn’t enough to grab your attention, surveys have found that 75% of users find Reddit a trustworthy source for making purchasing decisions.

For years now, it has been included heavily and prominently in Google search results, which have become even more visible due to reports following their inclusion in SGE results and with Google’s recent $60 million a year deal with Reddit to have real-time access to Reddit content and to use its content to train Google’s future AI models.

Speaking of Reddit’s visibility in Google’s search results, let’s take a closer look at why that deal is so important, especially to search marketers.

Reddit In Google Search, SGE, And Google’s Reddit Deal

For years, Reddit results have been prominently displayed in Google’s search results – so much so that users have even started adding the term “reddit” to the end of their search queries.

So often, you will see Google suggest search lines with the term “reddit” prefilled at the end.

Reddit In Google Search, SGE, and Google’s Reddit DealScreenshot by author from search for [are purple mattresses good], Google, May 2024

Even without selecting the query that includes “reddit,” you will notice Reddit’s prominent placement in two places: discussions and forums, and Reddit sitelinks, which are both just below the ads and the first organic result.

Reddit resultsScreenshot by author from search for [are purple mattresses good], Google, May 2024

This was amplified by Google’s recent Helpful Content Update (HCU), which allowed platforms like Reddit and other forums to show up more frequently in search results,

Reddit’s ability to be helpful in satisfying a user’s search for information is so successful – in combination with reported shortages in new content for AI models from all major platforms – it is not surprising Google struck a deal with Reddit to show its content faster in search results and to use the content in training future AI models.

Since news of the deal between Reddit and Google was reported, there has been a lot of additional focus on Reddit’s visibility in Google’s search results.

Experts throughout the search industry report an increase in not only the total visibility of Reddit going up within search but also the speed at which a Reddit post is indexed and shown to users.

Google responded to concerns about Reddit showing up more in search results, saying that “some of the SEO folks who tend to be vocal on this platform (X) really dislike seeing more forum content in our search results. But actual searchers seem to like it. They proactively seek it out. It makes sense for us to be showing it to keep the search results relevant and satisfying for everyone.”

Google responded to concerns of Reddit showing up more in search resultsScreenshot by author from X (Twitter), May 2024

Although disputed by Google, Roger Montii wrote about one report of Reddit content being indexed within five minutes.

ChatGPT to Surface Reddit Content

Adding to the deal Reddit made with Google, it was recently reported that OpenAI has partnered with Reddit to surface their content in ChatGPT, adding to the clear value that both OpenAI and Google see in Reddit’s content today and in the future.

Of course, this has sparked a lot of interest in companies of all sizes. They want to figure out how their brands can participate and succeed on Reddit in hopes of increasing their visibility in Google’s search results, SGE, and ChatGPT and building their brand’s visibility amongst one of the most influential audiences on the internet today.

**Quick warning: Reddit requires genuine, long-term engagement and a strategy for success. So, I would definitely advise individuals and businesses to avoid trying to game, spam, or blindly jump into marketing on Reddit and take the time to really understand the platform, its audience, and your place of value within its communities.

Let’s look at how some major brands have been successful on Reddit in the past.

noosa Yoghurt

Noosa Yoghurt’s 2021 back-to-school campaign on Reddit was a great example of tapping into niche audiences to create engaging, user-driven content.

To capitalize on Reddit’s community of vocal yogurt enthusiasts, noosa launched a Flavor Poll that invited Redditors to upvote their favorite noosa flavors in the comments. This created a sense of community and interactivity around what could have been a standard poll.

Noosa Yoghurt’s 2021 back-to-school campaign on Reddit.Screenshot by author from Reddit, May 2024

After tallying the upvotes, noosa published a Promoted Post that showcased the results using a sleek custom infographic, highlighting the community’s favorites while also giving the brand important insight into consumer preferences.

Noosa published a Promoted Post that showcased the results.Screenshot by author from Reddit, May 2024

The results:

  • 49% increase in brand recall among Reddit users who were exposed to the campaign.
  • 30% increase in brand favorability.
  • 39% increase in purchase intent (15X the typical lift observed in the food vertical).
  • 50+ billion monthly views.

Sony Pictures Germany

To drum up excitement around the release of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” in Germany, Sony Pictures Germany crafted a Reddit campaign that combined organic and promoted content to engage the platform’s robust fan communities.

The brand created a Reddit account under the protagonist’s name, u/MilesMorales, and used it to share exclusive content directly within Spiderman-related subreddits.

It also organized an AMA with the German voice actor Miles Morales to create a more personal connection with fans and promoted video posts featuring the movie trailer to amplify the excitement.

Sony Pictures Germany crafted a Reddit campaign.Screenshot by author from Reddit, May 2024

The results:

  • Sony Pictures Germany achieved a click-through rate (CTR) that was 344% higher than that of its standard paid media.
  • 831 upvotes.
  • 618,000 impressions.
  • The film remained No. 1 on the German movie charts for three consecutive weeks.

It is important to note that promoting your content and your brand on Reddit is definitely not the only value Reddit can bring you and your business.

Reddit is an amazing place to get honest feedback.

Whether you are trying to figure out what your target audience wants from your brand, test out a new feature or concept before investing and launching it openly, or even just to have continued open communication with your customers to support them and keep them connected to your brand, Reddit can help you succeed in an amazing way.

Transamerica Helping Reddit Make Dollars Make Sense

Transamerica’s campaign on Reddit is a great example of a company identifying an opportunity to connect with its target audience on the subreddit /r/finance.

This allows the company to better understand its customers’ needs and focus on content creation and future marketing plans.

Transamerica’s campaign on RedditScreenshot by author from Reddit, May 2024

Aligning itself with its audience by demonstrating awareness of the topics around personal finance happening in the subreddit, as well as acknowledging the Redditors working at the company, it asked what topics it could create “specifically for the reddit community” around the topic of finance.

It stayed involved and engaged throughout the campaign, responding to threads and maintaining a lighthearted and sometimes humorous tone.

Transamerica’s campaign on RedditScreenshot by author from Reddit, May 2024

After getting all the feedback it needed, it created content around the more popular requests, going as far as branding and designing them similar to Reddit.

IRA vs 401K venn diagramScreenshot by author from Reddit, May 2024

It even took the time to individually comment a link to the published content on its site, bringing attention back to the overall campaign and the content it created.

This campaign was 10 years ago, and it is still referenced as a core example of engaging on Reddit as a brand in a respectful, thoughtful, and meaningful way.

Why You Should Be On Reddit Wrapup

TL;DR: If your brand has something meaningful to say and is interested in truly connecting with your audience, then yes, you should be on Reddit.

These successful brand campaign examples showcase Reddit’s power when used correctly. With research to understand the specific communities you want to reach, Reddit can have exceptional performance compared to other channels.

The stakes are high to get it right because Reddit communities can be highly negative toward self-serving promotion. But if you put in the effort and solve people’s needs and problems, Reddit has the potential to be a high-performance channel.

More resources:

Featured Image: Julia Tim/Shutterstock

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Apr 15 2024
Reddit Post Ranks On Google In 5 Minutes – What’s Going On? via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Google’s Danny Sullivan disputed the assertions made in a Reddit discussion that Google is showing a preference for Reddit in the search results. But a Redditor’s example proves that it’s possible for a Reddit post to rank in the top ten of the search results within minutes and to actually improve rankings to position #2 a week later.

Discussion About Google Showing Preference To Reddit

A Redditor (gronetwork) complained that Google is sending so many visitors to Reddit that the server is struggling with the load and shared an example that proved that it can only take minutes for a Reddit post to rank in the top ten.

That post was part of a 79 post Reddit thread where many in the r/SEO subreddit were complaining about Google allegedly giving too much preference to Reddit over legit sites.

The person who did the test (gronetwork) wrote:

“…The website is already cracking (server down, double posts, comments not showing) because there are too many visitors.

…It only takes few minutes (you can test it) for a post on Reddit to appear in the top ten results of Google with keywords related to the post’s title… (while I have to wait months for an article on my site to be referenced). Do the math, the whole world is going to spam here. The loop is completed.”

Reddit Post Ranked Within Minutes

Another Redditor asked if they had tested if it takes “a few minutes” to rank in the top ten and gronetwork answered that they had tested it with a post titled, Google SGE Review.

gronetwork posted:

“Yes, I have created for example a post named “Google SGE Review” previously. After less than 5 minutes it was ranked 8th for Google SGE Review (no quotes). Just after Washingtonpost.com, 6 authoritative SEO websites and Google.com’s overview page for SGE (Search Generative Experience). It is ranked third for SGE Review.”

It’s true, not only does that specific post (Google SGE Review) rank in the top 10, the post started out in position 8 and it actually improved ranking, currently listed beneath the number one result for the search query “SGE Review”.

Screenshot Of Reddit Post That Ranked Within Minutes

Screenshot showing a Reddit post that ranked in Google within minutes

Anecdotes Versus Anecdotes

Okay, the above is just one anecdote. But it’s a heck of an anecdote because it proves that it’s possible for a Reddit post to rank within minutes and get stuck in the top of the search results over other possibly more authoritative websites.

hankschrader79 shared that Reddit posts outrank Toyota Tacoma forums for a phrase related to mods for that truck.

Google’s Danny Sullivan responded to that post and the entire discussion to dispute that Reddit is not always prioritized over other forums.

Danny wrote:

“Reddit is not always prioritized over other forums. [super vhs to mac adapter] I did this week, it goes Apple Support Community, MacRumors Forum and further down, there’s Reddit. I also did [kumo cloud not working setup 5ghz] recently (it’s a nightmare) and it was the Netgear community, the SmartThings Community, GreenBuildingAdvisor before Reddit. Related to that was [disable 5g airport] which has Apple Support Community above Reddit. [how to open an 8 track tape] — really, it was the YouTube videos that helped me most, but it’s the Tapeheads community that comes before Reddit.

In your example for [toyota tacoma], I don’t even get Reddit in the top results. I get Toyota, Car & Driver, Wikipedia, Toyota again, three YouTube videos from different creators (not Toyota), Edmunds, a Top Stories unit. No Reddit, which doesn’t really support the notion of always wanting to drive traffic just to Reddit.

If I guess at the more specific query you might have done, maybe [overland mods for toyota tacoma], I get a YouTube video first, then Reddit, then Tacoma World at third — not near the bottom. So yes, Reddit is higher for that query — but it’s not first. It’s also not always first. And sometimes, it’s not even showing at all.”

hankschrader79 conceded that they were generalizing when they wrote that Google always prioritized Reddit. But they also insisted that that didn’t diminish what they said is a fact that Google’s “prioritization” forum content has benefitted Reddit more than actual forums.

Why Is The Reddit Post Ranked So High?

It’s possible that Google “tested” that Reddit post in position 8 within minutes and that user interaction signals indicated to Google’s algorithms that users prefer to see that Reddit post. If that’s the case then it’s not a matter of Google showing preference to Reddit post but rather it’s users that are showing the preference and the algorithm is responding to those preferences.

Nevertheless, an argument can be made that user preferences for Reddit can be a manifestation of Familiarity Bias. Familiarity Bias is when people show a preference for things that are familiar to them. If a person is familiar with a brand because of all the advertising they were exposed to then they may show a bias for the brand products over unfamiliar brands.

Users who are familiar with Reddit may choose Reddit because they don’t know the other sites in the search results or because they have a bias that Google ranks spammy and optimized websites and feel safer reading Reddit.

Google may be picking up on those user interaction signals that indicate a preference and satisfaction with the Reddit results but those results may simply be biases and not an indication that Reddit is trustworthy and authoritative.

Is Reddit Benefiting From A Self-Reinforcing Feedback Loop?

It may very well be that Google’s decision to prioritize user generated content may have started a self-reinforcing pattern that draws users in to Reddit through the search results and because the answers seem plausible those users start to prefer Reddit results. When they’re exposed to more Reddit posts their familiarity bias kicks in and they start to show a preference for Reddit. So what could be happening is that the users and Google’s algorithm are creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop.

Is it possible that Google’s decision to show more user generated content has kicked off a cycle where more users are exposed to Reddit which then feeds back into Google’s algorithm which in turn increases Reddit visibility, regardless of lack of expertise and authoritativeness?

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Kues

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